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_

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*


 

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.

Writing for your partner(s)

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Clint

“Art should be free from compromise” is a refrain you may occasionally hear.

Sure. And flapping your arms and believing hard enough should be able to get you to fly. I think it is safe to say, though, that in all cases I’ve ever run across it is not the case. Gliding? That’s a compromise, isn’t it?

Even a completely solo effort is going to deal with issues of materials, time and energy, etc. Now add in even one other person and, well… everyone’s done group projects, right? Compromise is everywhere–even with a paycheck involved–and it doesn’t do much good to pretend otherwise. And if Bob hates drawing maps and you assign him to draw the map, even firing Bob is going to leave you with a shitty or non-existent map at the end of the day.

When a paycheck’s not involved, or there’s some money but hardly a living wage, then it becomes even more important to be aware of the strengths and limitations of those involved. The great majority of comics still start at base with a written script, and even if like me you’re lucky enough to have an “in-house” artist who is technically working for free, and we have no corporate overlords or gatekeepers to satisfy, there is still a budget to be considered, and that budget is what Dawn and I are capable of bringing forth in a timely manner. Writing “we open on a town where hundreds of people are going about their business in the Weird New West” is easy for me to do, but unless I happen to be working with Sergio Aragonés it’s probably not going to fly in the art stage, particularly if there’s a short time limit involved. And even if I was working with Sergio Aragonés then I probably shouldn’t tell him “I want this done in a photo-realistic style.” He might do his best to try, consummate professional that he is, but that ain’t how he usually rolls.

There’s a case to be made for stretching limits and tackling challenges, of course, but do your best to find out the strongs and not-so-strongs of your partner(s) and keep them in mind, and while at it keep in mind that life loves getting in the way as well. Art is never free from compromise, but arguably it’s the end result of those compromises that truly makes it art.