Character: Sara

No Fun For You

B.L. Zebub always gets the best lines, as villains often do.

In other news, I have signed on for two new short-term projects that you will be hearing more about in January.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Leonardo is Employee of the Week, and probably not a ninja turtle, despite what 5 year old me would think. He has access to new Hockeypocalypse: Slashers pages as I draw them, and will be getting a physical copy of the book when it’s done! Issue 14 is complete and I’ve begun posting pages from issue 15.

You can help Hell, Inc. reach more readers by voting for it on Top Webcomics (also, y’know, tell your friends about it and send them links and shit)! Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Things in the break room are extremely normal. The normalest. Read it early on Patreon!

Secret Misery Weapon

Secret Misery Weapon is my new rap name, I’ll be touring as Cadence Weapon’s much worse sidekick that is there to hype the crowd down so that when they hear something good they lose their goddamn minds in relief. It’s a new, innovative approach to live music. I’m not even high, this is just the kind of road my brain goes down all the time.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Shane Lees is Employee of the Week! He also does a webcomic, called The First Dude, which you can check out at his website. You should also check out the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where for $5/month you can read issue 14 of Hockeypocalypse, and will start getting pages from the absolute unit that is issue 15 next week! You also get Hell, Inc. strips early, or, at higher levels, you can commission original art from me!

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which helps bring in new readers to check out the comic. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: A micro-mystery, which are the newest hot genre. Read it early on Patreon!

No Plan for Dying Inside

Is there really ever a plan for dying inside? I had a conversation yesterday that was tangentially about that, speculating that because I had been self-employed for so long I would struggle mightily to adjust if I had to go back to working for somebody in the standard, supervised way. I am absolutely certain that would be the case, because I need some level of personal investment in what I’m doing to do my best, and I also don’t like being told what to do. So… yeah, hopefully this “drawing cartoon pictures” biz continues to be viable enough that I don’t get booted out of the house.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Welcome new Employee of the Week “Game Time” Art Middleton! Follow him on Twitter or check out his Twitch streams, OR… do both of those things. Yes. Do that. Also, head over to the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where you can support the continued existence of your favourite office demons and also the creation of my new graphic novel, Hockeypocalypse: Slashers. I can say, without hesitation, it is the best book I have ever drawn.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is extremely valuable early in the month, as we are now, because the rankings reset on the 1st and re-level the playing field. Vote daily by clicking the banner below!

Next Week: B.L. Zebub will make no promises, because he’s honest about being a liar. Read it early on Patreon!

Puzzle It Out

I mentioned this on Patreon, but way more people read the stuff I post here. Every time I look at one of the strips involving spreadsheet Tetris I’m struck with the desire for there to be a Hell, Inc. video game. I don’t know how to program a video game, but if anyone else thinks a Hell, Inc. puzzle RPG with spreadsheet Tetris as the core gameplay would be cool and you either know or are a game developer, hit me up.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Bartender of the Apocalypse is Employee of the Week, and you can too by heading over to the Hell, Inc. Patreon and supporting at the $2/month tier or above! At the $5/month tier or above, you get access to Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it! And you should do that, because that’s my only paying thing right now, and humans need money to live because we haven’t overthrown the rich yet.

EDMONTON EXPO UPDATE: I was going to be doing my first convention appearance in 2 years at Edmonton Expo in October, but that has since been cancelled due to the Alberta provincial government’s complete inability to do anything for the public good unless it benefits the party or its donors. Anyway, in an attempt to both get books to readers and replace some of that convention revenue, I’m running a sale on my Etsy shop until October 3rd for 25% off your order total on any order of $20 or more. If you were planning to stop by at Edmonton Expo, head over to the shop and grab the books you were looking for!

Next Week: The Real Break Room/Revolutionary Headquarters. Read it early on Patreon!

Tetris Must Be Destroyed

Why yes, this strip title (and the line it is referencing) IS a reference to GWAR’s “America Must Be Destroyed.” Those of you who have been around for a while will not be surprised at all that the guy who drew an entire comic based on a GWAR reference which led to him drawing an official GWAR comic would continue to make GWAR references. Have I said GWAR enough? GWAR.

EDMONTON EXPO UPDATE: I was going to be doing my first convention appearance in 2 years at Edmonton Expo in October, but that has since been cancelled due to the Alberta provincial government’s complete inability to do anything for the public good unless it benefits the party or its donors. Anyway, in an attempt to both get books to readers and replace some of that convention revenue, I’m running a sale on my Etsy shop until October 3rd for 25% off your order total on any order of $20 or more. If you were planning to stop by at Edmonton Expo, head over to the shop and grab the books you were looking for!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Azhar Baig is Employee of the Week, and has a podcast called The Wisdom of Love that you should check out. It’s a comedic recounting of the Great Western Philosophers. You, too, can support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, and also read my new graphic novel, Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, as I draw it!

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics! You can do that daily by clicking on the banner below!

Next Week: B.L. Zebub’s anti-Tetris rampage. Read it early on Patreon!

Nothing to See Here

Sometimes I re-read old pages and am pleased that a page I forgot about has storytelling that I think really holds up. This is the kind of strip that isn’t attempting to replicate film but is using the storytelling elements that are unique to comics, like the sequence of thought balloons following Sara’s thought process. This has been another installment of “the creator forgot what he drew, but it turns out he likes the stuff he makes. Funny, that.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Christine Bennett, better known as Purple Pony Art, is Employee of the Week! Perhaps I will see them at Edmonton Expo in October, and perhaps I will see YOU there. If not, perhaps I will see you on the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where I’m serializing Hockeypocalypse: Slashers to pay bills while I draw it. It’s how I get money so that I don’t need to take freelance jobs and do conventions (which I am simultaneously looking forward to and terrified of).

You can help Hell, Inc. be more visible to webcomic readers by voting for it on Top Webcomics! Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: I don’t understand her level of passion for the topic, but you love to see it! See it early on Patreon!

Ambient Misery

For the first time since December, 2019, I sold some books at an event. Over a year and a half. I was helping Caitlin sell soap at an event called Wholly Handmade, and brought some books along at her suggestion, as well as promo materials for Hell, Inc. To those of you who discovered the comic by meeting me at the show, welcome!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Jillian Dolan, artist of Kyle the Nihilist Dinosaur, Misha, and other delightful comics, is Employee of the Week! She has access to Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, my new graphic novel, which is being serialized on Patreon as I draw it! We’re up to page 24 as of this post, and they’re some of the best pages I’ve ever drawn. The first 5 pages are available on Patreon for free, and the rest are unlocked by donating at the $5 and up tiers. So go do that.

You can help out Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which results in better placement on the rankings and visibility to webcomic readers. Votes early in the month are worth more as the rankings reset, so click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: A puzzling lack of ambient misery. Read it early on Patreon!

Very Different Problems

It took me the longest time to grasp what magical realism meant, only to learn that I do it ALL THE TIME in my comics. Like, constantly. Like, this entire strip. So that’s fun.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

In some pretty ideal CORPORATE SYNERGY, Ben Hamlin, host of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben (among other casted pods), is Employee of the Week just days after my SECOND appearance on his podcast! First, I joined Lesley and Ben to talk about underrated sitcom gem NewsRadio, where we dunk on Joe Rogan and Andy Dick for human garbage, but mostly discuss the clear line of progression that can be drawn from NewsRadio to later hit NBC workplace sitcoms The Office, 30 Rock, and Parks and Rec. Then, because of some scheduling weirdness, I returned for the very next episode to discuss the episode of Workaholics where they try to network at the Gathering of the Juggalos. They’re both great fun, and an opportunity to actually hear me talk and confirm that I am a real human and not just a robot that generates comics.

Speaking of comics, I’m serializing my new graphic novel, Hockeypocalypse: Slashers on Patreon at the $5/month and up tier, which gets you 10-15 pages of the book as I draw them! It’s the best book I’ve made so far, so you should absolutely check it out, because patrons at the $5/month and up tiers will ALSO be getting a print copy of the book when that’s ready.

You can also help more people see Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is the largest webcomic database thingy that I’m aware of. More votes = higher ranking = more visibility, so click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: It’s very important to be clear that you are using office supplies for work purposes. Especially when you aren’t. Read it early on Patreon!

Punishful Punishosity

Usually my favourite character to write dialogue for in a series will change over time as different characters are focused on. In Hell, Inc., though, B.L. Zebub has never really relinquished that crown. He’s so malevolent but dumb that he can say almost anything.

In other news, I got my second dose of the COVID vaccination last week, so I will soon possess the superpowers of “being able to make plans without a Zoom link” and “getting groceries without anxiety.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cait is Employee of the Week at Hell, Inc. and also at her soap business, Soaps & Sorcery. She has been busy turning our kitchen into a soap laboratory to supply her new retail partner, Pe Matawe Games in Edmonton. You, too, can support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, which, starting in July, will include a Patreon-exclusive comic – Hockeypocalypse: Slashers.

You can also help Hell, Inc. out by voting for it on Top Webcomics! A new month (on Thursday) means new rankings, so click the link below daily to help make the comic more visible to new readers!

Next Week: Sometimes things just work out when you threaten your underlings without a plan. Read it early on Patreon!

This Shall Not Stand

I have visions of doing a B.L. Zebub-style header every time I stand on a chair for something. That never prevents me from standing on said chair to change light bulbs or get the crockpot or whatever, but I always think it as I’m climbing up there.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Shane Lees is Employee of the Week! He also does a webcomic, called The First Dude, which you can check out at his website. You should also check out the Hell, Inc. Patreon, which will be getting an overhaul in July, which you can read more about. In short, the $5/month pledge tier is gonna be STACKED with a whole new Hockeypocalypse graphic novel.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which helps bring in new readers to check out the comic. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: It’s hard to maintain the energy of a speech when you get a head injury in the middle of it. Read it early on Patreon.