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So in the first seven episodes of Zombie Ranch I mostly stuck to a system of 24 pages per chapter. Mostly. Episode 1 had 23 pages, and Episode 3 and 7 had 28 pages. In practice I’m guessing no one really noticed, since we don’t number the pages in the print versions and online we just use a consecutive numbering system. Still, it was fun for me when it happened to work out that Episode 4 and 5 ended and began in such a way as to be numbered story comic 99 and 100, respectively.
That was almost the case again as we approached the end of Episode 12. This time around I’d been pretty good about planning our storytelling to the 24 page mold. What with no real bosses or advertising to account for that’s still a completely arbitrary number, but it’s just come to feel right. Gives some division and structure.
I’ve always reserved the right to break it again if I felt the need. And lo, it became pretty tempting to do just that as I realized that if I extended Episode 12 for four more pages it would have an online number of 299, with Episode 13 starting on 300. Neato!
Except the circumstance I brought up of Episode 4 and 5 was a happy accident. Episode 1 being a page short and Episode 3 being four pages longer were both done because that was where it felt right to end them. This time? There was an interesting argument going on but it seemed like everyone in my notes and roughs was going to have their say and extending it might end up in a boring “get on with it!” situation. I could have cut away to check in on what the Exec or the Huachucas were up to but that didn’t seem right either, like any of those reveals really should wait for beyond the break. But oh, that 299-300 option was tantalizing.
In the end I spoke up about it to Dawn and she seemed surprised there was any question — she’s not really into keeping track of the “24” thing the way I am, but she declared that what was going on for comic 294 had completely felt to her like the penultimate page before we would end the episode and dragging on beyond 295 would be awkward at best.
So there we had it. Sometimes you just need that second perspective for — well, perspective. With that vote I sat down and finalized Suzie’s speech as the capper to the chapter and left the rest for next time, and I’m pretty sure that was the right call. When the story and the numbers come together naturally, it’s great, but that time I was being tempted to force it to fit for no real good reason. The numbers aren’t everything.