Location: Real Break Room

Our Helen?

I’ve returned from Calgary Expo 2025, and I’d like to thank everyone who stopped by my booth and made it an incredible weekend. Nearly every title I had with me was sold out or nearly sold out, and I had four days of great conversations with interesting folks!

This week’s Patreon preview post was about a common cartooning tip and how it helps utilize the reader’s imagination to fill in blanks.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Trash the Stampede is Employee of the Week, and can be found on the internet at The Word Eater. Patreon is also a predictable source of income, which helps calm the increasingly rough waters of freelancing, so I very much appreciate the people who support me on it!

In other news, continue voting for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics. The Old Internet becomes the New Internet! Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: We check in on Sara’s orientation. Read it early, and with author commentary, on Patreon!

“I’m Helen. Hello.”

The Patreon preview for this strip was about using action techniques for comedic emphasis! I should write more about that, because I think it’s a really interesting topic.

Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo is April 24-27, and I will once again be there, now in the remodeled BMO Centre. If you’re in town, stop by and check out some great books!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Leonardo is Employee of the Week! They supported the creation of Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, and helped make that book possible! Which is good, because Hockeypocalypse continues to be my best seller at conventions like the aforementioned Calgary Expo.  You can also help me out for as little as $1 a month, because that really adds up when enough people get involved.

You can 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: Doug has no idea what’s going on. Read it early on Patreon!

Lucky/Unlucky

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my table to chat at the Art Gallery of Alberta Comic & Zine & Book Fair! Hello and welcome to those of you checking out the site as a result. I presume there’s a bunch of you, because Hell, Inc. was definitely the title that got the most interest over the weekend. Special shoutout to the first person I talked to after the doors opened, who was a regular reader!

The Patreon preview for this strip was about how I have to draw the character acting when most of the characters don’t have pupils.

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: Helen barges in with an important update. Read it early on Patreon!

So Sweet, But So Dumb

If you’re in Edmonton, come to the Art Gallery of Alberta’s Comic, ‘Zine, and Book Fair this weekend (April 12-13)! Admission is free, and I’ll be there selling books and talking to folks. Come say hi!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Barrie Deatcher is Employee of the Week, which means they are one of the folks helping support Hell, Inc. and my other non-freelance art endeavours! For example, I want to draw another wrestling comic.  Patreon can make that possible! Even $1 goes a long way, and adds up pretty fast when enough readers show their support.

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: Luck and love. Read it early on Patreon!

New Rude Hand Gestures

The Patreon preview for this strip was about how my imagination lends itself toward moving images, and how that occasionally clashes with working in a static medium.

In other news, I’ll be at the Art Gallery of Alberta’s 4th Annual Comic & ‘Zine & Book Fair on April 12-13! It’s free to attend, and is an absolute blast. If you’re in Edmonton, you should check it out!

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, new comics like Dropkicks & Dragons, 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: Doug remains a dumb dummy. Read it early on Patreon!

Attentive

B.L. Zebub is extremely attentive and aware of what’s going on around him. Extremely. The Patreon preview for this strip was about realizing just how many characters there are in Hell, Inc. There are a lot!

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: Doug has great communication skills. Read it early on Patreon!

 

Consensus

It’s always good to have things that everyone can agree on. Strange that it’s usually “the guy in charge stinks.” Wonder why that is… The process post (available to patrons at any level) for this strip is about the level of detail needed in the worldbuilding to support Satanic Baseball Simulator.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Caitlin is Employee of the Week, conveniently timed for her birthday! Hurray! Patrons can currently read ahead on my next webcomic/graphic novel, Dropkicks & Dragons! Patrons are going to be able to read a fair amount ahead of the general public when that one launches, and it kicks ass, so please check it out!

In other news, continue voting for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics. The Old Internet becomes the New Internet! Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: The simulating BEGINS. Imagine that with the Mortal Kombat voice. Read it early, and with author commentary, on Patreon!

 

Distraction Drawings

“Distraction drawings” is also my mental health care strategy, heyoooo. The Patreon post for this strip is about pairing characters up for the kissing drawings, but you should also go read the first post of my Big Robots, Big Feelings development diary, which is FREE on Patreon. It includes a sick-ass robot drawing that hasn’t been shown publicly before. Future posts will be available at the $1 level, and will feature my design process as I go about revamping and expanding the game.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Brien Aronov is Employee of the Week, and you can, too! Do you think stuff like the Big Robots, Big Feelings development diary are cool? You’re correct, and Patreon is where you can find them, as well as be shouted out as Employee of the Week!

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, and votes early in the month are worth more as the rankings reset!

Next Week: Bridget and Helen emerge into a weird new world of… productivity!? Read it early on Patreon!

 

They’re ART

I have a buddy who I regularly tell to fuck off because he calls his drawings doodles, but it’ll be an immaculate artwork that he spent like 15 hours on. Helen’s are much more in the ballpark of what I would consider a doodle. I also spent an unnecessary amount of effort on making Helen’s handwriting not look like mine. Oh, I also wrote a Patreon preview for this strip, which is about how I hear way more sound effects than I will actually put into a comic.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Leonardo is Employee of the Week! They supported the creation of Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, and helped make that book possible! Which is good, because Hockeypocalypse continues to be my best seller at conventions.  You can also help me out for as little as $1 a month, because that really adds up when enough people get involved.

You can 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: Willis does some I.T. work before orientation can start. Read it early on Patreon!

Visual Learner

The Patreon preview for this strip is about not remembering which jokes were in short stories that most of the audience didn’t read! It’s fine, it makes sense without that knowledge.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

In a break from tradition, the Employee of the Week isn’t a bit, I actually hired somebody to do website work. Christian DeWolf of Shellscript.ca came on board and did a great job of fixing a bunch of site issues that had accumulated, and also made it so more people will actually see these newsposts, which is very helpful. If you need web development services, I highly recommend reaching out to Christian!

Relatedly, such services cost money, so if you want to kick in a buck or two to the Patreon, that would be very helpful! Patron support pays for things like “the website existing” and once that’s covered, “thing I need to live.”

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. It’s a new month, which means the rankings have reset and votes are worth more (relatively speaking). Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Did Helen take any actual notes? We find out! Read it early on Patreon!