Issue? Gesundheit!

This week’s comic marks the end point for the first script of Zombie Ranch that I wrote up back in August-September 2009. Mind you, it’s gone through several revisions and extensions since then, but the core arc has remained the same. Poor Zeke has been doomed since the beginning, and anytime I started to get soft on that fate my artist wife was right there to push me back on track, in her adorably bloodthirsty fashion. My intent was to capture some of the spirit of those classic Twilight Zone episodes or old school sci-fi/horror comics where you get introduced to a world not quite our own, and by the end something twisted has happened in a “makes-ya-think” sort of fashion. Whether or not we succeeded is, of course, in the hands of you readers.

Unlike those episodes and comics, which tended to be self-contained stories, this is not the end. There are many more questions to answer and stories to tell. We will be taking a short break, however, since we feel at this point that we’ve finished our first “issue”. I know, I know, that terminology doesn’t mean all that much in webcomics, but Dawn is very excited about putting together something for actual print publication. And what the heck, I suppose I am, too. We’ve got another convention coming up right here in our backyard in Pasadena, CA and it’ll be nice to be able to have something on the table in addition to just referring folk to the website.

Now don’t worry, we do mean short break. Two or three weeks at most, and we’ll have some content for you all in the meantime, such as a new full-color Suzie image that Dawn has drawn up for the print issue cover. You can actually see a black-and-white preview of that currently if you click on over to vote for us at TopWebComics. Actually, whether or not you’re interested in the image I’ll be a bit shameless here and implore you to give us a vote click. It only takes a few seconds and the higher we are on the list, the more new eyeballs we attract to the comic. I’m not expecting top 10 or even top 50 with how new we are, but we’ve been at least on the first page (top 100) until just a few days ago, and I’d love to get back there. You can vote once per day and it’s entirely kosher and legal to do so. Some of you already do so, which is fantastic! I don’t know what I should refer to you as for your dedication… Ranchites? Rancheros? It’s probably just enough to say thanks.

Speaking of TopWebComics, they have another promotion going for one of their affiliates, much as they did for 7th Son back last November. ‘Tis as follows:

Have you ever wanted to be a radio supervillain? Or rather, did you have an idea for a villain you’d love to actually hear on a radiostyle podcast?  Submit your idea for a radio supervillain and read about where you can get hundreds of hours of free audio drama done by the impression cast of Decoder Ring Theatre, over at topwebcomics.com.

Like I’ve said before, TopWebComics has been great for us in terms of getting new readers looking our way, so I’m always happy to return the favor when they put out a call for help. Who knows, maybe one of you out there will have the supervillain idea that Decoder Ring Theatre has longed for!

So here we are. It’s been one heck of a whirlwind few months for Dawn and myself as we waded into the wide world of webcomics, and we extend our heartfelt thank-yous to everyone out there who has supported us… or heck, has just been a regular reader of the comic. As soon as that print issue is available, we’ll announce it for those interested, including the super duper Special Edition I believe Dawn still has a mind to put together. And soon enough we’ll be back to continuing the story of the Z Ranch crew and their bizarre occupation.

For now though, it’s time to pop open a celebratory brewski. By the time you read this it’ll be my baby niece’s birthday, St. Patrick’s Day, and a first Zombie Ranch milestone. Cheers, y’all!