Category: Writer’s Blog

So, for the last several months I’ve mostly taken over the lettering duties for Zombie Ranch, except on those rare occasions where I beg Dawn to help me with a certain visual effect I don’t feel confident of pulling off […]
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I think it’s fair to say that no artist has ever perfectly realized their vision. You might argue such a statement is pessimistic or perhaps a case of sour grapes, but everyone I’ve ever personally known in the creative arts […]
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The creative process can be a funky beast. I remember reading one of Alfred Hitchcock’s storyboards for North by Northwest where he detailed the famous cropduster chase scene right down to weird little things like Cary Grant’s leg flying awkwardly […]
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You know what one of the greatest ironies of Zombie Ranch (at least for me) is? It’s that despite his demonstrated lack of empathy for fellow human beings and despite all his scheming and plotting from the shadowy depths of his office, […]
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Creating comics can be rewarding, but also stressful. Even in a relatively low-impact environment such as a free weekly webcomic, Dawn and I feel that pressure to perform, to deliver on the unspoken contract we have with our readers. Occasionally, […]
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I’m a member of a few different webcomic communities, and it seems like not a week goes by that someone will speak up about feeling how they’re feeling depressed with the state of their creative efforts. Sometimes it’s tied in with asking for […]
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Dawn and I have now been exhibiting at various conventions for over five years. We’ve come a long way from where we started, and learned a lot, but I still have to admit this: I have no idea how we’re […]
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Every so often I think that I posted something in these blogs that, on further research, seems to be a figment of my imagination. For example, it does not appear that I ever talked about WonderCon 2013, or at least […]
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So, I’m intending this to be my last blog entry inspired by Wasteland 2. We’ll see if I keep to that, but like Carter J. Burke told Ripley in Aliens: “That’s the plan.” You may or may not have noticed that Zombie Ranch […]
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So a funny thing happened while I was playing Wasteland 2. Like many CRPGs, there is various looting of defeated enemies, containers, etc. This is the same today as it was decades ago, and no doubt stems right out of […]
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In last week’s blog I started my jawin’ about the recent release of Wasteland 2, the long-in-coming sequel to 1988’s Wasteland — a game rightly regarded as the grandaddy of post-apocalyptic computer RPGs. It’s a trite thing for a company […]
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In the annals of this blog I have made much mention of the Fallout game series (and even devoted an entire article to one of them). It’s one of the inspirations for many aspects of Zombie Ranch that I unapologetically […]
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So there was (well, I guess, is) this fictional setting by the name of Crimson Skies. Ever heard of it? Well, I always thought it was pretty cool. It started with the idea of its creators of transplanting a “Pirates […]
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We mentioned in this week’s comic blurb how the Pony Express has an iconic status in the image of the Old West that far outstrips its actual impact and time of existence. They’re not a made up thing, but that […]
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In popular fiction it often seems flying in a helicopter is a more dangerous prospect than off-roading in a Ford Pinto full of sweaty dynamite. There’s even a whole TV Tropes page dedicated to the phenomenon. Helicopters are the redshirts of the vehicular transportation world. […]
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I can’t remember the last time I didn’t write an entry of some length here. I could probably research that, but right now, I’ll just say if you’re interested in words from me for this week, please go read the […]
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I’m no pie-in-the-sky idealist. I know the world doesn’t run on rainbows and hugs, and oftentimes conventions are no exception. But damn if I can’t still be shocked sometimes when I hear about how certain shows are being run. I […]
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Not too long ago I was one of many respondents to someone on a Webcomic Creators’ group who was interested in starting a webcomic and wanted advice from the veterans on possible pitfalls to watch out for. Well, of course one […]
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It’s a fundamental principle of economics. There is something people want (demand). Someone else has it or produces it (supply). A deal is struck, an exchange is made, and everyone walks away more or less happy with the result. Recently […]
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Dawn and I get solicitations on a semi-regular basis. Not the kind (alas) that would get us picked up by the Vice Squad, but the kind seeking to offer us all manner of services along the lines of printing, or […]
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