UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)

5 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.

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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.

Open them Pod bay doors

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Clint

It’s been an experimental week here at the Zombie Ranch. Some of you might know that Dawn goes live on Ustream from time to time, usually when she’s coloring the next page of the comic, and she’ll chat with whoever happens to drop by to watch.

Well, this past weekend she roped me into joining her since she’s having visions of turning the sessions into a bit of a Podcast. After much technical difficulty we finally got the recording underway and jawed for about half an hour. We have some discussions on the nature of the zombie genre, and some of the inspirations and concepts involved in Zombie Ranch. Dawn has since gussied it up with some music and graphics, and it came out fairly decent if I do say so myself. Check it out here if you’re interested, and let us know if you like! (Warning: there are some mild spoilers about the setting)

Another piece I’ve put up is our very own Zombie Ranch Cast o’ Characters page. I intend to add to it as new characters are introduced. I may even be changing existing entries as new developments occur. Dawn will hopefully find the time to make it “purtier” at some point, with portraits for everyone. In the meantime, enjoy finding out things like what Frank’s last name is, as well as some more hints of the setting.

Speaking of which, I’m actually at work right now on a FAQ for the Zombie Ranch setting. I’m not even sure if FAQ is the right term in this case, since the questions haven’t been asked frequently; however, I’m sure there’s people out there who are curious about certain things, such as where and when this tale is taking place, why there are floating robot cameras, and of course, why the heck zombies are being ranched. Originally I had just intended to let the answers come gradually with each new comic, but I recognize that a weekly schedule might mean that takes forever and a day. That said, I’m not planning to reveal everything–because honestly, not everything’s set in stone yet–and I’ll be tucking it away with a spoilers warning so that those of you wanting to just figure things out along the way can do so. But others who are curious will have something to browse and know we’re not entirely just making this stuff up as we go along.

As I mention in the podcast, The Searchers was the latest in my Western line-up. John Ford was just really drinking in the landscape for this movie; seriously, the locations should have had their own cast credits. But that’s not to say there wasn’t a good story to go with it. It’s funny, I used to think Unforgiven was the first really morally ambiguous Western… but although Unforgiven remains my favorite Western (and one of my favorite movies, period), I’ve gained an appreciation for how complicated some of these “oldies” are beneath a veneer of simplicity. For instance, Ethan, John Wayne’s character in The Searchers, acts like a total psychopath at times, and I didn’t get any sense that the movie is forcing you to think that’s okay. You get to make your own decisions on if he’s a hard man for a hard time, or just an a-hole, or somewhere in-between.

Also, the Searchers features possibly the most polite fistfight you’ll ever see that also has men rolling in the dust and biting each other. If that sounds ludicrous, it is; and yet, somehow it fits. It’s like one of those stories that’s just crazy enough to have actually happened. Or maybe something that could only happen in Texas.