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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.

In the valley of the foreshadow

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Clint

I can’t speak for all writers everywhere, but a lot of what I do seems to boil down to getting my characters and situations from Point A to Point B in what I hope is an entertaining and not too overly contrived manner. This week’s comic is risky in that respect. There’s a lot of things going wrong in a just so fashion. Too much for suspension of disbelief? Well, all I can say is I put a lot of effort into laying the groundwork for this SNAFU (or SNACU, seeing how Chuck-specific it is).

Now I recall back when Chuck was explaining hydrolock, one commenter took exception to the mechanics involved (pardon the pun) and claimed it would be perfectly fine and even beneficial. When this has occurred before I’ve sometimes linked to the research and testimonials supporting what I’ve written, but in this case I didn’t bother, because I had a secret. Whether it would have worked or not didn’t matter. What mattered is that Chuck believed it enough to set a tractor at full throttle and leave it running, a situation just itching for an accidental nudge that would send it careening out of control.

“Ol’ Bessie”‘s flaming wreck, heavy machinery with tricky controls, loose pipe bombs, a bunch of sleep-deprived, angry, beer-addled rednecks, and of course Chuck’s general greed and lack of thinking things through… it’s my own little perfect storm, which I felt would be much more fun and creative than some early drafts where the driver would just somehow get shot and just happen to have some dynamite or something in the back. Now true, Chuck instead shows up with his Bag O’ Tricks that happens to include home-made explosives, but I rolled with the idea that Chuck seems like the type of guy who might have such a thing ready to throw together. It didn’t seem too far-fetched or out of character. Maybe in the end it’s no less of an Ass Pull, but yea, I did walk in the Valley of the Foreshadowing, all the way back as far as the first meeting with Uncle Chuck being under circumstances where he botched an important deal the crew entrusted him with. If Frank had had anyone else he could have sent to take care of the tractor problem, I’m sure he would have gone with them instead. But I suppose he figured even Chuck can’t screw up all the time, right?

I’m sure Chuck would consider himself a victim of circumstance, and in a way, that’s exactly what he is. But even if he didn’t see it coming, I sure did… and I hope (even if only in hindsight) you folks did, too.