Chapter: 2021

Less Immediate, Still Regret

This and the next strip were originally supposed to be one episode, which was, obviously a very poor bit of planning. Thankfully I’ve been doing this long enough to be able to spot those kinds of issues before they become a problem, or solve those problems in ways that don’t stick out as patch-jobs.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Christine Bennett, better known as Purple Pony Art, is Employee of the Week! She has early access to Hell, Inc. Volume 5: “Overtime” and you can, too! Head over to the Hell, Inc. Patreon and for as little as $1 a month you’ll get access to that book and over 1000 pages of over digital comics! Patreon is my most predictable source of income, so even $1 a month makes a big difference!

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which is the primary source of new readers for the comic. It’s the beginning of the month, so votes are worth even more as the rankings reset. Vote daily by clicking on the banner below!

Next Week: Back immediate regrets. Read it early on Patreon!

Immediate Regret

It’s Victoria Day in Canada, which means a long weekend which always screws up my routines for remembering to update. Could I load a bunch of posts in advance and not have to worry about that? Probably. Am I going to? Probably not. Much like how watching the NHL playoffs has made me furiously angry, but will I keep watching the Oilers next season? Yes. Will I do so while wallowing in self-loathing? Probably. If you want to check out the product of the last time I was in this headspace, go read the Hockeypocalypse books. People aware of the origins of the series will not be shocked to learn I’ve been writing a new volume.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Sebastian is Employee of the Week, and will be one of the first to have access to Hell, Inc. Volume 5: Overtime later this week, as I’m in the process of finishing that up. You can get that AND access to over a thousand pages of other comics, including the aforementioned Hockeypocalypse series, for as little as $1 a month on Patreon and ALSO help support me, the creator of said comics, because apparently humans need money to live.

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which brings in more new readers than any other avenue thus far. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Mistakes were made, and their consequences have become clear. Read it early on Patreon!

Worst Person in Hell

One thing I’ve learned while working on Hell, Inc. is that a handful of the characters are a huge pain in the ass to colour because they have way more colours than everyone else. Willis is one of those characters. I’m glad he’s not really a character who pops up in backgrounds.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Jillian Dolan, artist of Kyle the Nihilist Dinosaur, Misha, and other delightful comics, is Employee of the Week! She is one of the folks with exclusive early access to the digital edition of Hell, Inc. Volume 4: Mandatory and will be receiving a digital copy of Hell, Inc. Volume 5: Overtime when it’s done in two weeks or so. Support Hell, Inc. on Patreon for as little as $1 a month and you, too, can have early access to every Hell, Inc. book and over a thousand pages of other comics!

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which boosts the comic’s visibility and helps bring in new readers. You can vote daily by clicking on the banner below!

Next Week: The party planning binder is… maybe a bit excessive. Read it early on Patreon!

Fried Tires and Nuclear Fish

Is this a weirder callback than Steve eating the bees? Yes. Yes it is. In other news, I’ve just finished drawing episode 210, which is the end of book 5! Once the book short story and the cover are done, that’ll be a wrap on that volume, then on to book 6!

Speaking of books, I’ve put together a survey about how people want the print books to be released. Click here to give your feedback!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cindy Gauthier is Employee of the Week, and you can read her comic Posthumous on Webtoon (where you can also read Hell, Inc., if that’s a format you prefer). If you want to get your comics needs handled, support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, where you’ll get a digital copy of Hell, Inc. Volume 4: “Mandatory” (which includes a book-exclusive short story) as well as over 1000 pages of other comics! Patrons should keep an eye out for volume 5, which is currently being wrapped up. I’ve probably got about two weeks left on that.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is responsible for lots of new readers. Click on the banner below to vote daily and help boost Hell, Inc.’s visibility!

Next Week: You know what everyone loves? Meetings. Read it early on Patreon!

Scrumptiosity

Every time I write a scene in the elevator I think it’s going to be so easy to draw, because it’s just a handful of characters talking to deliver plot and jokes. Then I remember all the faces I have to draw and the cameos I have to put too much effort into (there’s only one that some of you might recognize in this one).

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Ben Hamlin is Employee of the Week! You can find Ben’s podcasts/streams on the Infinity Break Network! You should do that, they’re a lot of fun. He also has access to Hell, Inc. Volume 4: Mandatory, and you can too if you head over to the Hell, Inc. Patreon page and chip in as little as $1/month! Patrons have access to both the third and fourth Hell, Inc. print books in their digital form, including exclusive short stories in each, and over 1000 pages of other digital comics!

It’s early in the month, which means votes on Top Webcomics are a lot more valuable than usual as the rankings reset! Please continue voting and keeping Hell, Inc. highly ranked, because you folks are great. Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: Remember that conference room from, like, a hundred and twenty or thirty pages ago? Remember Willis? No? Reacquaint yourselves early on Patreon!

Clear Eyes, Full of Bees, Can’t Lose

I blame the title of this strip being a Friday Night Lights joke on the Dilettante Ball podcast. It’s delightful, and the kind of podcast that will spend a year clicking “random article” on the Friday Night Lights TV show wiki as a bizarre joke that they definitely regret pretty quickly. Go listen to it.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Robbie Dorman is Employee of the Week, and is co-host of The Simpsons Show, the only podcast about The Simpsons. You should also follow him on Twitter to learn about his new novel releases. You should ALSO check out the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where Hell, Inc. Volume 4: Mandatory is now available to patrons at any level! Patreon helps me to things like “eat food” and “pay my mortgage.”

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which continues to be the largest source of new readers for the comic. You can vote daily by clicking on the link below!

Next Week: Things get weird in the Hellevator. Read it early on Patreon!

Stingerless Bees My Butt

Keen-eyed readers may have noticed that Steve is frequently seen eating bees out of a ziplock bag. This is a very dumb joke that I have been setting up since episode FIFTEEN. For those keeping count, this is episode 171. Speaking of episode numbers, I just finished drawing strip 199 about half an hour ago, as if this writing. 200 will be tomorrow!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Brien Aronov is Employee of the Week, and has access to the Patreon-exclusive digital copy of Hell, Inc. Volume 4: “Mandatory.” You can, too, by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon! For as little as $1, you can keep the company profitable and also get access to over a thousand pages of digital comics, which are sent to all new patrons.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is where the largest number of new readers are from. You can vote daily by clicking on the banner below!

Next Week: Stingerless bees are a win/win situation. Find out how on Patreon.

Gloating Doesn’t Have to Make Sense

You know, sometimes B.L. Zebub is right. Gloating doesn’t have to make sense, you just need enough smarm and smugness that everyone around you is deeply irritated in their soul by it. It’s a very B.L. Zebub to be right about, really.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Joe Amon is Employee of the Week, and has access to the digital version of Hell, Inc. Volume 4: “Mandatory.” You can, too, by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon for as little as $1 a month! Not only is it a relatively stable source of income, which, as an artist, is a nightmare to obtain, it also does wonders for my self esteem! So much of making a webcomic feels a bit like posting into the void, so one of the most validating feelings is seeing en email introducing a new patron who enjoys what I’m doing enough to give me a dollar for it.

You can also help Hell, Inc. get new readers by voting for it on Top Webcomics! Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Snacks that bite back. Read it early on Patreon!

Subtlety

It’s important not to be too subtle about your expectations. Also, at some point I got much better at spacing out dialogue so that I can fit all of the balloons in comfortably and easily. BTW, this is page 169. Nice.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cait is Employee of the Week, and has just relaunched her Etsy shop, Soaps & Sorcery! Go buy soap from it, and also keep an eye out for a Hell, Inc. themed soap collab at some point later this year. She is surprisingly game for my very silly theme ideas. You should also keep an eye out on the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where new patrons receive access to over a thousand pages of digital comics, including the as-yet-unreleased Hell, Inc. Volumes 3 and 4! Also you will know that you made me super-psyched, because the feeling of getting those “you have a new patron” emails is incredibly motivating and validating.

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which helps bring in new readers! It’s early in the month, which means votes are even more valuable as the rankings reset. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Gloating doesn’t have to make sense! Read it early on Patreon!

 

Re-promoted

And that’s a wrap on volume 4! In fact, I’m already halfway done drawing volume 5, which is zipping along pretty quickly. As of typing this post, I’ve just finished strip 189, and have scripts up to 205. I’m hoping to have the whole volume scripted by the end of the week, then I’ll start figuring out the back-up story for the print book while I draw the rest of the volume.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Bartender of the Apocalypse is Employee of the Week, and presumably works at O’Hellihan’s pub. They support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, and you can, too! New patrons receive access to Hell, Inc. Volume 4: “Mandatory,” which includes a book-exclusive short story about The Bad Chair, and over a thousand pages of other digital comics!

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is where the largest number of new readers come from. Votes early in the month are especially valuable as the rankings reset, and your efforts have been keeping Hell, Inc. in the top 300 for the last several months. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Volume 5 begins in the Real Break Room! Read it early on Patreon!