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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.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Clint

I admit it. I’ve wanted to sneak in the phrase “Meanwhile, back at the ranch” since the comic first started. It’s just so cowboy. It is, in fact, cowboy enough to have its own wikipedia entry stating how cowboy it is.

Also, we just recently went on a tangent to give y’all a first taste of  a new character, and when you want to get back off a tangent, why not go with the classic standards of yore? Some of you might have noticed that our motorcycle lady is not yet listed in the Cast, even partially. We know. Perhaps we have decided to keep you in suspense over whether she will actually be a regular cast member, or a mere plot device on legs? Of course, if you’ve read some of the commentary, Dawn already let slip her name, or at least part of it. Does one give a name to plot devices? Doesn’t that just make it harder if you have to eat them later?

One way or another we’ll be back to our “Desert Rose” soon enough (or soon enough for a weekly webcomic, anyhow). In the meantime, we get to watch zombies being slopped, and you get to learn a few more tidbits about how they work in this particular setting.

I’ve said this now to a lot to people I’ve talked to since I started writing the comic, but I think one of the most important aspects of any good zombie tale is to know what your zombies are going to be like; even if the audience never gets the whole story, you as the storyteller should have the answers. Actually, I’d argue that principle holds for any creative enterprise featuring a monster with a past history to it: are your vampires burned by silver? do your werewolves recoil from holy symbols? And no, I didn’t get those mixed up — depending which myths you come across, they’re considered truths, even if the most mainstream versions we’re used to have them reversed.

The modern zombie mythology is a more youthful exercise, but still has blossomed into several different riffs on the theme in the past 40 or so years. Are your zombies fast or slow? Living or dead? Do they die from a destroyed brain? Can they “survive” being dismembered or decapitated? How does the infection spread? Will they eat anything, or only people? In his Zombie Survival Guide Max Brooks spends his entire first chapters answering all these questions, establishing clearly what his specific vision of the zombie is. Only then can he move on to the rest of the book describing how to deal with them, and for that matter, only then can he move on to writing World War Z. The specific nature of your monsters has an enormous impact on the stories you’re going to tell. I’ve been playing my zombies much closer to the chest than Mr. Brooks did, but then, I have a different story.

Anyhow, I wanted to mention again that last Sunday we were gifted with a wonderful bit of Suzie fan art from DK, the very talented artist for The Becoming. If you haven’t seen the art yet, click here! Both the artist and writer of The Becoming are big fans of Zombie Ranch, as well as being very friendly folk. If you have some more time on your webcomic docket, why not click over and give their own tale a look? They’re just starting on their second story arc, but have already created a lushly fantastic world blending aspects of the Renaissance, Steampunk Victoriana, and other interesting genres and time periods into a unique stage for their characters. Plus there’s a mysterious plague, hints of vampirism… it’s good stuff and I look forward to watching it unfold.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (see how good that works?)… apologies to some of you who may have made comments and never had them show up until just recently. I hadn’t checked the spam log for awhile and it had been a bit overzealous, particularly with shorter entries. We can’t really afford to not let it operate or the comments would be overwhelmed by actual spam, but I’ll try to keep a better eye on it from now on.

One thing that might help if you’re a regular commentator would be registering for the site, which you can do on the left hand side of the page just below the Events listing. Actually, why don’t I just give a link: click here.

That way the spamcatcher shouldn’t nick you for anything, nor should you have to wait on any moderation from our end. Instant gratification! And if that sounds like a sleazy way to get your names on a mailing list, well, truth is we don’t really have one right now beyond our Facebook and Twitter, so that’s where you oughtta hook up if you want the latest. I don’t know if we need an email list above and beyond that. Perhaps I’ll make that the new poll, and see what all of you think.

Happy trails!