Hello, everyone! We're Iron Circus Animation!

Born into the pandemic chaos of 2020, we're a scrappy li'l studio in the American Midwest, an ambitious new arm of the celebrated and award-winning Iron Circus Comics! We were built from the ground up by founders Tracy Butler, Fable Siegel, and  C. Spike Trotman to animate Lackadaisy, the 27-minute pilot based on Tracy's Eisner-nominated webcomic of the same name. And our mission? To extend the Iron Circus Comics philosophy to animation, and showcase the Strange and Amazing. 

Our work is off the beaten path, one-of-a-kind, and one thousand percent worth the trip! We hope you'll come along!

Hidden under the unassuming Little Daisy Cafe and run by the widowed and strong-willed Mitzi May, Lackadaisy still holds its own in the rough-and-ready world of bootleggin' bandits... but for how much longer? Will tenacity, class, and a little bit of crazy be enough to ensure the survival of Mitzi and her gang? 

Calamity after calamity has worn down the once-popular establishment. Now, jazz band riffraff, a sassy flapper, a tommygun savant, and a beleaguered veteran of The Great War are all that remain to keep Lackadaisy from shuttering... paired, of course, with some halfway-decent booze.

You'll have to pry Mitzi's hole-in-the-wall haven from her cold, dead hands.

And unfortunately, her rum-running rivals are happy to take their shot.
 

A cult classic with over a decade online, Lackadaisy has been a webcomic since 2006, earning a Eisner Award nomination in 2009. In 2020, Iron Circus Comics stepped in to print Lackadaisy Essentials — an art-and-lore volume highlighting the scenes and characters of the Lackadaisy universe — and couple it with the ridiculously ambitious proposal of a Lackadaisy short film.

In April of 2023, that film finally dropped.   

The Lackadaisy film has since racked up over 9.7 million views and drawn half a million new subscribers to the Lackadaisy YouTube channel. It's a bigger and better response to our years of hard work than we even dared to dream of!

And now, we wanna do more.

Animation is expensive, and far too often, treated with disdain by its own platforms. Traditionally, the only studios that can afford to produce entire animated series have been tied in some way to large corporations; large corporations that finance productions in return for control and copyright. And those large corporations don't always have a series' best interests at heart.

We don't want that for Lackadaisy. We want to retain ownership, direction, and oversight, and that's usually a dealbreaker for corporate financing. We want to make more of what millions of viewers have already come to love about our animation. And beyond that? We feel we've come to the fore at a potentially critical moment for the future of independent animation.

We have a chance to help establish the new normal. We don't just want to do this, we want to prove it can be done. And to do that, we're going to need your help.

Bad news: animation is expensive.

Good news: we know exactly HOW expensive!

Producing the Lackadaisy Animated Pilot was an incredible learning experience, and with your support, we can apply everything we've learned to new episodes of Lackadaisy. Fable Siegel, our director, has broken down our animation budget for you here.

We're incredibly eager to get going with more animation, and we're more confident than ever we can get it done!

And this is the part where YOU come in.

If you want more animated Lackdaisy, supporting this BackerKit is the most direct way to make sure that happens! Independent funding like this is the best way to guarantee we have the freedom to create this series on our own terms, and see it through to its true conclusion.

The first Lackadaisy film was funded with an art book, Lackadaisy Essentials. Our next venture beneath the Little Daisy Cafe will be led by a triumphant return-to-print for the Lackadaisy comic itself, and a first-time-ever issue of Lackadaisy plushes! We're also introducing not one, but TWO all-new, extra-large enamel pin sets.

Intrigued? Want more details? Check out all our backer levels below!
 

 

Want to support Lackadaisy, but don't need any rewards?  Then don't forget to Tip Your Bartender! This backer level is for fans of the project who want more animation, but no goodies, like books or plushes.

Tip a dollar! Tip ten dollars! Every little bit helps!

$25 gets you a hardcover edition of Volume 1 of the Lackadaisy webcomic! Both volumes of Lackadaisy are lush, 11.25" x 10.25" hardcovers with stylish dust jackets and gold embellishments. Volume 1 is 100 pages in length, and contains extras like color illustrations, tutorials, and notations.

$35 gets you a hardcover edition of Volume 2 of the Lackadaisy webcomic! Both volumes of Lackadaisy are lush, 11.25" x 10.25" hardcovers with stylish dust jackets. Volume 2 is 178 pages in length, and contains extras like color illustrations, tutorials, and notations.

For $45, you can pick up all three PDF versions of the Lackadaisy books! This includes Volume 1, Volume 2, and the Lackadaisy Essentials book, featuring art, lore, drawing tutorials, mini-comics, and other extras. The rewards for this tier are digital only.

$50 scores you a plush of Rocky Rickaby, one of the poetic and irreverent stars of Lackadaisy! Our Lackadaisy plushes measure 10 inches (25.5 cm) from their plopped-down kitty-cat bottoms to the tips of their ears; He's detailed with embroidered and applique features, and plastic buttons, and wearing a polyester suit. His embroidered tie is also 100% polyester. Rocky is a high-end, top-shelf kind of cat!

We have NO IDEA how many of these we'll wind up making, so grab him while you can!

$50 can also get you a plush of Mordecai Heller, no-nonsense antagonist and fan favorite of Lackadaisy! Our Lackadaisy plushes measure 10 inches (25.5 cm) from their plopped-down kitty-cat bottoms to the tips of their ears; He's detailed with embroidered, dyed, and applique features, along with plastic buttons and real metal spectacles and watchchain. Mordecai comes wearing a polyester suit, waistcoat, tie, and intensely disapproving expression.

We have NO IDEA how many of these we'll wind up making, so grab him while you can!

A $60 pledge secures you Volumes 1 and 2 of Lackadaisy in print! 278 total pages of Eisner Award-nominated comics, available in gorgeous, high-quality hardcovers with gold embellmishments and dust jackets.

For $100, you land not just Volumes 1 and 2 of Lackadaisy, but Lackadaisy Essentials, the ideal companion to the series! Consisting of over 140 pages of developmental art, creator insight, and ridiculously lush illustration, It's the perfect plus-one for any Lackadaisy fan.
 

Why make yourself choose? Slap down $100 and get both the Rocky AND Mordecai plushes! Because really, what are the boys without one another... other than significantly more likely to survive the day?

We've sold Lackadaisy enamel pins before, but NEVER anything like this! This SUPER-BIG set of 8 individual pins feature Freckle, Ivy, Rocky, Mordecai, Serafine, and Nicodeme, plus one gator-n-coffin accoutrement apiece! Check out the to-scale mock-ups below!

(Note: the measurements are an approximation. We are estimating the pins to be ~3-3.5 inches tall, hard enamel, with gold plating. Right-click and open the below image in a new tab for a closer view!)

 

Almost everything! For $360, you can have the Lackadaisy Volume 1 and 2 new edition hardcover books, the Rocky and Mordecai plushes, and the jumbo pin sets. Perfect for folks who already own Lackadaisy Essentials from backing our first campaign!

THE WHOLE STACK OF PANCAKES!! The $400 backer level features all THREE Lackadaisy books, both the Rocky and Mordecai plushes, and both jumbo pin sets! Dang near everything we've got on offer for the hardcore fan!

For $1,200, backers get not just everything from the $400 tier, but also a pencil portrait of a Lackadaisy-style character of your own choosing, drawn by Lackadaisy creator Tracy Butler herself! The portrait will be executed on 212×182mm, gold-trimmed Shikishi illustration board. Only TEN of these commission slots are available!

Oh sweetie, DAH-ling, angelpuss, have YOUR people call MY people! A $5,000 pledge scores you not only everything from the $1,200 tier, but a spot in the credits of the Lackadaisy series as an Associate Producer! Your name (or a name of your choosing, within reason and pending approval by Tracy) will close out every episode of Lackadaisy funded by this project, just like the creator and crew! Associate Producer Credit spots are limited to ten, so don't delay!

This is it: our ULTIMATE pledge level! For $10,000, in addition to every reward offered at the $5,000 tier, backers will receive a Lacka-sona, designed in cooperation with Tracy Butler and Fable Siegel, that will be featured as a background character in the Lackadaisy animated series! In addition to a non-speaking cameo in at least one episode of Lackadaisy, backers at the $10k level will also get a full, production-style character sheet, featuring a full turnaround and range of expressions. (The creators of the Lackadaisy animated series reserve to right to refuse any request for a design that does not harmonize with the overall aesthetic of the series.)

New to Backerkit? It's easy to support us! Think of BK as Kickstarter, but BETTER. Check it out!

AKA: STRETCH GOALS.

Iron Circus Animation intends to use this crowdfund as a means to bring more Lackadaisy animation into the world.

Hitting goal will finance not just the books and plushies, but an all-new, 10-minute Lackadaisy animated short.

And that's just the beginning! Take a loo—WOAH CRAP WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?!

This is our project goal! If this crowdfund is full funded, we'll be able to produce one, 10-to-12-minute episode of Lackadaisy. 

If we manage to hit $250,000 in funding, we'll bring back the long, LONG out-of-print Lackadaisy card game!

Designed by Think Tank Games, The Lackadaisy card game is a cooperative game that takes 10-15 minutes a round, with a variable map. Each character has a special ability, and each can carry their own items, which also have an ability! Characters will encounter Event cards presenting them with challenges, combat, or the occasional blessing. You win by moving your characters together across the game map in the Ford to pick up and deliver booze back to the speakeasy!

This game originally released to great fanfare many years ago, selling out very quickly, but has since fallen out of print. Let's change that!

If this stretch goal is met, you will be able to add it as an Add-On to your existing pledge. 

Need we say more?

If we hit $300,000, we'll be able to partner with Juniper to bring you more plushes - Freckle and Ivy this time! They'll match Mordecai and Rocky in size and dimension, and display beautifully as a set. We expect them to also be $50 each, and if this stretch goal is met, you will be able to add them as Add-Ons to your existing pledge.

If we hit the incredible amount of $500,000, we'll be able to finance a SECOND episode of Lackadaisy!

$750,000 locks in a three-episode Season One of Lackadaisy!

And this is it! The ultimate pipe dream, pure pie-in-the-sky! If we manage to make a full million dollars, we'll be able to fund a full, FIVE-EPISODE season of Lackdaisy!

At $1.5 million, we'll release three Lackadaisy mini-episodes, on top of the five episodes already funded!

 This is it! Lackdaisy's FINAL stretch goal!

If we reach the UNBELIEVABLE sum of two million dollars, we'll press a run of Lackadaisy Blu-rays, and commission plushes of the entire Lackadaisy primary cast from our partners at Juniper, with their release order decided by a poll of this crowdfund's backers! 

The Blu-ray collection will not only include Lackadaisy Season One, but the mini-episodes, the original Lackadaisy pilot, and a creator commentary track!

The plushes will feature Mitzi, Serafine, Nico, Viktor, Wick, and, of course, Zib. (It's the least we could do for him, after all this.)

Wanna know what you're in for? Check out some of the praise for Lackadaisy!

“Lackadaisy centers around a speakeasy of the same name in St. Louis during the Prohibition era, frequented by the usual bunch of tough guys, crooked cops and femme fatales — except that each and every one is, literally, a cat.”—THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Since launching in 2006, Tracy Butler's Lackadaisy has established itself as one of the internet's premier webcomics. Set in St. Louis, Missouri, during the Prohibition era, Lackadaisy revolves around a group of anthropomorphic cats and the speakeasy from which the book draws its name. Over the years, the book has earned multiple high-profile awards and even snagged an Eisner nomination in 2011.”—CBR

“Butler’s wildly popular funny-animal webcomic—all the characters are cats—is funny, beautifully illustrated, deeply researched, and set in 1920s St. Louis among a group of jazz musicians and bootleggers.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Tracy Butler's beloved 1920s feline adventure will be Iron Circus Studios' first short film, and it looks fabulous…..Iron Circus Comics is bringing the comics to life with a 27-minute, animated short film that, frankly, looks incredible. Seriously, I’ve not trying to oversell this. This could have been made by Don Bluth at his apex.”–io9

“This Movie Had Me at “Prohibition-Era Gangsters, but Cats… The original art is absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth a read.”–THE MARY SUE

Want a peek inside the Lackadaisy collected volumes? look no further than below!

Tracy Butler's Eisner Award-nominated webcomic began life as rich, sepia-toned strip...

...Before shifting into a beautifully moody, colorful, and magnificently-executed period piece.

Intrigued? We sure hope so! 

Lackadaisy is a singular and unparalleled webcomic, and Iron Circus is honored and proud to be able to print it again, in the format it deserves! 

This is Iron Circus Comics' thirty-eighth crowdfunding project. Thirty-four of our previous projects have been fulfilled and completed, and the others are currently in process of being fulfilled by White Squirrel. This ain't our first rodeo!

We're aiming for a, April 2024 fulfillment date for physical rewards. However, due to the current volatility of the global market, we can make no guarantee that rewards will ship by that date. But we'll do our absolute best!

Because of our pre-existing distribution contracts, there is a possibility of seeing these books in stores before receiving your rewards. This is out of our direct control, and we are continuing to work as hard as we can to ensure rewards will be shipped as close to the planned date as possible.

Please take note of the estimated shipping charges listed with the backer level you've selected, and understand shipping charges may change between the project and fulfillment.

During the fulfillment process, BackerKit will calculate any shipping that may be required when you fill out your delivery address. Shipping costs will not be assessed and billed until then! You are only being charged for your pledge amount at this time. We hope this helps to keep the cost of shipping down due to current fluctuations in domestic and international shipping costs.

Iron Circus Comics, BackerKit, and our fulfillment partners are not responsible for any VAT, duty, or customs charges any packages may incur.

BackerKit surveys will be sent once all books involved in this campaign arrive at our fulfillment partner. Our current estimate for shipping is April 2024. Estimates are not guarantees!

Promo video created by Matt Sheridan and Kel McDonald.
Teaser preview created by Fable Siegel, Tracy Butler, and the Lackacrew. 
Comic art by Tracy Butler.
Promo video soundtrack is "Big Band Savage Jazz" by Pantheon Music.

Questions? PLEASE READ THE PROJECT FAQ before contacting us at [email protected]!