Character: Helen

Visual Learner

The Patreon preview for this strip is about not remembering which jokes were in short stories that most of the audience didn’t read! It’s fine, it makes sense without that knowledge.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

In a break from tradition, the Employee of the Week isn’t a bit, I actually hired somebody to do website work. Christian DeWolf of Shellscript.ca came on board and did a great job of fixing a bunch of site issues that had accumulated, and also made it so more people will actually see these newsposts, which is very helpful. If you need web development services, I highly recommend reaching out to Christian!

Relatedly, such services cost money, so if you want to kick in a buck or two to the Patreon, that would be very helpful! Patron support pays for things like “the website existing” and once that’s covered, “thing I need to live.”

You can help Hell, Inc. for free by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which has been a great way to draw in new readers. It’s a new month, which means the rankings have reset and votes are worth more (relatively speaking). Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Did Helen take any actual notes? We find out! Read it early on Patreon!

Games… on the Computer!

Like Steve, I, too, am always more interested in what’s going on with my computer if it’s not a spreadsheet. The Patreon preview for this strip is about how the kid in high school who could put games on your graphic calculator probably makes way more money than you, now.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cindy Gauthier is Employee of the Week, and you can read her comic on Webtoon! It’s called Posthumous, and is a comic about two friends (who are cool, weird cyborg-things) exploring space and how the things that are in space are often terrifying. Season 2 is underway!

Patreon! It’s a predictable income that I would like to be bigger so I can do less freelance and more stuff that I want to do! You get early access to Hell, Inc. strips, new comics, my new ttrpg Big Robots, Big Feelings, and more!

You can also support Hell, Inc. for free by telling your friends about it, because that is infinitely better than any promotion I can do. Also voting on Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below is very helpful!

Next Week: Doug and Steve discuss whether there have, in fact, already been games on the computer. Read it early on Patreon!

Theatre Kid Help

Happy Labour Day! I hope your job is better than working at Hell, Inc. And if it isn’t, I hope your CEO is thrown into the sun. The Patreon preview for this strip involves me describing what I think theatre kid energy is, and why it makes me tired.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Ben Hamlin, host of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben (among other casted pods), is Employee of the Week, and I’ve made several appearances on the show, most recently discussing crime drama Better Call Saul! If you want to hear me talk about how artfully executed BCS is, then good news, you’ll have a great time listening to that podcast! You can also hear me talk about a bunch of other shows, like Newsradio, Workaholics, and Ugly Americans!

You can also head over to Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below, where voting can help draw new readers to Hell, Inc.!

Next Week: Steve has made an game-changing discovery. Read it early on Patreon!

So Many Sheilas

Helen could make SO MANY femur harmonicas with the power of a thousand Sheilas! The Patreon preview for this strip is mostly about my adventures in recovering a failed hard drive, and how that has involved recolouring/lettering a bunch of Hell, Inc. strips for the Big Book (title not final).

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Robbie Dorman is Employee of the Week! He is co-host of The Simpsons Show, the only podcast about The Simpsons, and also the only podcast about The Simpsons that I have done a guest spot on. You should also check out his website to learn about his new novel releases. He writes that good good scary shit. Indie artists need your support now more than ever, so check out his stuff!

You can also head over to Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below, where voting can help draw new readers to Hell, Inc.!

Next Week: Bridget has a plan, and Helen haaaaaates it. Read it early on Patreon!

Tomorrow, Yesterday

The Patreon post for this comic is another one about comedy writing. Shocking that it would come up so often while writing about a comedy!

I’ve also reached the point in my process of recovering a failed hard drive (back up your shit better than I did, folks) where I would rather just re-do some work than hang my hopes on digging it up. To that end, I’ve re-lettered a handful of Hell, Inc. pages that I lost the lettered files for, and have about a dozen that need to be recoloured as well, because I need all those things for the upcoming (at some point) Big Print Book. Exciting.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Brien Aronov is Employee of the Week, and you can, too! I deeply appreciate your support on Patreon, which is a predictable source of income that, should it grow enough, can reduce or replace the need to freelance. That means more of the stuff you like, and less trying to figure out how to get work as every industry funnels all of its money into the C-suite. You also get benefits like early comics, pages from my graphic novels as I work on them, and other stuff like my video game, or Big Robots, Big Feelings, which is the tabletop game I just dropped!

You can help out Hell, Inc. for free by clicking the banner below to vote on Top Webcomics, which you can do daily! It helps make the comic more visible to webcomic readers.

Next Week: So many Sheilas! Read it early on Patreon!

 

Phone Tag, the Most Dangerous Game

The Patreon preview for this comic was about rewatching Invader Zim and realizing how much of an influence that had on how I write jokes. Still don’t know how I feel about that!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Dark Star Comic & Toy Show to say hi and pick up some books! I’ve got Edmonton Expo coming up in September, and then… maybe some Christmas markets?

Also, go download my new ttrpg, Big Robots, Big Feelings.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Caitlin is Employee of the Week! Patreon is a predictable form of income, which I appreciate, because freelancing and doing cons creates a wild income rollercoaster! If everyone who reads the comic chipped in a dollar a month, I’d be able to drop some freelance work and do more of my own stuff, which would be ideal.

You can help out Hell, Inc. for free by clicking the banner below to vote on Top Webcomics, which you can do daily! It helps make the comic more visible to webcomic readers.

Next Week: Helen tries to do some detective work. Read it early on Patreon!

Never Take Me Alive!

This comic’s Patreon preview was about how useful it has been for Helen to develop into a weirdo. It lets me do things like have her react to a task like a gangster from a ’40s serial who got hit with the copper’s spotlight, without that being a distracting tone change.

Speaking of distracting, I’ve spent about two weeks now dealing with a hard drive failure that has been a massive pain in the ass. Back up your shit, folks.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Big Robots, Big Feelings, the new one page tabletop RPG I wrote and illustrated! It’s currently available to patrons at any non-free level, and will be publicly available soon as part of the One Page RPG Game Jam on itch.io. It’s inspired by mecha anime, and lets you battle giant robots while you battle your own giant emotions! Click the cool robots to head over to Patreon.

A red and blue bipedal mech uses a gigantic sword to parry the gunfire of an enemy mech.

You can also head over to Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below, where voting can help draw new readers to Hell, Inc.!

Next Week: Helen must face the music… the hold music, because she has to call Arrivals. Read it early on Patreon!

Guess Who

I spent the weekend tabling at the Art Gallery of Alberta’s Comic & Zine Fair, so welcome to those of you that I met there who’ve made your way here! I was pleasantly surprised by the event, and particularly the response to Hell, Inc. from the AGA crowd. I look forward to returning next year!

This week’s Patreon preview revisited a topic from a few weeks ago, which was how to use perspective to add energy to a panel.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Sebastian is Employee of the Week, and you can, too! It’s how I have predictable money, which is both Cool and Good because we live in capitalist hell-world. If everyone who read the comic in a month chipped in $1, I’d be able to turn down most freelance work and focus on doing Hell, Inc. stuff and my own graphic novels! That would be preeeeetty cool. Especially now, because I am brooooke.

You can help Hell, Inc. for free by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which has been a great way to draw in new readers. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Bridget tells the tale of Helen in Arrivals. Read it early on Patreon!

Thank You For Your Patience

The Patreon preview for this comic talks about a piece of advice I gained from early-career shop talk that continues to be a regularly used tool in my toolbox.  It’s about using rounded surfaces in the art.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Ben Hamlin, host of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben (among other casted pods), is Employee of the Week, and I just made my fourth appearance on the show, this time discussing crime drama Better Call Saul! If you want to hear me talk about how artfully executed BCS is, then good news, you’ll have a great time listening to that podcast!

You should also vote for me in the Sequential Magazine Awards, in the Favourite Cartoonist category. It’s open to anyone who wants to vote, and you can vote in as many or as few categories as you want! I would like to say I am above the external validation of awards, but I am absolutely not. Click the image below to go to the page with the nominees and ballot.

If you’re still in a voting mood, you can also head over to Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below, where voting can help draw new readers to Hell, Inc.!

Next Week: Meanwhile, at the office… Read it early on Patreon!

Helen: Judgement Day

Helen is probably second or third in the cast, behind B.L. Zebub and maybe Doug, in getting the super exaggerated demonic poses. That wasn’t something I intended from the start, it just kind of happened as Helen got more characterization that lent itself to over-the-top, expressionist depictions. In the Patreon preview for this strip, I instead talk about creating rhythm with panel layouts and how that’s useful in adding additional storytelling layers.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Robbie Dorman is Employee of the Week. He is co-host of The Simpsons Show, the only podcast about The Simpsons, and also the only podcast about The Simpsons that I have done a guest spot on. You should also check out his website to learn about his new novel releases. He writes that good good scary shit. Indie artists need your support now more than ever, so check out his stuff!

ALSO I’m still nominated for the Sequential Magazine Awards in the Favourite Cartoonist category, and you should definitely vote for me, because I want to win. Click on the image below to go to the landing page with the nominees and link to the voting form!

If you’re still in a voting mood, you can also head over to Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below, where voting can help draw new readers to Hell, Inc.!

Next Week: Human souls, please report to the scary lady for judgement. Read it early on Patreon!