UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)

6 thoughts on “541 – Graverobbers

  1. “Oh, *that* kind of grave robbing? Lead on, Chuck!” 😈

  2. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    What? I say “What”?

  3. Heh, this is going to be fun. Tradition says you need to drink at least one bottle of MD 20/20 before going to the graveyard.

  4. At first I was thinking of something like a potato battery … nope!

  5. If you take a dead “D” cell battery, take out the carbon rod from the center, cut a strip of galvanized sheet metal about an inch (2.7 centimeters), take a small jar for canning, suspend the rod in the center and the strip on the side, pour in drain cleaner, you’ll get 1.2 to 1.4 volts DC. 10 of those connected to an inverter will give you 120 VAC at 0.5 amps. Do NOT keep them in the same area you live in however, the fumes will burn your lungs. Just something I learned in chem class in high school. You’d have to top-up the jars every few days, however. Any type of acid will work, even salt water. I think the teacher was a survivalist…

  6. Scheffler, Hovland and Conners Share the Lead at P.G.A. Championship
    Jordan Spieth, who needs a victory at Oak Hill to complete the career Grand Slam, and Justin Thomas, who won last year’s tournament, just made the cut at five over.

    Give this article

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541 – Graverobbers

WonderCon 2025 is coming soon, so the next comic is planned for April 9th.

In the meantime, relevant previousness for this week's page:

https://www.zombieranchcomic.com/comic/223-surrounded-by-film-end-of-episode-9/

 

https://www.zombieranchcomic.com/comic/483-solar-systems/

Breakin’ the law…

And here we have another egregious example of writer exaggeration in effect. This isn’t about bank robbery, or public nuisance, or even parking at an expired meter, I’m talking more about the nebulous laws of storytelling, especially one in particular: show, don’t tell. In this week’s comic, I broke that law. Through the unwitting assistance of a fictional executive assistant, I quickly summarized a few “not pictured” outcomes of three episodes’ worth of chaos and conflict. Brett’s alive. The zeds are (mostly) contained. Popcorn the Zombie Horse will ride again. Will we be showing these things eventually? Of course, but with the end of this episode and our Summer vacation looming, I turned things over in my head and came to the conclusion that these were not elements I intended to keep people in suspense with while they awaited the resumption of the narrative. I had actually wanted to show Popcorn getting up and out of the way after briefly teasing his end, but artistically it didn’t work out with the flow of the pages. Ditto for Brett, there didn’t seem to be any pressing need to bring him and/or Lacey back into an already crowded climax (and I can once again hear the chorus of “Who are Brett and Lacey?!”… which I believe supports my point). But there may have been some people wondering about them. Certainly I know there were people in suspense regarding Popcorn, and I felt like extending some mercy after all the weeks of emotional wringers I’ve been throwing out. Now should be the time for the readers, as well as us, to be able to relax and catch a breath. So I have indulged in what could certainly be considered a cheap shortcut, although out of the best of intentions. I know of course that good intentions are what the road to Hell is purported to be paved with, but there are enough other existing mysteries to chew over (*cough*Zeke*cough*) that I figured I could afford to sweep a couple into the “done” pile and make a bit of room for more. I broke the law. But heck, the TV Tropes entry does state “it’s not an ironclad rule, and knowing when to break it to quickly explain minor details is a major aspect of learning to write.” Did the end result justify the nefarious means? Hell if I know, I’m still learning. Then again, every writer is always learning. Every “law” of writing, every rule, has been broken by fiction authors more than once. Fiction writers are an unruly bunch, ready to flaunt tradition at a moment’s notice if they feel it best suits their purpose. I suppose in that sense… whether I succeeded or failed, whatever hot-footed road I might be traveling… I can count on some decent company.