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.

Changing horses mid-stream.

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Clint

I feel like I should be reserving this title for one of the story pages, but it applies so perfectly. If you’re not familiar with the idiom, here’s the definition. Basically, it refers to the mess that can be created if you’ve committed to a complicated course of action but then change your mind partway through.

I mean, there’s certainly something to be said for remaining flexible. If the horse you’re on is about to keel over and leave you in the drink, you might as well get wet on your own terms. But where fiction is concerned, well, this kind of example burns my britches:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/westworld-season-2-plot-reddit-storyline-jonathan-nolan-details-news-a7651506.html

The link there is an article about a recent panel held by the creators of the Westworld TV show, which I’ve written about previously and which prides itself on keeping its audience guessing about its many mysteries and twists.

“Reddit has already figured out the third episode twist, so we’re changing that right now…” 

That’s the quote from co-creator Jonathan Nolan regarding the development of Season 2. Now it’s not clear how much of the season has been plotted out at this point, and certainly I myself reserve the right for a creator to make changes they feel are for the better, even up to the eve of debut (though that last is far more doable in a webcomic than a TV production). But I take exception to this idea that because someone on social media happened to guess your plot point, you’re now going to change your course. Or horse, to get back to the idiom.

I’ve had people guess what was going to happen in Zombie Ranch. So what? One person’s obvious telegraph is another’s complete surprise, and if they’re involved enough in discussing what’s going to happen to be making these guesses, should you really be cheating them out of the satisfaction of following the clues you’ve dropped by yanking or altering your planned conclusion?

I feel like this is the ultimate toxic end result of a pop culture that cherishes surprises above all else and finds stories worthless if they are “spoiled.” Now even the writers are falling prey to that mindset.

And we all will most likely just end up a lot wetter and unhappier as a result.