Location: The Office

Totally Under Control

Do I identify too much with Sara in this comic, but where the giant three-headed dog is life? MAYBE, WHATEVER, YOU’RE NOT MY THERAPIST.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Ben Hamlin, host of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben (among other casted pods), is Employee of the Week. You can check out the two episodes of Syndicated that I guested on to hear my talk with my meat voice about workplace comedies. I’m on the episodes about extremely well-crafted but under-remembered ’90s sitcom NewsRadio and 2010s stoner thing that loosely adheres to its premise, Workaholics. You can also hear me on it at some point in the near future talking about Hell, Inc. adjacent cartoon Ugly Americans! I’ll let you know when that happens.

In other news, Webtoon is running a contest called Call to Action, and I entered with the first Rent-A-Thug comic published since 2010! Please go check it out and like and comment, because audience interaction is part of the criteria (which I both understand fully and dislike tremendously). Click on the banner below to check it out!

Probably Not the Worst Job

I think it’s pretty reasonable to consider manual labour less bad than wrangling a giant demon dog who will almost certainly pee on you. Those of you who have read book version of Hell, Inc. Volume 1: Welcome to Hell… Inc. have seen Cerberus before, but the rest of you will be introduced to him soon enough.

Unrelated, but I’m always somewhat amused when a Hell, Inc. update coincides with a major Christian holiday. Even though Hell, Inc.’s version of Hell is far more influenced by depictions of Hell in popular culture than it is the Biblical conception of it, I’m tickled by the idea that someone could be going to an Easter service and reading about demons decorating for Hell’s Christmas party in the same day.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Azhar Baig is Employee of the Week, and has a podcast called The Wisdom of Love that you should check out. It’s a comedic recounting of the Great Western Philosophers. You, too, can support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, and also read my new graphic novel, Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, as I draw it!

As always, you can vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics to help it get in front of new readers! Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: The Arrivals department, where every soul passes through and nobody wants to return. Read it early on Patreon!

Voluntold

As I juggle projects like I’m in a circus, Hell, Inc. is being drawn week-to-week for the first time in… I don’t even know. I’ve had buffers as large as six months in the past, but taking other work has chipped that all the way down to nothing. I’m currently figuring out a schedule that will let me get the wheels in motion on several upcoming short-term projects while building a little bit of a buffer back up for Hell, Inc. It turns out that needing to write one script for pitching, one script for a Webtoon contest, the script for my next graphic novel, and put together Hockeypocalypse: Slashers for print proofing is A LOT OF THINGS.

Congratulations on Goran, by the way, for finally getting a name. He will no longer be referred to in the script as “the one-eyed guy with the rhino horn.” He doesn’t have a rhino-like horn, I don’t know why I describe it that way, but I almost always do.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Sebastian is Employee of the Week, and you can, too! Patreon is how I afford to draw Hell, Inc. without drowning in freelance work, and also how I’m funding the creation of Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, which you can read as I draw it! For $5/month or higher you can read Slashers and even commission art from me, but every patron is deeply appreciated, regardless of amount.

You can also continue to vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which a lot of you have been doing! Click on the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: Is the worst job solely defined by amount of Cerberus pee involved? Find out on Patreon.

One of THOSE Jobs

You know THOSE jobs. The ones that people hear about and flee so fast that they leave nothing but a dust-ghost in their wake. The ones that are even shittier than the baseline of your normal tasks by incalculable orders of magnitude.

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! 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. Another freelance gig has concluded, which means Patreon money is the only predictable money contributing to this expensive-ass “being alive” thing.

You can vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which gets more eyeballs on it as it goes further up the ranking chart. Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Sara must approach The Other Guys. Read it early on Patreon!

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!

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!

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!