Written By: Will Davies  

I can’t normally talk about parallel universes without having to tap my own bile. It’s been something of an inflammatory subject, ever since those bastards from Parallel Earth Nine-and-a-Bit came over and started hiding all my small change. Fortunately the alternate reality presented in “Templar, Arizona” neither wreaks havoc on my oesophagus or penny jar as it is not wholly obsessed with the idea. The execution is somewhat more subtle than goatee’s and swastikas with the creator, Spike Trotman, focussing in on the titular town and all the colourful new cultures that exist within.

 The numerous fictional sub-cultures that Trotman has created give birth to an impressive cast of characters which continues to expand at an almost constant rate even as the comic passes its third anniversary. Amazingly each and everyone of them feels like an individual while managing not to prescribe to easy stereotypes or stock personalities. A great deal of work has gone into fashioning each and every member of the cast to such a degree that not only do they stand out from each other in the comic but also amongst those from other titles. For example, there is little that compares to Reagan the large and imposing gun and pornography saleswoman who plays matriarch for the core cast members. Extrovert doesn’t quite cover it. 

Fortunately things in Templar aren’t all smiles, hugs and social curiosities, otherwise it would be quite dull. Trotman’s characters play out like real people, and as everyone over a certain age knows people really don’t have it together. They make mistakes, they’re complete bastards to each other, they aren’t always good at making life work and so on and so forth until you run out of words. Every character has a past, reasons for why they are the way they are, and its not always pretty. The most recent manifestation of this balance takes some of the most heart warming moments from the first few pages and lends to it a darker edge when happy-go-lucky is cast in a new light as drug-induced-brain-damage. The populace of Templar is laid bare for all the world to see, sometimes literally.

Trotman’s detailed characters are the product of impressive writing, the accented dialogue is especially noteworthy and is to be applauded, and are only further improved by the artwork. The smooth uncomplicated lines create excellent expressions on characters that lend personality and weight even to characters who lack dialogue or merely exist as background colour. Speaking of colour, there isn’t any. Save for the most subtle hint of sepia Templar is a black and white title, which is by no means a bad thing as it gives of an air of respectability, especially when there are man parts on show or a naked woman dancing around. It also keeps in with the dusty aesthetic shared by the site and Templar itself.

Templar is a gem, one of the finest webcomics out there. Its poignant, funny and irrefutably captivating. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll buy a gas mask. Also the main character is a columnist and no doubt whatsoever those people are gods amongst lesser mortals.

Government came and took my segue away:

Will says: Hi

Spike says: Holy Jeez this thing makes an awful noise

Spike says: I have never heard that, I basically peed some

Will says: o_o

Spike says: Good morning!

Will says: Good afternoon!

Will says: I hope this isn’t too early for you?

Spike says: Naaah, I just got up.

Will says: Good good.

Will says: I think we’ll start off with the basics. Basically how would you describe Templar to people who have no idea what the thing is about?

Spike says: Er.

Spike says: Well, I usually just tell people “It’s a story about life in an alternate dimension,” although I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. It’s just compact.

Spike says: It’s mostly about Ben.

Spike says: Event he stuff that looks like it’s not about Ben will wind up being about Ben.

Spike says: It’s about a guy named Ben and his life in a city in a world that went slightly differently from our own, in historical terms. Some empires never fell, others never rose, some wars were never fought, that sort of thing.

Spike says: The results are a legion of sub cultural and political idiosyncrasies that form this unique backdrop for Ben, and kind of direct his experiences.

Will says: So you’re not likely to stray into Claremont territory and start declaring what is and is not different, this is more focused on the characters rather than the altered history?

Spike says: Yeah, that’s safe to say. What’s different should be plenty obvious, if and when it comes up. I mean, for example, there’s no history in our world of modern Egyptians reverting to Osiris worship as part of a nationalistic response to British subjugation and so forth, but in Templar, there are Nile Revivalists.

Spike says: Two of the supporting characters come from a Nile family, and have Nile names (Ra and Thutmose). and as we see more of them, we’ll see more of this nonexistent culture they grew up in.

Spike says: It’ll be pretty clear that’s based on an alternate history before too long.

Will says: You have a seemingly ever expansive cast of characters compared to a lot of other webcomics. Do you ever find it hard to manage all of them?

Spike says: Actually, no, I don’t have any trouble keeping things straight. I’ve been planning and writing Templar for years, and I mean years previously before i drew the first page. before I even resolved to finally do the comic, pretty much everyone was well-realized enough to be complete individuals. I mean, I could sit here and list who in the comic would respond with “Yah” and “Yeah” or “Fuck yeah!” instead of yes.

Spike says: They’re pretty clear to me down to their extended families, causes of death and personal prejudices.

Will says: So Templar is something of a master work then?

Spike says: I think of it that way, definitely. It’ll take years to finish, and it’s the one comic I always dreamed of being able to do.

Will says: You’ve done a few other comics in the past. Do you see them as warm ups for the main event?

Spike says: God, that sounds cruel! But in a way, yes.

Spike says: I know some of my readers will disagree, they’ve expressed preferences for the other stuff. But in truth, “Sparkneedle” was more of a skill-building exercise, and “Lucas and Odessa” was just practice. I mean, I think they’re great stories and everything, and I’d like to finish them, but they never really demanded to be made the way Templar did.

Will says: Well it just wouldn’t be right if something in the column didn’t upset anybody.

Spike says: Ha ha!

Spike says: In that case, I HATE KITTENS.

Will says: OH GOD THE KITTENS

Will says: So tiny and sucky.

Spike says: So kickable!

Will says: Indeed.

Will says: I have also forgotten the next question.

Will says: Damn those kittens.

Spike says: Ha ha, see? They’ll do it every time, the little bastards.

Will says: Ah yes. I remember now.

Will says: There’s occasionally some questionable content in Templar. Nudity, drugs and so on. Do you ever get any negative feed back on that from concerned parents or the like?

Spike says: Nope! I’ve heard some complaints about the language, but nothing about the nudity or drinkin’ or anything else, which surprises me a little.

Spike says: Not that I’d change anything about the comic if I DID hear complaints, of course. Templar’s never been meant to be worksafe or kidsafe, and I’ve mentioned that multiple times. It’s about adults, for the most part, and adults swear and drink and get naked, sometimes. Nothing’s gratuitous, just realistic.

Will says: So its your goal to be realistic?

Spike says: Well, I wouldn’t say that… maybe just… believable? Like, I don’t want anyone ever reading the comic, rolling their eyes, and scoffing “Nobody acts like that,” or “Who in the world would SAY that?” I don’t want to draw scenes where the characters go all super-deformed and the girls tackle the boys screamin’ WAAAAI. I kinda want conversations and experience people maybe couldn’t have themselves, but could definitely relate to.

Will says: A couple of the characters have rather distinct modes of speech which you represent in the text mostly by putting them down as they might be said out loud. Is that born of your quest for believability?

Spike says: More or less.

Spike says: I’m not a fan of stilted, unnatural speech.

Spike says: unless, of course, the speech is meant to sound stilted or unnatural, like when someone is reading off a bureaucratic form or giving a speech.

Spike says: I want that kind of talk distinguishable from everyday talk, because I think it has more impact that way. Like, you understand what it’s supposed to be, or at least trying to be. But one of my real goals with comic dialog is making it informal and naturalistic.

Will says: Do you ever find that people have trouble understanding the dialogue?

Spike says: Reagan’s accent gets pretty thick, sometimes. I think she gets the closest to unintelligibility. But I’ve never had any honest to God “What the hell did she just say?” complaints. Which is funny, because a lot of the slang she uses is either half a century out of date or completely made up!

Will says: heh

Will says: Huh. That was odd.

Spike says: Oh?

Will says: The internet broke, sorry.

Spike says: Well, welcome back.

Will says: Thanks. I had to break out Old Sparky The Laptop. Its entirely possible that it might kill me.

Will says: Fortunately we’re almost done here.

Spike says: Or make you infertile, if it’s in your lap!

Will says: Here’s hoping

Will says: Right. Penultimate question.

Will says: What web comics aren’t people reading that you think they should?

Spike says: Pug Davis, by Rebecca Sugar at http://www.sugarboukas.com PD , Shade, by Nateh Heigert at http://nathanheigert.com/Shade/0.html  , Toy Division, by Mimo, at http://toydivision.transplantcomics.com  , And The Good Crook, by Magnolia Pearl Porter at http://www.webcomicsnation.com/magnoliapearl/crook/series.php

Spike says: These are all fantastic.

Will says: Cool.

Spike says: Make sure you link them! They require love!

Will says: Will do.

Will says: Ok so one last question and then that’s a wrap.

Will says: This one is a bit silly.

Spike says: Go for it anyway.

Will says: What’s the worst possible thing I could ask the next interviewee?

Spike says: How about… “Are you at peace with all of your humiliating failures?”

Will says: hah.

Will says: I’m going to get fired so bad next week.

Spike says: Ha ha!

Spike says: Who’s next, anyway?

Will says: I really don’t know.

Spike says: Hopefully someone touchy and hyper sensitive

Will says: oh god…

Spike says: Who will rally their fan base against you!

Spike says: Drama: lifeblood of webcomics!

Will says: indeed!

Will says: Ok so that wraps it all up. Unless there’s any burning issues you want to get out there.

Spike says: Naw, I’m coool. Thanks for the ego boost!

Will says: No problem. Its all part of the service. That’ll be 5.99

Spike says: In what, Pounds? what’s that, four hundred American?

Will says: Something like that.

Will says: Well thanks for taking the time out of your day to do this.

Will says: Well, see ya.

Spike says: Bye!

Templar, Arizona can be found at www.templaraz.com but does contain some strong language so younger readers may wish to take notes. Remember kids, swearing is fucking awesome.

 Discussion Prod

Release schedules this week. Ignoring titles with inconsistent updates how much of an impact does the weekly release schedule have on the success of a webcomic?

Five Items or Less

Letters from a strange and foreign internet.

Order of Tales, the successor of Rice Boy, hit the web this week. It promises to be a whimsical fantasy masterpiece, much in the same vein as its predecessor. It can be found at: http://riceboy.jho-tan.com/order/index.html

San Diego Comic Con fast approaches. Anyone lucky enough to be attending should the us with tales of daring comic related do once they return. A number of notable webcomics will be in attendance including Penny Arcade and the Dayfree Press collective.

Next week on FPE: I really don’t know. Word got around about that thing with the Daschund and no one is returning my emails. It’ll be a nice surprise for everyone involved.

Feedback and the wrath of cat lovers can be directed towards fourthpanelestate@googlemail.com or http://twitter.com/WTDavies

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