UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)
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13 thoughts on “540 – Trick Hello”

  1. Scarsdale

    Called it, she figured he’d do this, if by choice or by zombie voodoo. I’m sure the “friendlier” questioning will start soon, if she doesn’t just kill him out-right. Or just add him to the herd.

  2. Crazyman

    Gotcha! 😉

  3. Zombatar

    This turn of events is a surprise only to Eustace. And, maybe, Eustace’s subconscious. After all, this way he doesn’t have to actually risk actually attacking Suzie, which gives him a greater chance of survival than actually attacking her. I wonder what he was promised/threatened with?

  4. ConcordBob

    Not to nit-pick, but since sights are on target, finger should be on the trigger. Especially this close.
    The usual rule is “keep finger straight and off trigger until sights are on target”.

  5. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Not to nit-pick, but since that was current philosophies regarding trigger discipline have evolved.
    Of course, it will depend on who you get/got your training from.
    Experiments have determined that the fraction of a second to go from finger off the trigger to finger firing when appropriate is insignificant, and the risk of firing unintended is greatly reduced.

  6. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    I did the google thing and I believe I saw how you reached this conclusion … but there are two parts to it – One should not omit the second part.
    “Trigger Finger Discipline: · The practice of keeping your finger “off the trigger” until your sights are on target AND YOU ARE READY TO DISCHARGE THE FIREARM.” (Caps are my own)

  7. Crazyman

    She wants him alive so she can question him; otherwise, he’d already be dead. 💀

  8. ConcordBob

    Good discussion on trigger discipline!
    His skin is very pale / gray. Is this malnourishment, or has he been poisoned with a mind-control drug? I would have to go back and look a t all various of skin tone.

    1. TKG

      On a prior page we discussed what he’s likely got running in his system. I suggested that it’s probably Borrochero (Brugmansia arbora) which is already used by Colombian cartels to eradicate the free will of their victims.

  9. ConcordBob

    Oh, the gray is just the dim light. Here is McCarthy eating dinner, and has the typical white dude flesh tone.
    https://www.zombieranchcomic.com/comic/531-inquisitional-etiquette/

    1. Dawn

      Yeah, I was trying to show that it was dark. But went with the old Hollywood method of adding a blue grey tint over everything.

  10. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Now can we satisfy my curiosity? Colt, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, or other timeline variant?

    1. gamachinist

      The hammer and lower grip shape look like a Colt Diamondback. Some Model 14 Smith & Wesson’s have a target hammer with the same shape. The upper shape of the grip panel looks like the left side of a Diamondback. The side plate doesn’t show screws. A Colt has the side plate on the left, so no screws would show. The back side of the front sight is kind of like a Colt, but the slope on the front and the barrel under lug shape is not. To sum up, a very good image of a generic revolver.

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540 – Trick Hello
Posted on February 26, 2025 by Dawn

Suzie hearkening back to the last time Eustace was faked out. She probably regrets not being able to sneak the Lawn Ranger into the bedcovers to be the victim of the stabbing.

And with that, it's Episode 23 time! Welcome back to the Ranch, everyone!

[Quick edit to add: next page should be up on 3/19]

Playing cowpokes and aliens…

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Clint
The Eaton Fire was a very near miss on our place and it was good to take a break while we dealt with insurance, cleanup, etc. It could have been a lot worse for us but being on the frontlines of a natural disaster is a heck of a thing for the nerves. I walk outside and the neighborhood still smells like smoke. I look down the street and I see the flame-gutted skeleton of a less lucky neighbor’s once cozy home. I’d show pictures but… I kind of don’t want to. Let’s talk about something more pleasant. Because that’s what you’ve got to do at these times, is eke out enjoyment where you can. In my case that meant once I got the computers back out of my car and hooked up, I had some escapism lined up in the form of video games from the Steam Winter Sale or before. I actually got a few finished, some of which like Disco Elysium have an amount of replay value but consarn it I just don’t have the time and energy to go through them twice, unless there was some really tantalizing reason to do so. See, Clint Wolf has two main loves in his video gaming. Tactical turn-based gameplay and character customization. I can spend hours tweaking a character to my liking, a subject of ongoing mockery from my wife and peers. I don’t care. Sling your bullets of derision, ye plebes, I will have this eye shape to my specifications if the option be there! Problem is I had played out everything I owned that had such options. And then — I don’t even remember how — I stumbled on a 90% off sale for the X-Com 2 expansion pack War of the Chosen. X-Com 2 was something I owned from way back when it released circa 2016 and hey, tactical turn-based gameplay, playing it through again for $4.99? With new twists? Maybe it wouldn’t hold up to my memories but for five bucks I couldn’t afford not to try, right? So first off, yeah, pretty great expansion that makes the game play differently enough that even in my hazy recollections I wasn’t feeling repetitive… though the near decade-long gap probably didn’t hurt. Felt like greeting an old friend I hadn’t seen in a long time… though now with mods! Yep, I didn’t know it but the modding community for X-Com 2 was robust over the years and even continues to be into 2025. Quality of life fixes, custom voiceovers, new hair and uniform options… Hol’ up did you just say mah paper doll soldiers done got themselves more mix and match options for dress up? Shit, son, I came for the tactical alien fighting but now you’re gonna scratch my character creating itch as well? I’ve gone back and found an old blog post where I sang the praises of the customization and even showed off a version of Suzie I made: https://www.zombieranchcomic.com/2018/07/11/subliminal-rememberings/ But as far as verisimilitude would go, I had this in 2018 with no mods and no expansion: And then with all my new modded bells and whistles in 2025, with the same engine, I was able to do this:   It’s still not 100% but that’s part of the fun challenge working with pre-rendered parts. You may also notice the addition of a “Photobooth” function into the game which lets you take post-mission photos and promotion photos and generates various propanda layouts. They can even end up randomly displayed as posters on walls in your base or even on a mission. Anyhow, after I wrestled in a couple other mods to unlock any restrictions on my options, before I knew it I had amassed a whole crew of Zombie Ranch characters fighting to take back Earth. And that’s been about everything I wanted. So thanks for the distraction, X-Com 2, I’d much rather look at these pictures than the ones outside.