LACKADAISY Volume 2

Amazing, gorgeous animation-style art. The second collected edition of the cult classic Eisner Award-nominated webcomic continues the story of the titular Saint Louis, Missouri speakeasy. Gunplay, intrigue, and chaos are the name of the game, as the anthropomorphic cats of Lackadaisy struggle to keep it going under fire. It's 1927 and Prohibition is in full effect in St. Louis, Missouri. Organized crime has risen to meet the relentless demand for illicit alcohol. Bootleggers, gangsters, and might-makes-right dominate the city's underworld, fueled by the patrons of speakeasies like Lackadaisy, run by the unstoppable force of widowed Mitzi May. Or at least, she seemed unstoppable until now. After a violent raid from a rival operation left bullet holes all over Lackadaisy -- and inside Mitzi's trusted confidante Viktor -- the situation is getting desperate in the glamorous pleasure palace hidden under the unassuming Little Daisy Cafe. As her charms fail to secure new business partners and the faith of her posse waivers, ambitious external forces press ever closer in. The gang struggles to secure booze, suss out new connections, and recover from recent traumas, all while the walls keep closing in. This won multiple Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards in 2007 and 2008, and in April 2011 it was nominated for the Eisner Award for "Best Digital Comic". The style of the comic is highly detailed, with elegantly attired cartoon characters that resemble styles from animated films of Walt Disney and Don Bluth. 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. A short film adaptation of the same name was released on YouTube on March 29, 2023. After a second campaign with an original goal of $125,000 raised over $2 million, Iron Circus Animation announced they would also produce a five-episode season! 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. She studied biology for a year at 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. "A rollicking mix of gunplay, quips, and romance." — Publishers Weekly "Beautifully captures the visual style of the Jazz Age." — Booklist