Lackadaisycats (www.lackadaisycats.com) by Tracy J. Butler is a real hoot – the bee’s knees, the cat’s pajamas (literally in some scenes), a zoot suit riot. Can you tell I enjoyed it?

Told through the use of anthropomorphized cats in period clothing, this is the story of Prohibition-era Saint Louis and the battle for control of the city’s underground liquor supply (and through it, control possibly of the city’s populace). At the center of the battle is The Lackadaisy – a speakeasy that is literally underground, in a set of caverns under the city. Founded by the late Atlas May and now run by his widow Mitzi, the Lackadaisy has fallen on hard times, partially due to the diversion of bootleg alcohol to more profitable sources. Mitzi is aided in her struggle to regain customers by zoot-suited bandleader Zib, flapper Ivy, brutish bartender Viktor, and off-the-wall jack of all trades Rocky (and at first unwittingly, Rocky’s innocent want-to-be-cop cousin Freckle). With the Marigold gang (including former Atlas employee Mordecai) arrayed against them and businessman Wick stuck in the middle, Mitzi and her gang have a real fight ahead of them.

The pacing of the story is close to perfect right now: equal parts action, comic relief, and some truly tender moments work together to create a good flow. The large (and seemingly growing) cast allows the story to move in several directions at once, but the creator maintains a cohesiveness that other ensemble dramas often lose as the plot moves along. No such problem here – anything that resembles a subplot dovetails into the main storyline with ease.

The characters themselves are an interesting array. Mitzi is a gold-digger suddenly in charge of a failing empire after her husband is killed; Mordecai is a meticulously efficient, effete, verbose and violent major domo; Wick is a poor sap who loves rocks, women and alcohol, any one of which could be his downfall; Viktor is a one-eyed, hobble-kneed Eastern European hitman with a soft core. The Marigold Gang, aside from Mordecai, are better developed in the character notes than they are in the main series itself, but they’ve been only recently introduced. The real focal point of the story right now seems to be goofy, unpredictable, often unthinking Rocky. He drives most of the chase scenes with his over-the-top attempts to fix his earlier mistakes, provides most of the comic relief and all of the story’s bad poetry. If anything, that’s where the character gets annoying: twice in the series so far full pages are devoted to Rocky’s poetic ramblings in praise of the Mississippi River and his employer Mitzi. Still, watching Rocky is like watching a train wreck about to happen – anyone who will drive a flaming car into a booze still is someone you just can’t take your eyes off. There is also Young Love, once socialite Ivy meets innocent Freckle, who like his cousin is perhaps a few bottles short of a full case.

Finally, there’s the art. Sepia and gray toned, like old photographs. The set pieces and clothing are rendered realistically in amazing detail, while the characters show the full range of emotion and almost make you forget that in effect they are “funny animals.” I couldn’t help, as I read the story straight through, feeling that I was seeing the combination of two of my favorite print-comic artists: the fine linework and detail of Michael Zulli (DC’s Sandman and various other Neil Gaiman adaptations) with the anthropomorphic roundness of Scott Shaw! (DC’s Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew, among others). Every page is wonderful to look at, and repeated viewings reveal more depth to the art. To get an idea of how talented Butler is, check out the “Previews” pages like this one where the cat characters are translated into fully human. This story, which is about as close to “The Untouchables” as a comic can get, would work just as well with human characters as it does with cats.

4.75 stars out of 5 for this one. Go back, start from the beginning. You won’t regret it.Rating:

Lackadaisy
by Tracy J Butler
http://www.lackadaisycats.com/
review by Anthony R Cardno
(No Ratings Yet)

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