Character: Sara

Honourable, Horrible Monster

It always seems like a way better idea to set a scene in an elevator when I’m writing than it does when I have to draw it. Like, WAY better. Most of what will become Hell, Inc. book 2 (yes, I’m planning those things already) involves scenes that didn’t need to take as long to draw as they did, but Writer Jeff doesn’t care about Artist Jeff’s sanity AT ALL.

In other news, Hell, Inc. has been getting a lot of new readers coming in through Comic Rocket, which is pretty cool. I don’t know what resulted in Hell, Inc. getting enough traffic to get onto the front page as a Rising Star, but since that happened, it’s been a rich-get-richer scenario as more and more readers discover the comic. And you know what? That’s fucking awesome. If you’re one of those readers who has arrived via Comic Rocket, welcome!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Damian is Employee of the Week! If you want to get a shoutout and help the other employees on the march to free copies of the old Hell, Inc. comic books, toss a couple of bucks into the coffers of the Hell, Inc. Patreon. It’s how I pay for the web hosting and other things like “eating” and “buying art supplies.”

If you want to help support Hell, Inc. without spending any money, you can vote for the comic on Top Webcomics. Like Comic Rocket, it’s been a growing source of new readers for the comic, and more readers is pretty ideal for everyone involved. Click the banner below to vote!

Next Week: The elevator gets to the lobby. EXCITING TIMES AHEAD. Read it early on Patreon!

Comedy

Writing Steve’s dialogue is the best. THE BEST, JERRY, THE BEST.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

We’re back at the top of the cycle with Cait, and the hope that more of you spend your corporate slave bucks over at the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where there will be free comics mailed out when we hit the 20 Patron mark. Also, it increases my amount of predictable income, which is kind of useful for the whole “continuing to survive” thing. Do it.

Or vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which has been pretty huge in terms of site traffic. It’s free, and you can do it every 24 hours. More votes = more new readers = good for everyone!

Next Week: You’re a horrible monster. Patrons aren’t, so they get to find out what that means a week early.

Nom Nom Nom

I write this after spending 10 of the last 11 days on the road doing the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo and Auroracon up in High Level, AB, and HOLY SHIT I’M SO TIRED. Like, I’m the kind of tired that makes it seem like being this tired is a superpower. Charles Xavier is out there looking for me to join the X-Men as “guy who is so tired he feels like he’s astral projecting into a different reality.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Me, for still being awake to write this, and for being recruited to join the X-Men. The guinterns are complaining that they haven’t been chosen yet, but there’s still a lot of excess hay in the office that needs dealing with. If they can drive some subscriptions to the Hell, Inc. Patreon, maybe they’ll get that coveted Employee of the Week spot.

Not everyone has disposable income to help guinea pigs achieve their dreams, but you DO have the ability to click the banner below and vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which helps new readers find the comic. You should do that. Frequently.

Next Week: Steve’s got jokes. They’re not funny, but he’s got ’em. Find out what they are a week early by supporting the Hell, Inc. Patreon.

Are Glass Chips Not Food?

There’s a silly little callback in this strip that I love and nobody is going to notice, so I’m going to point it out. In the strip Never Stop Screaming, Bridget references Harry having left an entire goat head in the fridge. I don’t know why I remembered that when I went to draw the contents of the fridge, but I did. So now you know that. Also, if you caught that without me pointing it out, I kind of want to hear you point out all the little things you’ve noticed about the comic, because I rarely find out which things people catch and which ones they don’t.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Since his last appearance as Employee of the Week, Robbie Dorman has published a novel! Check out his novelatory debut, Conquest, available in ebook or paperback format from Amazon. The employees at Hell, Inc. are a creative bunch, I tell ya. If you want me to tell readers to buy your book, support the Hell, Inc. Patreon and finance things like “paying my mortgage” and “eating.”

If you want to support Hell, Inc. for free, vote for it on Top Webcomics. The comic has only been on there for a month or so, but the daily average readership has increased by like 10x. It’s ridiculous. So let’s see how high we can get that number.

Next Week: Don’t eat the glass. It’s glass. Read it early on Patreon!

Workin’ Hard or Hardly Workin’?

I think my favourite thing about Steve is that he gives me carte blanche to write dumb, hacky jokes and have them work within the context of the comic without seeming out of place.

Also, welcome to those of you who’ve checked out Hell, Inc. as a result of Emerald City Comic Con! I gave away a ton of bookmarks, and have seen the numbers spike pretty heavily over the course of the weekend.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Damion is Employee of the Week!  YOU could also be Employee of the Week, and if you’ve got something to plug, get your links shared with the webcomic-reading public for $2 over at the Hell, Inc. Patreon!

Next Week: Canadian standoff. Read it early on Patreon!

Fire Water

I really tried to push some colouring techniques that I don’t really use much – I tried some new brushes to make the colour transitions in Sara’s face less abrasive than my normal hard-edged Photoshop brush. I’ve pushed that further in a few new pieces that will be seeing the light of day soon. One already has! I drew the album cover for “Keyboard Warriors” by Narcotics Fueled Lesbian Orgy, which might be my favourite band name?

In other news, I’ll be at Emerald City Comic Con from March 14th-17th in Seattle, Washington. Advanced Death Saves will be out that weekend, so come grab a signed book. I’ll also be hanging out with some of the team members on the new GWAR: The Enormogantic Fail graphic novel, coming later this year.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Joey Gruszecki is the new Employee of the Week! He streams vidja games at TheVideoGames.ca. Welcome to the company, Joey. Do YOU want to join the company, and help support Hell, Inc. so I don’t have to stress out about navigating the labyrinthine publishing industry for money? Go to Patreon and toss a few bucks in the coffer – based on my stats program, if everyone who reads the comic chipped in a buck per strip, it would cover my mortgage payment every month.

Next Week: It turns out that no, humans cannot, in fact, drink boiling water. Who knew? Patreon patrons did.

Toast

The other day I was re-watching Invader Zim and saw Professor Membrane’s dramatic “I’m making… TOAST!” introduction, which posting this immediately reminded me of. Because all jokes about toast are connected in the Toast Continuum.

Also, this is several hours later than normal because apparently ECCC prep just means my brain is screaming with stress at all times and every thing I realize I have to do bumps out some other thing I need to do, because apparently running a business where I also make all the products is too much for my mind to handle. Oh, and I’ve spent a good six hours trying to fix Adobe Illustrator, which decided to not work anymore. Cool. Coolcoolcool.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

We’re back at the start of the rotation with Cait of the North. Follow her on Twitter, where she is better at promoting my comics than I am. What, putting the guy who just wants to stay at home and draw cartoon pictures all the time in charge of marketing is, perhaps, not a great business move? I don’t know what you’re talking about. You know what IS a great business move? Supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon. It keeps me, the dumbass artist, from having to do actual business shit all the time. Instead, I can make more comics to entertain you. So, Patreon. Go do it.

Intern Stuff

I don’t know why the most influential thing to me about Invader Zim was characters picking up smaller characters by the head like they’re inanimate objects, but it was. I guess anyone with any power being an idiot, as a theme, also bled into my own work.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Ben Hamlin, host of the pirate-themed Pathfinder podcast Cursed, is this week’s Employee of the Week! Listen, we all know you’re on that Critical Role tip – check out somebody who doesn’t already have zillions of listeners but does great stuff anyway. If you want to be Employee of the Week, hit up the Hell, Inc. patreon and receive a shoutout/denouncement of a more popular entity within your genre. That second thing is wholly dependent on my mood at the time of writing the Employee of the Week blurb.

Next Week: Doug’s toaster knowledge is on point. Find out why on Patreon.

Sleeve Time

This is a variation of a scene from the Hell, Inc. #2 print comic, except it looks good, because I am much better at drawing now than I was in 2010 or whenever that was. Doug and B.L. Zebub’s relationship is my favourite thing in the comic, because I love writing them together. Zebub being on weird, dumb power trips all the time and Doug just casually pointing out that they don’t make any sense is satisfying – it’s all the stuff you never actually say out loud to your dumb boss.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Sylvia Douglas is Employee of the Week, but she’d like you to employ her partner, Corinne Simpson, as your part-time virtual assistant! If  you want to get a shout-out, or just like Hell, Inc. and want it to stay financially viable, support the Hell, Inc. Patreon! Maybe I’ll be able to hire Corinne to do all of the day-to-day administrative junk that I hate!

Next Week: Fantasizing about murder. Read it early on Patreon!

Training Day

It’s like that Denzel Washington movie, but without all of the grit and intensity and commentary on society. Wait, no, it’s got that last thing. Not the first two, though. I also pushed my colouring in this strip, as I played around with some layering of colours in the last panel to try to match the image I was seeing in my head. I think that’s going to be an area I focus on for growth – I think there’s a lot more I can do with colouring if I can keep learning and experimenting.

Training the intern as a punishment comes directly from my time working at Blockbuster Video (remember those, kids?). My manager didn’t want to train somebody, so I had to do it, and it was awful. It wasn’t even supposed to be a punishment, I was just the only other person around at the time who wasn’t legally still a child. Even on a point-of-sale system that wouldn’t allow you to screw up, she FOUND WAYS. I eventually ended up writing the step-by-step instructions on a strip of receipt paper, taping them to her till, and refusing to answer questions if the answer was on that paper.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Happy Harbor Comics/Wonderland Games! There’s been a seismic shift in the Edmonton comics community since the last time HH was Employee of the Week, and soon I’ll be shouting out Wonderland Games, who have taken over. It’s been a whole thing. There was a farewelcome party there recently, with a lot of entertainment and a bassist who gave a speech that made a bunch of people cry. If you want to be Employee of the Week and have something plugged/a rambling anecdote told about you, support Hell, Inc. on Patreon. It’s better than funneling your entertainment dollar into the pockets of billionaires who won’t even notice. Rest assured, I will NOTICE THE FUCK OUT OF IT. And also spend it on things like “making more comics” and “remaining alive.”

Next Week: B.L. Zebub is the world’s fastest demon, maybe? Read it early by supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon.