Lackadaisy

Lackadaisy (also known as Lackadaisy Cats) is a webcomic created by American artist Tracy J. Butler. Set in a Prohibition-era St. Louis with a population of anthropomorphic cats,[1] the plot chronicles the fortunes of the Lackadaisy speakeasy after its founder is murdered. The comic mixes elements of comedy, crime and mystery. It won multiple Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards in 2007 and 2008,[2] and in April 2011 was nominated for the Eisner Award for "Best Digital Comic".[3][4]

This article is about the webcomic. For the animated short film adaptation, see Lackadaisy (film).
Lackadaisy
Author(s)Tracy J. Butler
Websitehttps://lackadaisycats.com
Current status/scheduleUnknown
Launch dateJuly 19, 2006
Alternate name(s)Lackadaisy Cats
Genre(s)Comedy
Crime
Heist
Mystery
Thriller

The style of the comic is highly detailed, with elegantly attired[5] cartoon characters that resemble styles from animated films of Walt Disney and Don Bluth.[6][7] The earlier strips are sepia-toned, resembling aged photographs of the 1920s era, while more recent pages can be seen fully colored, often in shades of deep blue. Launched by Butler in July 2006, the comic updates on an irregular basis, with the most recent update published in 2020.[8]

Setting

When prohibition grips the United States in 1920, Atlas May sets his eatery, the Little Daisy Café, as the front for a successful speakeasy called the Lackadaisy. Situated at the mouth of a network of limestone caves, the speakeasy can only be accessed from the Café by those showing a pin in the shape of a Clubs card suit.[9][10] With easy access to illegal alcohol and a steady clientele, business burgeons, and the Lackadaisy becomes a premier establishment.[11][12]

In 1926, however, Atlas is mysteriously killed, and management of the Little Daisy and the Lackadaisy falls to his widow Mitzi. Patronage at the Lackadaisy gradually falls off, bringing it to the brink of collapse, with only a handful of its original crew remaining and doing their best to keep the business alive.[13][14] There is a band that plays at the club, and one of the members is a rumrunner, which brings the characters into conflict with others who distill their own whiskey and moonshine.[15]

Characters

Lackadaisy features a wide cast of characters, most of which being workers for either Lackadaisy or Marigold, two rivaling alcohol smuggling rings.

The protagonists are Roark "Rocky" Rickaby, a sporadic and cunning violinist who works for Lackadaisy as a bootlegger, Calvin "Freckle" McMurray, a nervous and awkward, yet secretly violent young man and Rocky’s cousin, Mitzi May, Atlas’ widow who is currently in charge of the Lackadaisy speakeasy, and Ivy Pepper, an energetic, cheerful worker at the Little Daisy Cafè who later on develops a romantic relationship with Freckle. The antagonists consist of Mordecai Heller (Previously known as Elijah Metzger), a cold and curt trigger-man for Marigold, as well as Serafine Savoy and Nicodème "Nico" Savoy, two siblings from New Orleans who work with Mordecai and speak in a mix of Cajun, Creole and French. [16]

Viktor Vasko, Asa Sweet, Atlas May, Dorian "Zib" Zibowski, Sedgewick "Wick" Sable and Nina McMurray are also notable characters.[16]

Production

Butler creates the comic by pencil sketching original images, then scanning and adjusting them with software such as Photoshop, where the panels are then assembled. Lighting is then added in grey tones, sharpening where needed, and dialogue and sound effects are added in a separate layer. The sepia tones are added in the final pass.[7] Some of the feline characters are based on Butler's own pets, Ivy and Calvin.[17]

Artist biography
Tracy Butler, 2008

American cartoonist Tracy J. Butler was born in 1980 in Springfield, Massachusetts. In high school, she would doodle and create characters while sitting in class.[18][19] She studied biology for a year at Our Lady of the Elms College in Massachusetts, before returning to her art. She created a website with some of her work, which led to a job offer from Simutronics, a Missouri game development company. Butler performed illustration and graphic design work before moving into 3D character design and animation. After living in St. Louis for some time, she purchased a 100-year-old house, and began researching its history, as well as that of the local neighborhood, and ultimately the history of St. Louis itself. Combined with her interest in jazz music, and the characters she had designed in school (loosely based on her own pet cats), this led to her creating Lackadaisy in July 2006. An Italian print version was released in 2008, and an English version in 2009.[7]

Awards

In 2007, Lackadaisy won every award for which it was nominated in the Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards, including "Outstanding Newcomer" and "Outstanding Artist". In 2008, Lackadaisy won five Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards, including "Outstanding Artist", "Black and White Art", and "Website Design".[2]

In 2009, the art of Lackadaisy was used on the cover of the Turkish magazine Photoshop.[20] In 2011, Lackadaisy was nominated for an Eisner Award in the category of "Best Digital Comic", but lost to The Abominable Charles Christopher by Karl Kerschl.[3][21][22][23]

Collected editions

In 2008, the first hardcopy volume for the Lackadaisy comic was released in Italy by ReNoir Comics, ISBN 88-95261-35-6.[24][25][26][27] An English version was released in 2009, ISBN 0-9819599-1-1, published by 4th Dimension Entertainment.[28] In a 2011 interview in Draw! magazine, Butler revealed that Volume 2 is in the works, and plans are being made for an iPhone version of the comic as well.[7]

Legacy

The art style of Lackadaisy has been cited as an influence on other webcomics, such as Zebra Girl by Joe England,[29] and received a mention in the Girl Genius webcomic by Phil Foglio.[30]

Short film adaptation
Main article: Lackadaisy (film)

In March 2020, it was announced that Iron Circus Comics was planning the production of an animated short film based on the webcomic, set to be directed by animator Fable Siegel. The project was crowdfunded through a Kickstarter campaign.[31] The 27-minute short film was released on March 29, 2023, on YouTube.[32]

References
  1. Keave, Vincent (September 2, 2008). "The Perspectives of Tracy J. Butler". The Escapist. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  2. "2008 Winners List". Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards. March 8, 2008. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  3. "The 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees". Comic-Con. April 2011. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  4. "2011 Eisner Award Nominations Announced". MTV. April 8, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  5. Cornog, Martha (March 24, 2010). "27 graphic novels for Women's History Month". Library Journal. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  6. "Interview: The brains behind Lackadaisy". No. 186. .Net magazine. March 2, 2009. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  7. Manley, Mike (Spring 2011). "Cats, Gats, and all that Jazz: an interview with Tracy Butler". Draw!. Vol. 1, no. 20. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 27–41.
  8. Butler, Tracy J. "Lackadaisy Archive". LackadaisyCats.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  9. Byram, Kaylee (June 7, 2010). "Webcomics you should be reading: Lackadaisy". ComicMix. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  10. "Lackadaisy: Smart and Beautiful!". The Pullbox. January 21, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  11. Redazione Comicus (March 23, 2009). "Renoir Comics: Essential Reading" (in Italian). Comicus. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  12. Gil, Jo (January 14, 2008). "Comics Kitten Speaks Easy: Tracy J. Butler". Sequential Tart. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  13. El Santo (October 18, 2007). "#16: Lackadaisy". The Webcomic Overlook. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  14. Cruz, Larry (May 30, 2008). "Lackadaisy, review by Larry Cruz". Comic Fencing. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  15. Levitt, Aimee (June 9–15, 2011). "Comic Genius". Riverfront Times. Vol. 35, no. 23. p. 6.
  16. "Lackadaisy". Lackadaisy. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  17. Kerman, Byron (August 2011). "Web Comic Lackadaisy Brings Feline Funnies". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  18. Butler, Tracy. "Tracy Butler, the Artist". foxprints.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  19. Yevstratov, Alexei (November 3, 2007). "Comics Tracy J Butler" (in Russian). webartnews.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  20. "Lackadaisy art on the cover of the Turkish Photoshop magazine". Photoshop Magazin. August 2009. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  21. El Santo (June 7, 2011). "The Webcomic Overlook 2011 Eisner round-up". Webcomic Overlook. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  22. Geddes, John (April 8, 2011). "'Dapper Men' leads 2011 Eisner nominees". USA Today. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  23. Levitt, Aimee (June 2, 2011). "Tracy Butler: St. Charles Artist Nominated for Comics' Highest Honor". Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  24. Butler, Tracy (March 21, 2008). "Lackadaisy Paperback". Lackadaisy. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
  25. Antonini, Maria Chiara (March 2008). "Fumetti". Top Girl (in Italian). p. 62. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  26. "Tracy Butler: Lackadaisy" (in Italian). Comicus. March 23, 2009. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  27. "Per chi e'interessato al Web Comics: "Lackadaisy" di T.J. Butler" (in Italian). Booksweb.tv. 2008. Archived from the original (video) on September 11, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  28. "4th Dimension Entertainment". Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  29. England, Joe (April 8, 2007). "Joe England news". keenspot.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  30. Foglio, Phil (March 21, 2007). "Girl Genius Online Comics". Girl Genius. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  31. McMillan, Graeme (March 16, 2020). "Iron Circus Comics Moves Into Animation With 'Lackadaisy'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  32. Alexa, Lauren (April 3, 2023). "Watch: Fan Favorite Webcomic 'Lackadaisy' is Now an Animated Short". Animation World Network. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
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