Spike Trotman Explained

C. Spike Trotman
Birth Name:Charlie Spike Trotman
Birth Date:18 November 1978
Birth Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality:American
Area:Cartoonist, publisher, editor
Notable Works:Templar, Arizona
Smut Peddler
Awards:Glyph Comics Award, 2007
Website:http://ironcircus.com

Charlie Spike Trotman,[1] also known as C. Spike Trotman (born November 18, 1978), 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 describes as "lady centric porn".[2] She is the founder and owner of Iron Circus Comics, an indie comics publisher which Forbes described as "a powerhouse of the indy landscape."[3]

Early and personal 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.[4] She attended Spelman College (1996–2000) achieving a bachelor's degree in Fine and Studio Arts, then attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2000–2001).[5] Her work centered on relationships and culture, and erotica. She also self-published on the web.[6] She married Matt Sheridan, the author she collaborated with on Sparkneedle in 2004.[6] She is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Career

Her first notable online publications were Sparkneedle and Lucas and Odessa,[7] which she began serializing on Girlamatic in 2003.[8] Trotman released Templar, Arizona in 2005.[9]

In 2007, she founded Iron Circus Comics, a Chicago-based alternative comics publisher that was described by the Chicago Tribune as a pioneer in the industry for bringing queer-friendly fantasy, sci-fi, and erotica books to market and publishing underrepresented artists.[10] [11] [12] [13] She told the Chicago Tribune that increasing diversity and representation in comics was part of her motivation for starting Iron Circus Comics: "When I was getting into comics, there was absolutely no room for people like me — people of color who wanted to tell their own stories, or women who wanted to tell their own stories. Comics had a very firm idea of what would sell or what qualified as niche. Anything a white, heterosexual man would make would be interpreted to having universal appeal, but anything I would make would automatically be classified as difficult to relate to or niche.”[11]

Iron Circus has published over 30 titles, including The Less Than Epic Adventures of T.J. and Amal by E. K. Weaver and Shadoweyes by Sophie Campbell.[14] Trotman created The Sleep of Reason (a horror anthology), New World, The Smut Peddler series, and Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less, an instructional book illustrated by Diana Nock.[15] 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.[16] In Kickstarter's first year, she funded a print edition of the book, Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less,In 2022, Iron Circus Comics published The Poorcraft Cookbook, illustrated by Nero Villagallos O'Reilly based on characters developed by Trotman.[17] [18]

Trotman is known for integrating crowdfunding into her publishing company's business model.[19] [12] Trotman "built a comic book publisher from the ground up," with Iron Circus Comics raising over $2.5 million over its first 30 Kickstarter campaigns.[20] [21] [22] Trotman moved away from using Kickstarter to an independent crowdsourcing platform after Kickstarter announced it would migrate to using blockchain technology.[19] [23] [24]

Selected works

Recognition and awards

Publishers Weekly named Trotman a "Star to Watch" in 2015, recognizing her as a "go-to source for best practices on crowdfunding."[27] [28]

In April 2018, Kickstarter named Trotman as one of the seven Kickstarter Thought Leaders invited to lead talks and host community events.[29]

She won the Rising Star Award for Templar Arizona in the 2007 Glyph Comics Awards.[30] She was a juror the Small Press Expo's Ignatz Awards in 2016.[31]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Iron_Spike . 960625520097550337 . Casual reminder for article writers and Twitter managers: Spike is part of my legal name. C. Spike Trotman. No quotes necessary. (o_o)-b Thanks!.
  2. Web site: Smut Peddler, 2014 Edition. Iron Circus. 27 November 2015. December 3, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151203013714/http://ironcircus.com/portfolio/smut-peddler-2014-edition/. dead.
  3. Web site: Salkowitz . Rob . For Publishing Pioneer C. Spike Trotman, Crowdfunding Is Still The Way To Go . 2022-03-12 . Forbes . en.
  4. Web site: Hire This Woman: Cartoonist and Publisher Spike Trotman. ComicsAlliance. October 22, 2014 . en. 2018-11-15.
  5. Web site: Spike Trotman: from slice-of-life to smut, a comic book artist doing it her own way. Dean. Michelle. 2015-11-13. the Guardian. en. 2018-12-03.
  6. Book: She changed comics : the untold story of the women who changed free expression in comics. Gomez, Betsy; Williams, Maren. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. 978-1632159298. First. Berkeley, CA. 951760329. 2016.
  7. Web site: The Bossest Comics on Girlamatic The Comics Journal. August 12, 2011 . en-US. 2019-03-19.
  8. Web site: Hire this Woman: Cartoonist and Publisher Spike Trotman. Asselin. Janelle. 2014-10-22. ComicsAlliance.
  9. Web site: Spike Trotman: from slice-of-life to smut, a comic book artist doing it her own way. Dean. Michelle. 2015-11-13. the Guardian. en. 2018-11-16.
  10. Web site: One-Woman Publisher C. Spike Trotman Gives Voice To Underrepresented Characters In Comics . 2022-03-12 . Spreaker . en.
  11. Web site: Jackson . Cheryl V. . Iron Circus Comics brings diversity to the comic book market . 2022-03-12 . chicagotribune.com. April 5, 2018 .
  12. Web site: Alverson . Brigid . Trotman's Iron Circus Celebrates 'Strange and Amazing' Comics . 2022-03-12 . PublishersWeekly.com . en.
  13. Hudson . Laura . It's Time to Get Real About Racial Diversity in Comics . en-US . Wired . 2022-03-12 . 1059-1028.
  14. Book: Encyclopedia of black comics. Howard . Sheena C.. Gates, Jr. . Henry Louis . Priest . Christopher J. . 978-1682751015. Golden, CO. 974683696. 2017.
  15. Web site: Diana Nock is creating comics . 2019-03-19 . Patreon . en.
  16. News: Books That Feel Real: Spike Trotman On 'Poorcraft 2′ And Building An Indie Comics Empire. Asselin. Janelle. 12 December 2014. 27 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208204133/http://comicsalliance.com/spike-trotman-indie-comics-interview-poorcraft/. 8 December 2015. dead. ComicsAlliance.
  17. Web site: Ho . Soleil . 2022-02-28 . This unique graphic novel is the ultimate guide to frugal eating . 2022-03-12 . San Francisco Chronicle . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2022-02-08 . "The Poorcraft Cookbook" Serves up Some Fun, Hearty, Budget-Friendly Recipes . 2022-03-12 . The Mary Sue . en.
  19. Web site: Reid . Calvin . Spike Trotman Steps Away from Kickstarter for Her Next Crowdfunder . 2022-03-12 . PublishersWeekly.com . en.
  20. News: Jackson . Cheryl V. . Iron Circus Comics brings diversity to the comic book market . en-US . RedEye Chicago . 2018-11-16.
  21. Web site: 2022-02-21 . Interview: The Poorcraft Cookbook and C. Spike Trotman's Poetic Crowdfunding Evolution . 2022-03-12 . WWAC . en-US.
  22. Web site: Johnston . Rich . 2022-02-10 . Spike Trotman Drops Kickstarter For Iron Circus Comics . 2022-03-12 . Bleeding Cool. en.
  23. Web site: Jesse . Schedeen . 2022-02-08 . The Poorcraft Cookbook: How Iron Circus Comics Is Breaking New Crowdfunding Ground . 2022-03-12 . IGN Middle East . en-ae.
  24. Web site: Jay . Peters . 2021-12-08 . Kickstarter says it's switching to crowdfunding via the blockchain . 2023-05-17 . The Verge . en.
  25. . Two volumes have been published to date.Web site: Smut Peddler 2014: Submissions are now open!. Iron Circus Comics. 27 November 2015. July 6, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150706184153/http://ironcircus.com/smut_peddler_2014/. dead.
  26. News: C. Spike Trotman. 2014-05-30. Comic-Con International: San Diego. 2018-11-15. en.
  27. Web site: Cox . Erin . Catching Up with C. Spike Trotman . 2022-03-12 . PublishersWeekly.com . en.
  28. Web site: PW Star Watch 2015 Honorees . 2022-03-12 . PublishersWeekly.com . en.
  29. Web site: Introducing the Kickstarter Thought Leaders . The Kickstarter Blog . 2020-05-27.
  30. Web site: Your 2007 Glyph Award Winners . . 2007-05-21 . 2020-05-27.
  31. News: Spike Trotman on the business of comics. 9 April 2016. 17 May 2020. SPX. January 21, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220121071827/https://www.smallpressexpo.com/spx-2016-ignatz-nominees. dead.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Spike Trotman".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.