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.

Circumstantial entertainment

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Clint

Have you ever considered how much of our reactions to entertainment are based not only on subjective experience, but pure outright chance?

Think about it. A person who got little sleep, had a terrible day and then a terrible time getting to a theater is far more likely to find their moviegoing experience unpleasant than someone who is relaxed and happy and ready for a good time. That’s not just theory, I’ve heard even professional reviewers admit that on a second viewing they found a film to be better than the first time, because their first time occurred while they were already in a grumpy mood. It can happen in the other direction as well, where an amped up crowd and things like free beer may get people raving about a movie they saw at a sneak preview, and then a year later they watch it again and wonder why the hell they insisted it was fine cinema.

When we approach entertainment with high expectations, we have a higher chance of disappointment if it doesn’t measure up. When we go in with low standards, a mediocre offering might end up putting a smile on our faces just for being “enjoyable” or “not as bad as they said”.

And sometimes it goes beyond the emotional. Case in point: the first time I viewed Captain America: Civil War I was way up in the back row of the theater. I read reviews afterwards criticizing the overuse of “shaky cam” in the opening action scenes and occasionally unconvincing CGI and couldn’t understand what those people had been smoking. Did we watch the same movie?

Well, turns out… maybe we didn’t. Not entirely. You see, my second viewing, we ended up way in the front of the theater with the screen towering at a steep angle above my head, and with that change of perspective and close-in detail, suddenly I was noticing the shaky cam and occasional computer-aided effect. I was also noticing how many face and neck blemishes Chris Evans was sporting despite portraying the pinnacle of human potential, and that’s a petty critique I doubt anyone in the back or even middle rows would have understood.

So yeah, that’s like the cinematic version of my contention that reading a comic electronically panel-by-panel and reading it when you’re able to see the whole page make for two extremely different experiences, and it’s a bizarre added layer to consider as an artist, where no matter how carefully you craft your piece there will be circumstances beyond your control which may distort the experience when it reaches the consumer.

Does the movie/play/comic suck? Or did you have a stomachache? Or the lighting wasn’t good? Or some kid kept kicking your chair? It’s enough to make me consider that everything deserves a second chance.

But then again, I ain’t got time for that. It’s enough for me to consider that again, when someone’s going on about loving things or hating things regarding a particular piece of entertainment and you disagree so vehemently you wonder if they’re existing in some parallel dimension — maybe not. Maybe you’re both just victims of circumstance.