Character: Helen

Too Much? Too Much

“We need a six out of ten, and you’re giving us a fifteen, so maybe let’s dial it back a little?” Also I am not at all going to miss drawing the practice calendar in the background, because it always ends up making things take longer.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Jillian Dolan is Employee of the Week! You should check out the comics she’s drawn, Kyle the Nihilist Dinosaur and Misha. We also just took the same digital colouring class last weekend, although you won’t see any of the things I learned from it in Hell, Inc. in the near future, because I’m like 30 strips ahead right now. If you want to help out your favourite independent artist/fake megacorporation, be like Jillian and support Hell, Inc. on Patreon. New patrons will be receiving a digital copy of Hell, Inc. book 3, “Team-building Exercise,” as well as over a thousand pages of other comics.

You can also support Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, because that’s the largest source of new readers for the comic. You can vote daily by clicking on the banner below!

Next Week: Sara’s enthusiasm continues to be mismatched to the situation. Read it early on Patreon!

Drag Me to Hell (from Elsewhere in Hell)

Having just lettered a later page in the series (the as-yet-untitled strip #134) and completely botched the balloon spacing to the point that I had to change font sizes to make things fit, I have no idea how I managed to leave the exact right amount of space in the last panel of this strip. Spacing weird balloons like that is much harder than spacing the normal ones, and somehow I got that one right.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Welcome new Employee of the Week, Christine! Christine is the artist behind Purple Pony Art, and is among the folks to have access to Hell, Inc. Volume 3: Team-Building Excercise well before the general populace! As a special thanks to the Patrons who are supplying my only income during the COVID crisis, the third Hell, Inc. book will be available to all Patrons at every support level. It won’t be made available otherwise until the next Kickstarter (for books 3 and 4). If you want to help support Hell, Inc., head over to the Patreon. Every dollar helps (a lot), and during quarantine/social-distancing all patrons will receive a Dropbox link with over a thousand pages of comics to pass the quarantime.

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which is the largest source of new readers for the site. More votes = more readers, so please do that.

Next Week: The floor is lava! Kind of literally! Read it early on Patreon!

Princess of Hell

This was a “I think I wrote too much dialogue, but managed to fit it all in without ruining the art anyway” strip. They happen once in a while, and are usually the result of me not realizing while I’m writing that I should have broken a strip into two. A rule of thumb I tend to like for that is by counting the number of bubbles on the page – if I get past 7, I need to think about splitting the strip into two and punching up the mid-strip joke to carry a strip. Do people like it when I ramble about technical stuff like this? I don’t know, but you could tell me!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Welcome new Employee of the Week Sebastian, who has joined up just in time for the new Patreon promotion – book 3! That’s right, as I announced late last week, Hell, Inc. Volume 3 – Team-Building Exercise, is finished, and is going to be available exclusively to patrons while we’re stuck at home due to COVID-19. I can’t do a lot to make your time in self-isolation better, but what I can do, I will! It includes a six page short story that will only be available in the book, so check that out. Patrons at any level will be able to download their own PDF copy at their leisure.

Patreon is the only source of income at the moment, so every dollar helps me AND gets you a copy of not only volume 3, but access to over 1000 pages of other comics I’ve worked on! If you dig Hell, Inc. and think it’s worth a dollar, I’d really appreciate it!

You can also help out by visiting Top Webcomics and voting for Hell, Inc., which exposes it to new readers and thus new potential patrons. You can vote once per day by clicking the banner below!

Next Week: Doug’s DIY Bouncer Service. Read it early by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon!

First Responders

“I mean, we’ve put in a small amount of effort, what more can we do!?” – Bridget and Steve.

This update is later in the day than normal, because the COVID social distancing situation has led me to struggle even more with knowing what day it is, especially now that Caitlin works from home. Every day is just kinda the same.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Welcome another new employee, Laurel! If you think Hell, Inc. is worth a dollar, head over to the Patreon and help keep things going. COVID has pretty much destroyed my income for March and April, which were reliant on going out into the public and selling things. As an added incentive, all patrons are going to have access to the digital comics library for the duration of the COVID crisis, which includes well over a thousand pages of comics that I’ve drawn, and bonus appearances by one of my favourite cartoonists, Lukasz Kowalczuk! So check that out, you will not find a better deal.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting on Top Webcomics. The comic is pretty highly ranked this month, and that’s helping to bring in new readers and keep more folks self-isolated without losing their minds. Click on the banner below to vote.

NEXT WEEK: Maybe customers retching on the floor is not ideal for the restaurant staff? Read it a week early on Patreon.

Shots, Shots Shotsshotsshots

I don’t know exactly when Helen became that middle-aged white lady who pretends wine is a personality, but she’s become way more interesting as a result. Which also means she’ll pop up more frequently, because that happens every time I figure out how I want to write a character.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Welcome new employee Jillian Dolan! She is the artist of Kyle the Nihilist Dinosaur, Misha, and other comics! You should go check them out, they’re great. Jillian was the first new patron to take advantage of my COVID boredness-relief effort – all patrons will receive a link to a Dropbox folder with every digital comic I’ve produced that I have redistribution rights for. There are roughly 1,150 pages of comics in there, with more added every time I have a new book or short story released. It’s an ideal way to get a lot of material to read and also support your favourite artist who suddenly has no conventions or book fairs (aka a large amount of my income) for the foreseeable future. So if you think Hell, Inc. and over a thousand pages of other things I’ve drawn are worth a few bucks, hit up the Hell, Inc. Patreon and you’ll have a folder of comics within 24 hours. It will be VERY appreciated.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting on Top Webcomics. The comic is pretty highly ranked this month, and that’s helping to bring in new readers and keep more folks self-isolated without losing their minds. Click on the banner below to vote.

Next Week: Hell’s best crisis management team. Read it early on Patreon!

Sweaty Steve

Steve is me after I play sports. The sweating starts early and ends… never. It never ends. I look like I’ve been in a rain storm before I’m even tired.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cindy Gauthier is Employee of the Week, and you did not come to see us at Dead By Con last weekend, because it was postponed due to COVID-19. Incidentally, most of my expected income for the month was from events and appearances, which are now postponed/canceled, so if you think Hell, Inc. is worth a buck or two, support me on Patreon, because that’s my only predictable form of income each month. The rest of my money comes from freelancing and selling books, which is WILDLY INCONSISTENT even without the goddamn plague.

Vote. Top Webcomics. Do it. It’s how I get more readers and keep this thing chugging along. Click the banner.

Next Week: Shots, shots shotsshotsshots. Read it early on Patreon!

Eyes on the Prize

I have returned from my vacation in Mexico, which is the first real vacation (ie. not doing a convention so I can afford the rest of the trip) I’ve taken in FOURTEEN YEARS. I feel great, which I’m sure freelancing will take care of shortly.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Brien Aronov is Employee of the Week! He doesn’t have anything for me to plug in these news posts, but YOU could. If you think Hell, Inc is worth a buck, head on over to the Patreon and become a patron so I can spend more time on this instead of freelancing. Stumping for work sucks, I’d much rather be making my own work to entertain you folks.

Votes on Top Webcomics are a great way to support the comic, as well. New readers = more dopamine hits from the stat ticker going up. It (and Webtoon) are the largest source of new readers, so votes are very useful. Click the banner to vote!

Next Week: Doug is on some real Charlie Brown on the mound shit. Read it early on Patreon!

Be the Cockatrice Butt

I don’t know why I’ve been going really crazy with backgrounds lately, but I definitely have. As I type this, I’m taking a break from colouring a scene that is even more full of stuff. Also, I’m typing this several days before it goes up, because when it’s live, I’ll be on the first vacation I’ve taken in 14 years. COMICS, EVERYONE.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Joe Amon is Employee of the Week! If you, like Joe, think Hell, Inc. is worth a dollar, kick that dollar over to the Hell, Inc. Patreon, which helps finance things like “my mortgage payments” and “drawing this comic instead of hunting for freelance jobs.” You can get rewards like early access to Hell, Inc. strips and EVERY DIGITAL COMIC I’VE EVER MADE (that I’m not legally prevented from offering as a Patreon reward). So go do that.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which has been the best source for bringing in new readers to the comic. Click the banner below to vote!

Next Week: Helen’s priorities are very well-defined. Find out what they are by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon.

Skyrocketed

I have definitely had the thought “your value to me has suddenly skyrocketed” when having conversations with people within my industry/at functions. I think everyone has, at some point. That moment when talking to a new person when you realize they have some skill or interest or relationship that gets the gears in your brain turning, trying to figure out how to use that in some sort of collaboration. No? Just me?

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Damion is Employee of the Week, and hasn’t sent anything for me to shout out. But YOU can send me something to shout out, and I’ll do it on a regular basis if if you support the Hell, Inc. Patreon. Do you think what I do on this comic is worth a dollar? Then chip in on the Patreon! It helps me avoid doing things like I’ve been doing for the past few weeks, where I develop pitches for specific publishers to try to convince them that people want to buy it.

If you can’t afford to support the Patreon, I get it. But you CAN help out for FREE by voting for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics and helping drive new readers to the site.

Next Week: Next week’s comic is property of the Hell, Inc. Mandatory Athletics Department. Read it early on Patreon!

Inarticulate Rage

I don’t know how many times I’ve done it, but I’m sure I will go back to the well of “character wants a specific piece of information that nobody knows/cares to tell them” many times. It feels like the most “I hate my job ever so very much” thing to me.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Robbie Dorman, who is releasing his THIRD NOVEL SINCE THE EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK PROGRAM STARTED. Holy shit, look at him go! It’s called Underneath, and is available for pre-order now. It comes out on November 25th (so, next Monday). If you want to be Employee of the Week and have me plug your novel/comic/video game/twitter account/van by the river, support Hell, Inc. on Patreon. Also, it’s how I avoid taking freelance jobs, and if this year is any indication, I am taking more freelance jobs than ever soooooo whoops. I’d like to do more than one strip a week, and not have to do jobs where I’m not in charge, so Patreon. Money. Me. Draw more things. Caveman?

As always, not everyone can afford to give their favourite artists money. But everyone can afford to give them clicks! Click on the banner below to vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which is the number one source for driving new readers to the site.

Next Week: Promotions! Get promoted early by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon!