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Spike Trotman

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C. Spike Trotman
Trotman and her Templar characters at the 2008 MoCCA Festival in New York City
BornCharlie Trotman
November 18, 1978
Washington D.C
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Cartoonist, Publisher, Editor
Notable works
Templar, Arizona
Smut Peddler
AwardsGlyph Comics Award, 2007
http://ironcircus.com

Charlie "Spike" Trotman is an American cartoonist and publisher known for creating the long-running web comic Templar, Arizona, and for publishing the Smut Peddler anthologies of what she describe as "ladycentric porn".[1] She is the founder and owner of Iron Circus Comics.

Early life

Growing up in her hometown Potomac, Maryland, Trotman was a fan of "Bloom County," "Calvin and Hobbes," "The Far Side," “Power Pack,” and “Excalibur” comic strips in the Sunday Washington Post newspaper.[2] She attended Spelman College (1996-2000) where she got a Bachelor's degree in Fine and Studio Arts. Trotman then attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2000-2001) to prepare for her master’s degree.[3] Rather than creating comics for the superhero audience, she wanted to discuss relationships and culture, and work in neglected genres like erotica and then tried self-publishing online.[4] She married Matt Sherridan, the author she collaborated with on Sparkneedle in 2004.[5]

Career

Her first major online publications were Sparkneedle and Lucas and Odessa, which she began serializing on Girlamatic in 2003.[6] Trotman started posting Templar, Arizona in 2005.[7] After its release, it was then published in four volumes via Iron Circus Comics. She is the owner and founder of Iron Circus Comics, Chicago's largest alternative comics press which started in 2007 and brings in fantasy, sci-fi, porn, erotica, horror, and queer-friendly books to market and has raised over $1 million over its first 14 Kickstarter campaigns.[8] She ran a Kickstarter campaign in 2009, the year Kickstarter started to fund a print edition of the book, Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less, an instructional books illustrated by Diana Nock.[9]

Trotman wants to use her publisher, Iron Circus as a platform for works by creators who have been underrepresented or ignored by mainstream comics. Trotman is passionate about paying fair wages to her creators for their work. She has since used Iron Circus Comics to also publish works by other creators, including print editions of The Less Than Epic Adventures of T.J. and Amal by E.K. Weaver, and Shadoweyes by Sophie Campbell.[10] Trotman has created comics such as The Sleep of Reason (a horror anthology), New World, The Smut Peddler series, Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less, and more.[11] In 2012, she revived the title Smut Peddler, first published by Johanna D. Carlson and Trisha L. Sebastian in 2003, created by women, primarily for a female readership.[12]

Selected Works

Templar, Arizona (2005) – The comic is an alternative history webcomic set in a fictional Arizona town focusing on a number of subcultures. Stories focused on groups like ancient religions and survival cults and featured a diverse cast of characters. It told stories about relationships, culture, and romance.[13]

Smut Peddler (2014 and 2016) – An anthology featuring erotic comics. The stories featured a wide range of characters, from traditional straight relationships to gay, bisexual, polyamorous ones as well as science-fiction or fantasy themes.[14] To be featured in Smut Peddler, three basic premises are to be met; there must be consent and mutual willingness, there should be a variety of participant (male cartoonists may work on stories submitted for the books, but only as part of a creative team involving at least one woman.)[15] She published two volumes in 2014 and 2016.[16]

Recognition and Awards

In April 2018, Kickstarted named Trotman as one of the seven Kickstarter Thought Leaders worldwide charged with leading talks and hosting community events.

She won the Rising Star Award for Templar Arizona in the 2007 Glyph Comics Awards.[17] She was an emcee of the Small Press Expo's Ignatz Awards back in 2016.

References

  1. ^ "Smut Peddler, 2014 Edition". Iron Circus. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Hire This Woman: Cartoonist and Publisher Spike Trotman". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  3. ^ Dean, Michelle (2015-11-13). "Spike Trotman: from slice-of-life to smut, a comic book artist doing it her own way". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  4. ^ She changed comics : the untold story of the women who changed free expression in comics. Gomez, Betsy,, Williams, Maren,, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, (First ed.). Berkeley, CA. ISBN 9781632159298. OCLC 951760329.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ She changed comics : the untold story of the women who changed free expression in comics. Gomez, Betsy,, Williams, Maren,, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, (First ed.). Berkeley, CA. ISBN 9781632159298. OCLC 951760329.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ Asselin, Janelle (2014-10-22). "Hire this Woman: Cartoonist and Publisher Spike Trotman". Comics Alliance.
  7. ^ Dean, Michelle (2015-11-13). "Spike Trotman: from slice-of-life to smut, a comic book artist doing it her own way". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  8. ^ Jackson, Cheryl V. "Iron Circus Comics brings diversity to the comic book market". RedEye Chicago. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  9. ^ "Diana Nock is creating comics". Patreon. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  10. ^ C.,, Howard, Sheena. Encyclopedia of black comics. Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.,, Priest, Christopher J. (Christopher James), 1961-. Golden, CO. ISBN 9781682751015. OCLC 974683696.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Scott, Aaron. "Webcomic Artist C. Spike Trotman Gives Voice To The Underrepresented". www.opb.org. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  12. ^ Asselin, Janelle (12 December 2014). "Books That Feel Real: Spike Trotman On 'Poorcraft 2′ And Building An Indie Comics Empire". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ She changed comics : the untold story of the women who changed free expression in comics. Gomez, Betsy,, Williams, Maren,, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, (First ed.). Berkeley, CA. ISBN 9781632159298. OCLC 951760329.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. ^ She changed comics : the untold story of the women who changed free expression in comics. Gomez, Betsy,, Williams, Maren,, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, (First ed.). Berkeley, CA. ISBN 9781632159298. OCLC 951760329.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^ "Smut Peddler 2014: Submissions are now open!". Iron Circus Comics. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  16. ^ "C. Spike Trotman". Comic-Con International: San Diego. 2014-05-30. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  17. ^ Alverson, Brigid (1 April 2015). "Spike Trotman on the business of comics". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
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