Templar, Arizona
Templar Arizona is a webcomic Art and drawn by Charlie Spike Trotman. It was hosted on Webcomics Nation. Trotman describes "Templar, Arizona" as "a story about a town, and the people who live there", specifically referring to the city of Templar as a character rather than a setting. The neologism "culture fiction" was coined to describe it. The fictional city of Templar exists in a subtly different alternate universe. Trotman describes it as "a slightly irregular Arizona that fell off the back of a truck somewhere, and now all the power outlets are a weird shape and a  couple of wars never happened". This city is most strongly marked by its fictional subcultures (many of which are veiled commentary on real ones), as well as its unusual architecture and fashion. However, it lacks any fantasy or science fiction elements, which suggests that the comic is closer to the alternate history genre. The webcomic has received various awards since its start in 2005. Development. Spike Trotman started created "Templar, Arizona" on June 5, 2005, and she ended the series on September 29, 2014. Before Kickstarter came into popularity, Trotman implemented PayPal and similar online banking services to set up  an independent pre-ordering system for "Templar, Arizona". Recognition. "Templar" has been praised for its natural and humorous dialogue, the strength of its character design (both visually and in personality), the depth of its setting, and for the quality of its art. The writing has distinct speech patterns for each of the cast members. "Templar, Arizona" was named as one of the best webcomics of 2005 by "The Webcomics Examiner". Nominated for the 2006 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards in the categories "Outstanding New Character Design", "Outstanding Environment Design", "Outstanding Character Writing", "Outstanding Long Form Comic", and "Outstanding Story Concept", it  won in the "Character Design" and "Character Writing" categories. In the 2007 Glyph Comics Awards, Trotman won the Rising Star Award for "Templar, Arizona".