The Office – Hell, Inc.

Slacking Champs

The next Hell, Inc. strip is number 350! Three. Hundred. and. Fifty. THAT’S SO MANY. How have I drawn that many of these? It doesn’t seem like I’ve been doing it for that long, but it’s been six years. In the Patreon preview for this strip, I kind of talk about that, in an indirect way, but discussing how Steve’s role has changed.

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: Ray told you so. Read it early on Patreon!

Games… on the Computer!

Like Steve, I, too, am always more interested in what’s going on with my computer if it’s not a spreadsheet. The Patreon preview for this strip is about how the kid in high school who could put games on your graphic calculator probably makes way more money than you, now.

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. Season 2 is underway!

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, my new ttrpg Big Robots, Big Feelings, and more!

Next Week: Doug and Steve discuss whether there have, in fact, already been games on the computer. Read it early on Patreon!

Theatre Kid Help

Happy Labour Day! I hope your job is better than working at Hell, Inc. And if it isn’t, I hope your CEO is thrown into the sun. The Patreon preview for this strip involves me describing what I think theatre kid energy is, and why it makes me tired.

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 several appearances on the show, most recently discussing crime drama Better Call Saul! If you want to hear me talk about how artfully executed BCS is, then good news, you’ll have a great time listening to that podcast! You can also hear me talk about a bunch of other shows, like Newsradio, Workaholics, and Ugly Americans!

You can also head over to Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below, where voting can help draw new readers to Hell, Inc.!

Next Week: Steve has made an game-changing discovery. Read it early on Patreon!

So Many Sheilas

Helen could make SO MANY femur harmonicas with the power of a thousand Sheilas! The Patreon preview for this strip is mostly about my adventures in recovering a failed hard drive, and how that has involved recolouring/lettering a bunch of Hell, Inc. strips for the Big Book (title not final).

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, and also the only podcast about The Simpsons that I have done a guest spot on. You should also check out his website to learn about his new novel releases. He writes that good good scary shit. Indie artists need your support now more than ever, so check out his stuff!

You can also head over to Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below, where voting can help draw new readers to Hell, Inc.!

Next Week: Bridget has a plan, and Helen haaaaaates it. Read it early on Patreon!

Tomorrow, Yesterday

The Patreon post for this comic is another one about comedy writing. Shocking that it would come up so often while writing about a comedy!

I’ve also reached the point in my process of recovering a failed hard drive (back up your shit better than I did, folks) where I would rather just re-do some work than hang my hopes on digging it up. To that end, I’ve re-lettered a handful of Hell, Inc. pages that I lost the lettered files for, and have about a dozen that need to be recoloured as well, because I need all those things for the upcoming (at some point) Big Print Book. Exciting.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Brien Aronov is Employee of the Week, and you can, too! I deeply appreciate your support on Patreon, which is a predictable source of income that, should it grow enough, can reduce or replace the need to freelance. That means more of the stuff you like, and less trying to figure out how to get work as every industry funnels all of its money into the C-suite. You also get benefits like early comics, pages from my graphic novels as I work on them, and other stuff like my video game, or Big Robots, Big Feelings, which is the tabletop game I just dropped!

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: So many Sheilas! Read it early on Patreon!

Phone Tag, the Most Dangerous Game

The Patreon preview for this comic was about rewatching Invader Zim and realizing how much of an influence that had on how I write jokes. Still don’t know how I feel about that!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Dark Star Comic & Toy Show to say hi and pick up some books! I’ve got Edmonton Expo coming up in September, and then… maybe some Christmas markets?

Also, go download my new ttrpg, Big Robots, Big Feelings.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Caitlin is Employee of the Week! Patreon is a predictable form of income, which I appreciate, because freelancing and doing cons creates a wild income rollercoaster! If everyone who reads the comic chipped in a dollar a month, I’d be able to drop some freelance work and do more of my own stuff, which would be ideal.

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: Helen tries to do some detective work. Read it early on Patreon!

Never Take Me Alive!

This comic’s Patreon preview was about how useful it has been for Helen to develop into a weirdo. It lets me do things like have her react to a task like a gangster from a ’40s serial who got hit with the copper’s spotlight, without that being a distracting tone change.

Speaking of distracting, I’ve spent about two weeks now dealing with a hard drive failure that has been a massive pain in the ass. Back up your shit, folks.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Big Robots, Big Feelings, the new one page tabletop RPG I wrote and illustrated! It’s currently available to patrons at any non-free level, and will be publicly available soon as part of the One Page RPG Game Jam on itch.io. It’s inspired by mecha anime, and lets you battle giant robots while you battle your own giant emotions! Click the cool robots to head over to Patreon.

You can also head over to Top Webcomics by clicking the banner below, where voting can help draw new readers to Hell, Inc.!

Next Week: Helen must face the music… the hold music, because she has to call Arrivals. Read it early on Patreon!

The Right Motivation

It’s always important to figure out how to motivate people around you. Sara probably should have figured out by now that “not working” is strongest motivation available in this office, but we’ve already seen that she’s not picking up this “Hell” thing as fast as she might hope. In the Patreon preview for this strip, I talk about how I spent a lot of time thinking about what to name the green long-necked guy, only to then not actually use his name in the dialogue. It now occurs to me that I STILL haven’t named the woman in red.

COMING SOON TO PATREON, a new one-page tabletop RPG that I’ve written and illustrated! It’s called BIG ROBOTS, BIG FEELINGS! It’s a rules-lite game about being a teen mecha pilot that must battle enemy mechs and your own emotions. I still need to make a logo, and character sheets, but the main rules are written. If people like it, I might expand it into a ‘zine like the Hell, Inc. RPG or BURGERPunk.

In other news, social media’s slow collapse strengthens the case for Top Webcomics. The Old Internet becomes the New Internet! Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: Helen gets an unexpected phone call. Read it early, and with author commentary, on Patreon!

I’m Very Good

The Patreon preview for this strip is mostly about the extremely annoying week I’ve had. It’s less insightful to the comics making process, but pretty insightful to being a person who would rather be drawing than dealing with Life Being Expensive.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Trash the Stampede can be found on the internet at The Word Eater. Now all I can think about is that old computer game Number Munchers, but with words. Maybe I should make that? I have made a video game, Space Jerks, and Patreon patrons got to download it well before anyone else! Patreon is also a predictable source of income, which helps calm the increasingly rough waters of freelancing.

In other news, social media’s slow collapse strengthens the case for Top Webcomics. The Old Internet becomes the New Internet! Click the banner below to vote daily.

Next Week: Sara unlocks the secret code for helpfulness. Read it early, and with author commentary, on Patreon!

Hiring Judgement

The Patreon preview for this strip talks about the writing utility of B.L. Zebub making everything about himself.

In other news, the Kickstarter for Rent-A-Thug – La Cosa Nostra is almost over (it ends at 5 PM MT on Tuesday, June 9th)! I’m very tired. If you haven’t backed it yet, you should go do that, because I want people to read the things I make. Click on the cover below to go to the Kickstarter page!