Lackadaisy Thunderclap

Thunderclap here:  https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/24841-lackadaisy-unleashed?locale=en

Tracy Butler of Lackadaisy has started a Patreon!

( https://www.patreon.com/lackadaisy )

If you're unfamiliar with the Eisner-nominated Lackadaisy, click this and enjoy one of the finest comics ever committed to paper:

( http://www.lackadaisycats.com/index.php )

This is a momentous occasion to me for a couple reasons.

First, of course, Lackadaisy is among my favorite comics of all time. Tracy's art and wit has been a colossal inspiration, a monument to what a spark and a pencil can bring to the world.

And secondly, I see this as a milestone on the way towards a better future for all of comics.

The past few decades mainstream comics have been, by and large, more of the same.  More capes, more spandex, more reboots.

Now I like Professor X as much as anyone.  It's not bad that this stuff continues- what IS bad is that it has continued to the deliberate exclusion of originality in the marketplace.

Diamond's zero-sum monopoly has a chokehold on distribution, with exclusive back-room hookups for Marvel and DC.  They've done a crackerjack job of intentionally snuffing out independent upstarts- for way too much info, see my old articles: ( http://vividstuff.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html )

The short version is that middle-men got in the way and stayed there- carving out more room for themselves by pushing out readers and creators alike.

But then internet.

The answer to industry stagnation has been the explosion of glimmering gems that is webcomics.  No middlemen or gatekeepers here- anyone can create, and everyone can read.  Heretofore unimagined stories, unthinkable concepts, are coming to life.


But the big missing link for this new market has always been funding.  Creators can create- but only if they can eat.  The best work requires huge commitments of time, and if our finest talents have to spend their time at a Joe Job, then that work doesn't happen.  But how can an artist make a living in a market flooded with free content?

Recent years have revealed an answer.

Crowdfunding.  Kickstarter, Patreon- these sites are permanent game-changers.

They are the comic shops of tomorrow- offering opportunity to every creator, and producing exactly what readers value, with near total freedom.

But that's the thing about freedom, isn't it?  It carries that rider, responsibility.

Now it's on us.

Storytellers galore will be presenting their best- but it's up to you, the reader, to choose the gems that must endure.  If they do- if the finest work rises to the top- it will be a beacon of inspiration for generations of creators to come.

So if there's work out there you love, a unique comic that merits success- the creator can only make the work.  It's up to you to make it succeed.

For me, Lackadaisy is one of those comics.  Tracy has made a bold move, walking away from a gaming industry job to pour her heart into her work.  And I want to live in the kind of world where a creator of her caliber is rewarded for that kind of risk.

So as a reader, I'm pulling out all the stops, and trying out this thing called a 'Thunderclap.'  

Basically it's like tweeting on steroids- people can sign up to participate, and then the message goes out amplified by hundreds of voices.

So if you feel the same way about Lackadaisy that I do, please help out with this Thunderclap- and let's move forward to a future of unfettered creation!

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/24841-lackadaisy-unleashed?locale=en