Wapsi Square
Encyclopedia
Wapsi Square is a slice of life/fantasy webcomic set in modern Minneapolis, "a world almost exactly like the one you want to believe you live in." It also includes multiple supernatural elements, including a psychic
and a god
, which contrasts with its soap opera nature. The name derives from the Wapsipinicon River
.
The story starts following the mundane life of main character Monica and focuses prominently on her interactions with her friends. She works as an anthropologist dealing with artifacts for museum and the strips are mostly of the gag-a-day form. This changes, however, with the introduction of the character Tepoztecal, an Aztec deity, which marks the beginning of a change in tone, including longer story arcs involving mythological creatures, forgotten civilisations, gods and the end of the world.
Paul Taylor, the author and artist, is a founding member of the Blank Label Comics
collective.
Wapsi Square has also been collected in paperback format by author and publisher Paul Taylor as follows.
Notable characters not appearing recently include Daren the bartender and Owen's girlfriend Lakshmi; presumably they will return if the story cycles around to them again.
. It was nominated for both Outstanding Black & White Art and Outstanding Character Art in 2005
and again in 2006
, but did not win.
The character Monica Villarreal from Wapsi Square was nominated for and went on to win the 2009 Lulu Award for Best Female Character.
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
and a god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, which contrasts with its soap opera nature. The name derives from the Wapsipinicon River
Wapsipinicon River
The Wapsipinicon River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in northeastern Iowa in the United States. It drains a rural farming region of rolling hills and bluffs north of Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. The initial vowel rhymes with "pop".It rises in Mower County, Minnesota...
.
The story starts following the mundane life of main character Monica and focuses prominently on her interactions with her friends. She works as an anthropologist dealing with artifacts for museum and the strips are mostly of the gag-a-day form. This changes, however, with the introduction of the character Tepoztecal, an Aztec deity, which marks the beginning of a change in tone, including longer story arcs involving mythological creatures, forgotten civilisations, gods and the end of the world.
Paul Taylor, the author and artist, is a founding member of the Blank Label Comics
Blank Label Comics
Blank Label Comics is a collective of web comics whose creators have banded together for mutual assistance and promotion. The Blank Label Comics website officially went online on May 23, 2005.All of the comics had previously been hosted on Keenspot...
collective.
Web
Wapsi Square has been published on the web since September 9, 2001. The entire archive remains on the website and is publicly accessible.Wapsi Square has also been collected in paperback format by author and publisher Paul Taylor as follows.
Graphic novels
- Wapsi Square 2001-2004
- Wapsi Square: the Timekeeper's Daughter
- Wapsi Square: the Demons in My Back Pocket, foreword and afterword by Lea Hernandez and a special note from Jess Hickman (2007)
Characters
As a long running webcomic, Wapsi Square has accumulated a large cast of characters; new characters appear occasionally, some who got much attention earlier have not appeared recently, and many supporting characters remain in minor roles.- Monica Villarreal, the protagonist; a short (4'10") large-chested anthropologist employed at a local museum, she's the focus for many events of the comic. She's one of the few people who speaks the ancient language used in golem construction. Monica won the 2009 Lulu Award for Best Female Character.
- Shelly Wahnee, Monica's long-time friend and an amateur bodybuilder, employed as a mechanic at her father's garage. As the youngest of eight kids and the only girl, she sometimes needs to consciously cultivate her girly side. She plays bass in the local band Fermented Banana. Shelly recently experienced major and unsettling changes in her life, revealing a hitherto-unsuspected mystical component of her background.
- Katherine Gilchrist, Monica's co-worker at the museum, a spooky woman with under-developed social skills.
- TepoztecalTepoztecatlIn Aztec mythology, Tepoztecatl was the god of pulque, of drunkenness and fertility. The deity was also known by his calendrical name, Ometochtli...
, the Aztec god of pulquePulquePulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
and by extension all alcoholic beverages, currently living with Monica. He is also a prototype golemGolemIn Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
from the Chimera project, created by Mayahuel. - Dietzel, Monica's dog; he's unusually intelligent and capable, for no reason yet revealed.
- Jin (Tochtli), one third of the Chimera, an ancient weapon of mass destruction; her part is the serpent. She is an enigma in many ways even to those who've known her for centuries. For technical reasons Jin was the only incarnate person to retain her memories through the Calendar Machine reset.
- Brandi (Brandilyn Oduya), one third of the Chimera, the lioness. An all-around level headed person, she sometimes takes a motherly role with the other girls.
- Bud (Acacia Budur), one third of the Chimera, the goat. The most enthusiastic of the three and most likely to do things on a whim. She has an extradimensional space within her.
- Tina Guzman, a local baristaBaristaA barista is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.- Application of the title :...
. While arguably an undead demon-possessed monster, she serves good coffee and gives disturbingly accurate advice to friends and customers. - Phix, immortal sphinxSphinxA sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
and keeper of a very special library. - Alan, Jin's boyfriend.
- Mayahuel, Jin's mother, returned to the mundane world for the first time time in millennia. She met Monica as a child, in the guise of Monica's (deceased) great-grandmother, which led to other events.
- Jacqui Bontemps, a friend of Monica and Shelly who runs a yoga studio; she's also a member of Fermented Banana.
- Amanda Ehrlich, professional photographer and Monica's friend.
- Owen, childhood friend to Shelly and fellow member of Fermented Banana.
Notable characters not appearing recently include Daren the bartender and Owen's girlfriend Lakshmi; presumably they will return if the story cycles around to them again.
Awards
Waspi Square won the Outstanding Character (Visual) category in the 2004 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards2004 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards
The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards is an award voted on by web cartoonists. Because of planning problems, there was no online ceremony in 2004.-Outstanding Comic:* Count Your Sheep — by Adrian Ramos...
. It was nominated for both Outstanding Black & White Art and Outstanding Character Art in 2005
2005 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards
- Outstanding Comic:* Scary Go Round by John Allison * Copper by Kazu Kibuishi* Ctrl+Alt+Del by Tim Buckley* Questionable Content by Jeph Jacques- Outstanding Newcomer:* Beaver & Steve by James Turner...
and again in 2006
2006 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards
The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards is an award voted on by web cartoonists. The results of the 2006 WCCA were announced on 17 July 2006. The ceremony was introduced by the characters of Kristofer Straub....
, but did not win.
The character Monica Villarreal from Wapsi Square was nominated for and went on to win the 2009 Lulu Award for Best Female Character.