Character: Arrivals Lady

Cerberus Ate My Homework

I suppose Cerberus didn’t EAT the homework so much as demolish it, and a bunch of stuff around it. This week’s Patreon preview is a little bit about the construction of this Helen arc, but also about how much fun drawing action sequences in a comic strip is.

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.

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, 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: Cerberus keeps going! Read it early on Patreon!

The Weight of Expectations

Based on how much Helen is sweating, apparently the weight of expectations is water weight. The Patreon preview for this strip was about drawing that.

In other news, I’m going to be drawing Hell, Inc. page FOUR HUNDRED this week. It feels like I haven’t been doing this strip for very long, but it’s been 7 years.

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 yet another guest appearance! This time, we talked about Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury! We talk about the Prologue, which is an insane rarity – a first episode that is also the best episode of the series. You also get to hear me say some absurd Gundam character names, which I could have done for MUCH longer. You can also hear me talk about a bunch of other shows, like Better Call Saul, Newsradio, Workaholics, and Ugly Americans!

You can also 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’s presentation continues… sort of. Read it early on Patreon!

 

Great Expectations

The Patreon preview for this one is mostly about how I arrived at the title.

I spent the past weekend at Gamecon Canada, which was a lot of fun. It’s always a bit strange to be at a convention and not be tabling. I was part of the Play On Tabletop narrative 40k event, bringing my Orks to serve as the spare player to ensure there weren’t any byes. I ended up playing in 3 out of the 4 rounds, which made me baffled by the people playing in the 40k Grand Tournament who had 6 or 8 games or something like that over the same time span. My brain would be leaking out of my ears after that many games in a weekend.

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!

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: The overheating photocopier becomes a bigger problem. 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!

Bridget Smash… Hand Bones

I think that’s more or less what would happen to me if I tried to karate chop a desk in half. Just BAM skeleton hand flying through the air. I also think the visual of a skeleton, or parts of a skeleton, popping out of a person intact is extremely funny for reasons I can’t fully articulate. This week’s Patreon preview goes into that a bit.

I’ve been nominated for a Sequential Magazine Award in the Favourite Cartoonist category! The Sequential awards are intended to recognize Canadian indie comics. Please go vote (for me, specifically), because I would very much like to win. Click on the image below to be taken to the landing page with the nominees and the link to the voting form (you can vote in as many or as few categories as you want).

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Brien Aronov is Employee of the Week, and you can, too! Patreon is my only predictable source of income, so chipping in a dollar or two is extremely appreciated, and helps ease the burden put on freelancing and conventions to prop up my art income!

You can also vote on Top Webcomics, because I guess we’re doing a voting theme this week. Click the banner below to vote!

Next Week: Failure chicken reaches the point of… chicken? The chickening? Read it early on Patreon!

Office Cult-ure

You can tell whether you’ve got a good workplace by how much chanting happens. I assume more is better? I’ve never had a chanting workplace. I should try to cultivate that in my studio space, but guinea pigs and chinchillas are notoriously chant-averse creatures.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

As you may have gathered from the graphic below, I’ve been nominated for a Sequential Magazine Award in the Favourite Cartoonist category! The Sequential awards are intended to recognize Canadian indie comics. Click on the image below to be taken to the landing page with the nominees and the link to the voting form (you can vote in as many or as few categories as you want). I would very much appreciate your votes, because I’ve lost various categories of these awards, like, 5 times now. Click on the image below and go vote (for me)!

You can also vote on Top Webcomics, because I guess we’re doing a voting theme this week. Click the banner below to vote!

Next Week: Strategies are formulated. They are not good. Read it early on Patreon!

Correct Cowards

Look, if not wanting to know if it’s possible for a minotaur lady to turn your femurs into harmonicas is cowardice, then I guess I’m a coward, too.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Bartender of the Apocalypse is Employee of the Week! You can be Employee of the Week as well by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon at the $2/month or greater levels. For even greater bang for your buck, the $5/month level lets you read Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it, and at $20/month you get a custom piece of black and white art of a character of your choosing! If you want to see a free sample of Slashers, hit this link.

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics! Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: The (physically) biggest return in the series! Read it early on Patreon!

Horror of Eternity

Hooray, the site is unbroken, without missing any updates! Just several days of frustration and anger at my webhost, who broke everything during a server migration. Shout out to Greg deJong, who both designed this site and fixed it (I assume via witchcraft and other black magicks).

I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn that the first panel took longer to draw than the rest of the strip combined. The archive area is based on the filing system at my dentist’s office, but turned sideways so as to look more labyrinthine. Fun fact: the frog demon guy in the foreground is the first demon to not be a shade of red.

Also, a quick update for Patrons – the Employee of the Week stuff is going to start next week, now that things are somewhat stable.

Next Week: Our Earthly corporate overlords are on the way to meet with our Satanic corporate overlords. What does that even mean? Find out a week early by supporting on Patreon!