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.

Black Panther: case study of a good villain

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Clint

So you might have heard of an obscure little indie film called Black Panther that opened this past week, and by indie I mean Marvel Studios/Disney and by obscure I mean a wide release that shattered all expectations to become a opening weekend phenomenon that joins the likes of the Star Wars and Jurassic Park franchises, to say nothing of the superhero genre of which only the mighty Avengers did better.

There are many thinkpieces on why this is, such as it benefiting from the Marvel Studios branding, but although that branding has been shown potent enough to get movies like Ant-Man and Doctor Strange into profitable territory, Black Panther’s opening weekend combined with positive reviews and good word-of-mouth seems to me like it’s no longer out of the question that it could break a billion dollars worldwide by the time its run ends.

It’s no question a cultural phenomenon. But having seen it I will declare it’s also a well put together film with a strong script and strong performances nearly across the board, and that includes one key aspect: the villain.

Or antagonist, if you prefer. I’ve written before about how some of the most compelling villains are the ones who from their perspective are the heroes of the story. Without delving far into spoiler territory, I think it’s safe for me to state that Killmonger–the main antagonist of Black Panther–fits this bill. That’s right, Ryan Coogler took a Marvel Comics character with the name Killmonger and made him not only not a laughingstock but arguably one of the best foils to ever grace the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I mean, much love to James Gunn but he basically just turned Taserface into a joke. I can’t really blame Gunn for that I suppose, but Coogler decided to step up to the challenge instead.

Mind you, conventional wisdom holds that the quality of the antagonists is one of the greatest ongoing weaknesses of the MCU franchise so one might accuse me of damning with faint praise, but I’m really not. Killmonger is so convinced of the rightness of his cause he just might carry you along with him at times, and perhaps most striking of all, his actions cause the hero himself to re-evaluate how he looks at the world. That’s pretty amazing and something I can’t really say I achieved with Muriel even though I might have gotten the “righteous cause” bit down.

So again, can’t really say any more without stepping into spoiler territory, but if you go see Black Panther (or are planning to see it again) it’s worth keeping an eye on Killmonger and thinking about what makes him tick, because you could certainly do a lot worse as a template for your own baddies.