Lacakdaisy Cats Re-Review

While I enjoyed How To Make Webcomics I must admit, rereading it at the current time has been uninteresting to me at best and my attentions have been focused towards graphic novels and such frivolities. Thus, you get this instead.

Guilt over dropping a good comic is one of the worst feelings that can assault the faux professional webcomic reviewer. I know, because I am one.

This guilt trip has brought me back to comics being returned to the list in a series I'd call "Back from the Dead List" except the Dead List is dead and Nietszche is god or however that goes. I don't read enough actual literature, but I do it because I love you...errr love comics. Yeah....

Lackadaisy Cats by Tracy J Butler

Booze: fuel of the greedy, drunk and the MacGuffin hunters of the comic Lackadaisy Cats. Set in a much fuzzier version of the United States in the in Prohibition era St. Louis, the comic follows the employees of a speakeasy. The plot of the comic develops naturally on its own with dubious actions, shady (and sepia-toned) characters and well researched dialogue as opposed to it being forced..

Property damage, murder, rumrunning and dirty clothes: sins for characters in this world where the law holds little sway. The story in the comic is still developing but with the way that it is building its characters and background, the world is already a rich one. Characters interact in a real way, the aforementioned MacGuffin works as a great draw and the fact that everything is period appropriate make the writing attractive. Also, there are some bits of pure poetry in the comic that make the comic even more worth reading. The comedy is rather black so be prepared to get your hands and conscience a bit dirty for liking it since good and evil are a mixed bag in the comic.

The art is a jumble of images and panels, a sense of disarray matching the mood of the comic. A seemingly ordered monologue suddenly derailed makes perfect sense. The art itself is very beautiful to look at. the creator is adept, even with basically monochrome sepia-toned art, at convey the characters' emotions and humor. The whole package is just great.. The characters can be slightly confusing though if one does not pay attention. And yes, while are the characters are anthropomorphic cats, the comic avoids the....ugh... furry fetishes by not converting the comic into a furry art fapfest while still allowing the characters to hold a, dare I say it, sexuality.

My one and only complaint about the comic is the schedule of updating once a month with all of the pages. I find that it is a rather cumbersome thing to check for three pages (though they are worth it) for a single comic. This was my reason for originally dropping it and as the last update was late in September, the problem still is prevalent.

I digress though. Finish this review and then immediately check out the comic. The art is great on its own and the site has enough bonus features to merit actual bonus feature pages (I'm looking at you sites with pointless extra pages!). If you don't like the comic, I'd honestly be surprised. If you haven't read it, give it a try, if you did but dropped it, pick it back up.

Grade: A+

Next week:

I probably talk about Sandman and other graphic novels I have been reading.

To The Readers:

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Webcomics Review-a-thon 4: The Quest for Peace

After defeating General Zod and Richard Pryor (RIP) our intrepid review continued his quest to review webcomics to the best of his ability in a ...positive manner. In the past week, I've added on another weeks blog. Hopefully after next week though, I'll do a gaming blog. Otherwise I'd feel like a liar.

Now onto the comics.

Kate Beaton Comics by Kate Beaton
As a former history student, nothing makes me happier than a good comic referencing semi-obscure historical moments. A great comic doing this though makes me incredibly overjoyed at it's updates. The simplistic art style and classic (in many ways) humor make Kate Beaton's Comic-blog thingy a site to check daily. If only it had a title and a regular schedule.... A

Lackadaisy Cats by Tracy J Butler
First impression for most people about this comic would probably be "LOL, Furry, No!" As with many comics, the impression is unfounded and idiotic. Tracy Butler's Prohibition Era Gangster comic is one of the best drawn comics out on the wide, wide market with a story to match. If you love bootlegging, murder and aren't totally against furries, this site is for you. The one complaint is the erratic updates, but you can understand why with the art as amazing as it is. A

LegoRobot by Bob
This is the almost pure contrast to the first two comics reviewed so far, at least art wise. LegoRobot is what would most likely happen if a writer for a sketch comedy show got into his producer's drug stash and then found MS Paint open. The thing is, this comic is like those monkeys and typewriters and Shakespeare except that each comic is pure amazingness. At least until he pulls a Dresden Codak. The comic is NSFW on several levels but totally worth several looks. The art doesn't even matter. Once again though, erratic updates.... A

Looking for Group by Ryan Sohmer and Lars Desouza
Hey, a comic that actually updates on a schedule that it keeps! Wooo! Looking for Group falls somewhere between WoW/D&D and a generic parody. The main characters are all pretty much interchangeable personality-wise except for Richard/Dick the necromancer who essentially keeps the strip from floundering. It's wavered in its strength but as of now, it is currently picking up in quality again. Still, I look forward to the updates on Mondays and Thursdays. Heck, its part of why I get up on Thursday. Still, weak characters and over dependence on one character earns the comic a B+

Menage a 3 by Gaz and Dave Zero 1
The comic from what I've gathered was created from an ad campaign about sexually suggestive ads powered solely by the male horniness factor. My main problem is that the comic was toted as a nerd comic about comics and games and such. So far, there is barely anything at all about that. Except nudity. The art is solid and I can reason that the nerdiness may appear after the beginning is done. Personally, I would hate to see a promising comic like this end up like another PvP "gaming" comic. B

Until next week Koltreg-a-teers when I hope to give a hindsight review on the Lorwyn and Eventide blocks.