Character: Helen

One For Everybody

Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m bringing back a character we last saw about 140 strips ago. I’m an unstoppable juggernaut of (very) slowly turning Hell into Springfield. Wait until a few strips from now when I do it again! And probably more times later! I’m actually getting ahead again, so expect to hear about some other projects as well as Hell, Inc. in the near future. One of which is still Hell, Inc. related, I suppose, since it’s Hell, Inc. The RPG, which a lot of my recent efforts have been dedicated to.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Leonardo is Employee of the Week! They’ve got a copy of Hockeypocalypse: Slashers coming in the mail because they supported its creation! You can do that with my next graphic novel, which I will be serializing on Patreon as well. Backers at the $5/month and up tiers will get a copy mailed to them when it’s finished!

You can also sign up for my newsletter, where I’ll be announcing a new Hell, Inc.-related projected later this week!

Next Week: Enter the Drunknasium! Which I guess is just a bar? Read it early on Patreon!

Santa Sez

It is very appropriate to be posting a Hell, Inc. comic on Halloween. And also to be posting one about Christmas in Hell, because that’s just retail stores now that Christmas has started encroaching past Halloween. I propose that be countered by incorporating the leering, fanged Santa from this strip, who can caper about the store terrifying children while getting schlompered on antifreeze. I don’t know what that would achieve, exactly, but as long as I get my beak wet on the licensing, it seems like a great idea.

When I sat down to draw this one, I was like “awesome, this one’s three panels, should be an easy night. I might get the whole thing done in one sitting!” Then two hours of penciling the first panel later, I realized I had maybe chosen an overly ambitious first shot if I wanted an easy night. I do think it serves to set up O’Hellihan’s nicely, though, as we haven’t seen it for about 130 strips.

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. 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! That would be pretty cool.

Also, since Twitter may or may not become a (more) nightmarish hellscape in the near future, sign up for my monthly-ish email newsletter to keep up with the kinds of stuff I post on social media, but without me talking about sports as I watch them.

Cheers!

This is the 250th Hell, Inc. strip! That’s so many strips! No wonder I’m so tired. Is that why I thought it was a great idea to dedicate the 250th strip to a joke based on a 40+ year old sitcom that I haven’t even seen that much of? No, I definitely still think that’s genuinely a fun thing to do in the comic that is the closet I’ll ever get to making a sitcom. My original conception of this involved drawing in the style of the Cheers opening, until I rewatched it and realized the things I remembered as drawings were photos.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Barrie Deatcher is Employee of the Week, and he’s already got a copy of Hockeypocalypse: Slashers coming to him from supporting the creation of the book on Patreon! I’m gonna do that again with my next book, but work keeps piling on me before I can get my shit together to a level where I’m comfortable announcing what it is. Patreon is also how I make predictable money, so if you can kick in a buck, you should, because I can use it.

Also there’s a newsletter now, so subscribe and check that out.

The Only One Allowed to Puke

Aaaaaand that’s the end of the buffer (again), so I need to get back on that. I’m currently in the RPG mines doing editing, layout, and (inevitably) additional art for the book. I’m spending my spare time buried in packaging materials as I ship out Hockeypocalypse: Slashers and prepare to ship out Hell, Inc. The RPG. The post office is going to put up a poster with my face on it that says “do not serve this man.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Ben Hamlin, host of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben (among other casted pods), is Employee of the Week. I’ve been a guest on several episodes, most recently the strange and Hell, Inc.-esque animated comedy Ugly Americans – a short-lived series that never quite reached the potential of its premise. I’m also on the episodes about extremely well-crafted but under-remembered ’90s sitcom NewsRadio and 2010s stoner thing that loosely adheres to its premise, Workaholics.

Patreon! It’s a predictable source of income, so if you like things that I do, check it out.

Also check out the newsletter, which is how to hear about what I’m up to without needing to subject yourself to things like Twitter.

The Boot-lickening

One of my favourite ways for people to signal that I should not respect them is when they are shitty to anyone “below” them in whatever hierarchy they are part of, but a sniveling toad to anyone “above” them. I have seen this at comics industry parties and the secondhand embarrassment is STRONG.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

“Game Time” Art Middleton is Employee of the Week! Follow him on Twitter or check out his Twitch streams, OR… do both of those things.  Also, head over to the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where you can support the continued existence of your favourite office demons. It turns out that humans, like demons, need money to live! Me, specifically.

You can also sign up for my newsletter, where I just announced that Hell, Inc. The RPG will be part of Kickstarter ZineQuest, launching on August 23rd!

Next Week: Stan and B.L. Zebub have a stirring intellectual debate about the finer points of motor oil. Read it early on Patreon!

Butt-based Stealth

Butt-based stealth usually means “not farting,” so this is a new, dynamic approach to the topic.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Leonardo is Employee of the Week, and you can, too, by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon at the $2/month or higher levels!

You can also sign up for my newsletter, where I’ll be announcing a new Hell, Inc.-related projected later this week!

Next Week: Stan is back, and Satan-y-er than ever! I don’t know what that means, either. Read it early on Patreon!

Antifreeze Vibrations

I don’t remember how, when, or why, but Helen’s personality being informed by middle-aged white women whose personality has never stopped being “drinking” has given me so much more material than I ever expected. Helen is one of a handful of characters who didn’t exist at all in the original black and white Hell, Inc. comics (I haven’t mentioned those in ages, eh?) but who I now actively seek to include in scenes because she adds a specific kind of energy that the other characters don’t bring. An extremely chaotic wine goblin energy.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Shane Lees is Employee of the Week! He has launched a new webcomic, Tales of Abuse, which you can check out at his website. With Hockeypocalypse: Slashers concluded, Patreon patrons are going to be getting a new graphic novel serialized soon, but first, starting in August, you’ll be seeing the remastered for print version of the first Rent-A-Thug story published in over a decade, La Cosa Glasnostra. I drew the entire thing in Webtoon’s vertical scrolling format, so reconstructing it into printable pages has been a challenge.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER for what I’m working on, what my friends are working on, and pictures of my pets. If YOU have a creative project of some sort that you’d like to share with Hell, Inc. readers, get in touch to be featured in The Friend Zone.

Next Week: The opportunity to escape is looming as soon as a certain head/butt-based interaction happens. Read it early on Patreon!

Never (Immediately) Forget

I am a man in my 30s with ADHD, so I Regularly (Immediately) Forget all kinds of stuff. Like, so much stuff. My brain gives me Hell, Inc., but takes things like “what day it is” and “what I meant to do when I sat down and opened the computer.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Sebastian is Employee of the Week, and you can, too!

We’re under two weeks left on Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, so head over to Zoop and preorder a copy, which will ALSO help fund the creation of the book. It is my favourite comic I’ve ever written/drawn, and I think you’ll agree. Preorder your copy to help fund the book’s existence! Get it for yourself, get it for a friend or family member, or do all of the above! Not interested in Hockeypocalypse (you should be, are you okay?)? Donate your copy to your local library when you get it!

The Secret Technique

Last week was obnoxiously busy, with Hockeypocalypse: Slashers launching on Zoop (go preorder a copy, by the way, and greatly reduce my stress levels), two podcast recordings, launching the quickplay rules for the RPG Cait and I have been making, Fail Marines. I’m very tired.

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 exploring space and how the things that are in space are often terrifying. Season 2 is underway!

I like a good Patreon plug as much as anyone, but the real business here is Hockeypocalypse: Slashers on Zoop. It is my favourite comic I’ve ever written/drawn, and I think you’ll agree. Preorder your copy to help fund the book’s existence! Get it for yourself, get it for a friend or family member, or do all of the above! Not interested in Hockeypocalypse (you should be, are you okay?)? Donate your copy to your local library when you get it!

My Hero’s Broken Body

Cerberus is very fun to draw but I had to completely relearn how to do it, because his previous appearance (prior to a few strips ago) was drawn nearly 3 years ago. It turns out that the muscle memory for a character that was in four or five panels doesn’t last for several years! Who could have guessed?

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! Votes are worth more early in the month as the rankings reset. Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: Leash laws apply in the Hell, Inc. lobby. Read it early on Patreon!