Character: Bridget

The Shape of a Name

The writing process for Hell, Inc. is a lot looser than it is when I’m working on a graphic novel, largely due to the delivery method. When the reader is only getting one page at a time, it’s more important that each individual strip be able to function semi-independently than a page of a book needs to. In practical terms, it gives me more license to do weird little asides like this one that came from realizing that B.L. Zebub had never actually said Ray’s name out loud before.

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. You should also follow him on Twitter to learn about his new novel releases. He writes that good good scary shit. You should ALSO check out the Hell, Inc. Patreon, which is currently host to my new graphic novel, Hockeypocalypse: Slashers. I’m posting new pages every week for patrons at the $5/month and up levels. You get to help me have an income while I draw the book AND you’ll get a printed copy in the mail when they’re ready! So go support your favourite cartoonist for the cost of a coffee (which is a terrible point to convince someone of anything, since caffeine is addictive and, unfortunately, my comics are not).

You can vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which helps bring in new readers. Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Detective B.L. Zebub is on the case. Read it early on Patreon!

Object Permanence

I’m bouncing between projects like I’m a superball right now. I’m currently alternating between working on Hell, Inc., Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, Reforged, and writing the graphic novel that I’ll be working on after Slashers. Oh, and some stuff to send to literary agents. If effort and income were directly correlated, I would be much less horrified at how much my new glasses prescription costs.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Brien Aronov is Employee of the Week, and you can too! Get Employee of the Week shoutouts, read Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it, or commission digital art! All of those things also help provide a level of predictability to my income that basically doesn’t exist otherwise, because freelancing is chaos.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which helps push it up the rankings and make it more visible to new readers! It’s a new month (tomorrow), so be sure to get your votes in as the rankings reset. Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: B.L. Zebub is extremely good at his job and keeping track of his underlings. Stop laughing. Read it early on Patreon!

Good at Being a Face

What’s that, Doug’s inability to process signals exists because I also can’t process signals? Nah, sounds fake, nobody would write that.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Joe Amon is Employee of the Week, and you can, too! Get Employee of the Week shoutouts, read Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it, or commission digital art! All of those things also help provide a level of predictability to my income that basically doesn’t exist otherwise, because freelancing is chaos.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which helps push it up the rankings and make it more visible to new readers! Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: Sara is still traumatized and Doug might not have object permanence. Psychological stuff! Read it early on Patreon!

Work Place Skeleton Face

Work Place Skeleton Face is my new band, and also my office aesthetic in case things go downhill and I need a real job. I shall have a visage that engenders in my co-workers uncertainty and a strong desire to stop interacting with me. That seems ideal.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cait is Employee of the Week at Hell, Inc. and also at her soap business, Soaps & Sorcery. She’s running a clearance sale to allow new product to cycle in, so get on that and get cleanified. You, too, can support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, which includes access to Hockeypocalypse: Slashers at the $5 or great tiers, and original digital art commissions! So do that, because Patreon is the only even slightly predictable income I have!

Vote daily for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below! It’s the most consistent way to bring in new readers to the comic! The best way, it turns out, is to have a viral tweet, but I have no control over that.

Next Week: Longing for the future where you aren’t in the office for eleventy-two hours a day. Read it on Patreon!

Soul Searching

Why yes, I did realize when I sat down to draw this strip that I was going to have to invent a search engine for Hell. For something made up on the spot, I’m pretty happy with it. B.L. Zebub isn’t, so much, but I am.

In other news, it’s my birthday today! If you want to help me celebrate (and also boost my Etsy rating), buy a book or two from my Etsy store between now and February 7th, 2022! You get great books at a discount, I get money to pay for things like new glasses! Everyone wins.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

It’s me, for surviving another year. Next week it could be you, if you support Hell, Inc. on Patreon! At the $5/month or higher tier, you get to read Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as a premium webcomic before it goes to print (at which point you will get a copy in the mail!).

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics! Unless you’re reading this on update day, it’s a new month, which means votes are worth more as the rankings reset! Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Checking in with the intern spy, who is focusing on the wrong thing. Read it early on Patreon!

A Third Thing

Drawing attention to the rule of comedy threes is a joke structure I always love when I see it. Speaking of seeing, the comic you’re seeing was drawn EIGHT MONTHS after the comic from last week. In between I drew most of Hockeypocalypse: Slashers and have been working on some SECRET PROJECTS. One of those is supposed to come out right away, which will be cool.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Leonardo is Employee of the Week, but is unfortunately not a ninja turtle (as far as I know). You, too, can have me speculate about whether you might be a mutant reptile by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon. If you pledge at the $5/month or higher level, you’ll get to read Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it! Which you should want to do, because it rips.

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

Next Week: B.L. Zebub figures out his tormentation strategy, and I make up the word tormentation. Read it early on Patreon!

Favourite Person-Adjacent Demon Thing

You, too, should make sure you tell your favourite person-adjacent demon thing that they’re your favourite person-adjacent demon thing. Sometimes when I write these news posts it feels like I’m just shotgunning words into the ether. This is one of those times. You’re welcome. Also, this is the last strip in book 5. Next week will be the first strip of book 6. There was just shy of 8 months between drawing those strips!

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 Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it! I’m in the midst of drawing the absolutely massive issue 15 (which is 60 pages long!) You also get Hell, Inc. strips early, or, at higher levels, you can commission original art from me!

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which helps drive new readers to the site. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Book six begins! Read it early on Patreon!

O’Helliplans

Sara might as well be photo-referenced from everyone who doesn’t use a pre-lit Christmas tree, or who puts lights on the outside of their house. I can’t remember when, but at a certain point my parents gave up on string lights and embraced Christmas trees with built-in lights. I’m sure Sara wishes the office had made that decision, but obviously Hell wouldn’t do something like that.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Bartender of the Apocalypse is Employee of the Week, and perhaps they will be seeing the office crew at O’Hellihan’s later. You should also support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, and perhaps subscribe at the $5/month and up level to read my new graphic novel Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it.

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which increases Hell, Inc.’s visibility to new readers! Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Doug’s brain leaks out of his ears a little bit. Just a little bit. Read it early on Patreon!

Extreme Christmas Measures

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate, and happy holidays to everyone! It’s a busy season, which resulted in me forgetting what day it was, so this is later in the day than normal. What even is time?

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Sebastian is Employee of the holiday Week! Like him, you can also read Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it AND access to over a thousand pages of other comics, including the previous Hockeypocalypse books, for $5 a month on Patreon. It’s like a giving me a Christmas present and then I give you multiple new pages ever week!

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics! It’s a regular source of new readers, and more votes = higher placement and better visibility. Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: Untangling Christmas lights, a task so annoying that I bought a Christmas tree with the lights built into it. Read it early on Patreon!

Drinkable Plans

So last week I had a tweet become extremely popular, which was not an experience I had previously had. As a result, Hell, Inc. had some truly absurd (by my standards) readership stats, and some of you reading this right now have found your way here from that. Welcome! This is Hell, Inc., it is very good, you should keep reading it.

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 in the second half of the book 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 also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is not nearly as effective as having a popular tweet, but has been a more easily enacted strategy for gaining new readers. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: B.L. Zebub must enact extreme measures, which might be some sort of nuclear overtime? Hard to say, but you can find out by reading it early on Patreon!