UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)

9 thoughts on “558 – Cotton Clad Calamity”

  1. Raznaak

    Yup, he’s a bastard XD

  2. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Are those pajamas available in XXXL in the gift shop?

  3. Otaku

    It’s been a while, so let me ask: Did we get a reason for him to WANT Susie dead? Not to backseat, but if we didn’t, I’m worried were about to move into “Stupid Evil” territory. Now, stupid happens, don’t get me wrong. It’s not bad storytelling for that to be the case here.

    You’ve just done a good job NOT having that be a driving factor, so the “Kill off the stars of my successful reality TV show.” seems shortsighted, otherwise. Oh, I guess I could be mistaken about the in-story reality TV show’s success. Like, if the company behind them is losing money, or they think a change in management at the ranch would make the whole thing more popular/profitable, then I can see the above scenario happening as well.

    I REALLY think I’m just forgetting something important, but that I don’t have time to deep dive to remind me of, hence the comment. >_<

    1. Deoxy

      It certainly has been stretched out over quite a while, but there have definitely been hints from quite near the beginning that whoever is running the reality TV show definitely wants her dead.

      But I certainly don’t recall any reason why.

      1. Clint

        Yeah it’s fair to not remember since it’s been a hot minute (many, many minutes) but if you feel like a refresher the most relevant bits would be the beginning of Episode 8 and the end of Episode 15. We haven’t explicitly spelled out exactly what The Exec means by his “side hustle” or who was on the other end of that phone call, though.

        I’m hoping that when the whole thing is eventually available it will make sense, or at least enough sense to have hung this narrative on.

        1. Otaku

          Thanks for the replies, Deoxy and Clint. Yeah, I’d totally forgotten about those things. Good to know!

  4. Evervigilant

    Seems about time for the two people who aren’t there to make a surprise entrance as the ace Susie didn’t even know she had.

  5. Scarsdale

    There’s still 3-5 people on her side that might be planning something. This guy is a megalomaniac with a god complex, so letting him think he’s the sharpest tool in the shed sets him up for a fall. Everything depends on those cameras, and I suspect their little stop over by the charging coffins had something to do with her actual plan, not the one the a-hole thinks it is.

  6. lyra

    Really enjoyed the opening of Zombie Ranch. I like the combination of the western setting with the zombie concept, it gives the story a really distinctive atmosphere. I’m a freelance illustrator and animator, and I’d be interested in seeing how some of these scenes could translate into motion, especially as a short animated teaser or character scene.

    If you’re ever interested in something like that, you can reach me here:

    IG: eve_verse_
    Email: [contact.lilaclines@gmail.com](mailto:contact.lilaclines@gmail.com)
    Discord: Lyralilac_

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558 – Cotton Clad Calamity
Posted on August 26, 2026 by Dawn

What would you call this? Armchair assassination? Merk-from-home?

Well, Suzie ain't dead (or undead) quite yet, so we'll just have to see if his gloating is justifiable.

Death of the Hero

Posted on March 4, 2020 by Clint

There’s a trope I’ve discussed before called Death of the Author. It’s not about the literal passing of a given scribe, but rather the idea that their work is something that exists independently of their personal intents, politics, etc.

So for example, not everything Orson Scott Card wrote has to be viewed through the lens of Mormonism (or worse). It’s also a useful philosophy for reconciling, say, still being able to laugh at old Bill Cosby or Jeffrey Jones performances despite revelations about their personal behavior that weren’t so funny.

These thoughts came back to me the other day as Dawn and I were using our Disney+ subscription to watch some of the classic black-and-white Zorro show from the 1950’s. Come on, sing it with me: “Out of the niiiiight, when the full moon is bri-i-iiiight…”

No? Ahem. Well, anyhow, here’s a show set in 1820s Los Angeles under Mexican rule, where every character is meant to be Hispanic, and the cast list features such Latino luminaries as Guy Williams, Gene Sheldon, Henry Calvin, Britt Lomond…

Now part of this is due to the (in)famous nature of old Hollywood where if you wanted a career of note you got yourself a good ol’ American stage name. Guy Williams was born Armand Joseph Catalano, raised by his Italian immigrant parents in New York City, so I suppose the argument is there that he’s at least Latino-adjacent. Does it matter when he’s such a dashing Don Diego de la Vega, aka Zorro?

These are questions we ask nowadays, and it’s in large part because the history of Hollywood is–not to mince words–pretty god dang racist in terms of who was allowed to be on the silver screen. Zorro is chock full of white folks. But Dawn (who, recall, grew up a Sanchez) watched the Zorro show in syndicated re-runs as a kid and loved seeing the adventures of all these Mexicans and Spaniards on her television. Valorous, villainous, beautiful, hideous, and everywhere in between… that plurality I still feel is so important to in-depth representation.

And now here she is grown up watching again, aware that almost exactly zero of the people she’s watching are actually of Hispanic descent (shout out to Sacramento-born Elvera Corona for the recurring character of dancer Pilar Fuentes… oh, she wasn’t credited in the original airings? Well, uh, she has speaking lines, at least). But it’s still a fun show, and not really an offensive show (especially for its time), and young Dawn had no idea and even less care that the Mexican flashing that gallant smile as he fought for justice was in reality some Italian guy out of New York who wasn’t even allowed to go by his Italian name.

King T’Challa (better known as Marvel’s Black Panther) was created by white New Yorker Jewish dudes. Ripley, Buffy, Xena… all creations of white men. Does that take away from their myth and inspiration? It doesn’t seem so. The Hero is greater than the creator, greater than the circumstance, and inspires regardless of intents and purposes.

The Hero is dead. Long live the Hero.