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.

Previously, in the past…

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Clint

I’ve talked before about trying to help the audience keep their footing in a long-running narrative. This may then be a redundant blog, and so I indulge in a redundant title. Anyhow, TV shows these days will often spend a good 30 seconds or more doing a “Previously…” segment, sometimes extending that into several minutes for a Season Finale or Season Opener. By doing that they’re just continuing a tradition pioneered by radio and print serials before them, including the serial adventure and drama comics of newspapers past of which Zombie Ranch is a spiritual (if not literal) descendant. Sure, there are fans out there whose encyclopedic knowledge of their particular entertainment obsession at times can put even the creator(s) to shame, but for most of the audience these little reminders of what’s been happening are greatly appreciated as a means to remind them of what’s about to happen.

Webcomics, however, don’t tend to do this, and we’re one of them. I’ve discussed before that I figure this is a consequence of easily accessible archives, and in our case coupling that with a “comic blog” under the weekly offering that we often use with links to relevant past events, because when you’ve got over 300 pages in your archive like we do now (whew) even I sometimes have to search a bit. Is it enough? I think it has to be, because dedicating the storytelling real estate every week or even every Episode to a “Previously” segment, despite tradition, seems like the worse option. I’ll do so at the start of one of our print comics (and have!), but not here online.

Still, what that means is I can play a bit — like the beginning of this current episode (#14), where I’m using the technique not so much for reminders as for dramatic effect — theoretically not really wasting the storytelling space. True, it serves the reminder purpose as well, but I figured we’d keep things interesting by mixing it up a bit visually, and of course the end part is a reveal we hadn’t shown before. Cool? Well, time and posterity will be the ultimate judges, but for the moment, I’m liking our little deviation into the past before we get on with the present and future.