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.

Bone Tomahawk

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Clint

bone-tomahawk-poster

I still don’t know whether or not the Western might see another period of resurgence anywhere near the scale of its cinematic dominance from the 1930s through the 1960s — although the sheer length and scope of that dominance is something that should give solace to the purveyors of today’s superheroes against the prognostications of bubbles ready to burst. The Western and superhero genres actually have something in common as well in the sense that I believe both have the capacity to embrace several sub-genres, which possibly explains the longevity since you can change up the overarching trappings in order to tell different kinds of stories. A Western could also be a romance, or a heist, or a thriller…

…or a horror film.

That’s not necessarily some big revelation, particularly if you’re a long time reader of this blog who remembers my mentions of The Missing. Heck, there’s the not insignificant handful of zombie-themed Westerns to be found out there, though most are in the realm of low-budget camp rather than anything truly creepy. The Missing didn’t involve zombies, but was definitely creepy. And now, courtesy of a friend’s review, I can add Bone Tomahawk as another example of a Western that might leave you with some nightmares.

Bone Tomahawk, in fact, features antagonists who might well give the Huachucas nightmares. I highly recommend clicking that review link above if you want to know more, but there’s a stellar cast involved including Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, and a nearly unrecognizable (to me, at least) Matthew Fox. He’s not under a ton of makeup, just doing a superb job playing a character a long way off from his role on Lost.

It’s also a very slow burn in its pacing, free from the emotional manipulation of background music even when it’s putting the most horrific violence on display. The decision to be mostly silent beyond the sounds made by the characters, their actions, and the desolate landscape gives the film a certain veritas which leaves you with the uneasy sense something like what you’re watching might actually have happened back in the untamed days of the frontier, no matter how outlandish it gets.

Oh, and there’s an old-timer in the group that runs his mouth almost as much as Chuck does. So if you’re spoiling for your Zombie Ranch fix this week, you could do worse than sticking Bone Tomahawk in your Netflix queue (or equivalent) and giving it a look. There’s no cambots to speak of, but atmospherically it’s definitely got the kind of feel I hope I’ve captured in our darker moments, both in pages past and pages to come.