Location: The Office

Nothing to See Here

Sometimes I re-read old pages and am pleased that a page I forgot about has storytelling that I think really holds up. This is the kind of strip that isn’t attempting to replicate film but is using the storytelling elements that are unique to comics, like the sequence of thought balloons following Sara’s thought process. This has been another installment of “the creator forgot what he drew, but it turns out he likes the stuff he makes. Funny, that.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Christine Bennett, better known as Purple Pony Art, is Employee of the Week! Perhaps I will see them at Edmonton Expo in October, and perhaps I will see YOU there. If not, perhaps I will see you on the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where I’m serializing Hockeypocalypse: Slashers to pay bills while I draw it. It’s how I get money so that I don’t need to take freelance jobs and do conventions (which I am simultaneously looking forward to and terrified of).

You can help Hell, Inc. be more visible to webcomic readers by voting for it on Top Webcomics! Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: I don’t understand her level of passion for the topic, but you love to see it! See it early on Patreon!

Puzzled

Happy Labour Day, workers of the Hell, Inc. audience. As always, I support using Hell, Inc. to steal company time like they’re stealing your time, so make sure to use your “settling back in” time on Tuesday morning for some catch-up or an archive binge.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Sebastian is Employee of the Week, and was also Employee of the Week last time I posted a comic on a holiday Monday, which is a strange bit of chance. I don’t know how to transition from that to Patreon stuff, but you can get Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it AND access to over a thousand pages of other comics, including the previous Hockeypocalypse books, for $5 a month on Patreon and ALSO help support me, the creator of said comics, because apparently humans need money to live. It’s a real bummer, that need for money to live.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics! It’s early in the month, so votes are worth even more as the rankings reset and each vote has more power to move a comic up the rankings.

Next Week: Suspicions are… whatever suspicion as a verb is. Read it early on Patreon!

Ambient Misery

For the first time since December, 2019, I sold some books at an event. Over a year and a half. I was helping Caitlin sell soap at an event called Wholly Handmade, and brought some books along at her suggestion, as well as promo materials for Hell, Inc. To those of you who discovered the comic by meeting me at the show, welcome!

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! We’re up to page 24 as of this post, and they’re some of the best pages I’ve ever drawn. 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.

You can help out Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which results in better placement on the rankings and visibility to webcomic readers. Votes early in the month are worth more as the rankings reset, so click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: A puzzling lack of ambient misery. Read it early on Patreon!

I.T. to the Rescue

The title kind of makes me wish I knew how to make the hang-up click icon in the bottom right panel into a spinning sound effect thing like the Batman ’66 scene transitions. The first panel reminds me that this is the most “The I.T. Crowd” that Hell, Inc. has gotten. Sometimes I think about how Slava kind of exists in a totally separate sitcom that occasionally crosses over with Hell, Inc.’s office comedy.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Barrie Deatcher is Employee of the Week for upgrading his Patreon pledge to read the new Hockeypocalypse graphic novel, Slashers, as I draw it! And you can, too, by pledging at the $5/month or higher levels! For the cost of a cup of coffee, you can help finance my next book so I can draw awesome stuff AND pay my mortgage! Because drawing comics is what I love, and paying my mortgage is how I get to continue being alive. The arts! They’re a nightmare because capitalism.

You can also help Hell, Inc. gain readers by voting for it on Top Webcomics (or just sharing it with your friends). More votes = higher ranking = better visibility, so click the image below to vote daily!

Next Week: The I.T. imp makes his triumphant return to the office, gas mask in tow. You wouldn’t think the I.T. department would need those so often. Read it early on Patreon!

Work Purposes

You know when someone tells you that what they’re doing is for work purposes, they are always telling the truth. It is impossible to lie about Work Purposes.That’s just a fact.

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. Other things that are terrifying include having Patreon being my primary source of income at the moment! Do you like Hell, Inc.? Kick in a buck a month! Want to be Employee of the Week? Chip in 2 bucks a month. Want to read my brand new graphic novel Hockeypocalypse: Slashers as I draw it? 5 bucks. Want me to draw some stuff for you? Only 20 or 30 bucks. Get on board, where we’re going we need comics.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, where a higher ranking gives the comic more visibility to webcomic readers. Vote daily by clicking the link below!

Next Week: Where do you turn when you need hope? The I.T. department… that sounds wrong. Read it early on Patreon.

Very Different Problems

It took me the longest time to grasp what magical realism meant, only to learn that I do it ALL THE TIME in my comics. Like, constantly. Like, this entire strip. So that’s fun.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

In some pretty ideal CORPORATE SYNERGY, Ben Hamlin, host of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben (among other casted pods), is Employee of the Week just days after my SECOND appearance on his podcast! First, I joined Lesley and Ben to talk about underrated sitcom gem NewsRadio, where we dunk on Joe Rogan and Andy Dick for human garbage, but mostly discuss the clear line of progression that can be drawn from NewsRadio to later hit NBC workplace sitcoms The Office, 30 Rock, and Parks and Rec. Then, because of some scheduling weirdness, I returned for the very next episode to discuss the episode of Workaholics where they try to network at the Gathering of the Juggalos. They’re both great fun, and an opportunity to actually hear me talk and confirm that I am a real human and not just a robot that generates comics.

Speaking of comics, I’m serializing my new graphic novel, Hockeypocalypse: Slashers on Patreon at the $5/month and up tier, which gets you 10-15 pages of the book as I draw them! It’s the best book I’ve made so far, so you should absolutely check it out, because patrons at the $5/month and up tiers will ALSO be getting a print copy of the book when that’s ready.

You can also help more people see Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is the largest webcomic database thingy that I’m aware of. More votes = higher ranking = more visibility, so click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: It’s very important to be clear that you are using office supplies for work purposes. Especially when you aren’t. Read it early on Patreon!

A Great Start

“Silence, Christmas goon!” is a very bizarre line of dialogue that I like a whole lot. It would not surprise me if B.L. Zebub’s entire understanding of Sara’s personality has been reduced to “likes Christmas, therefore a nightmare of a person.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Welcome new Employee of the Week Leonardo, who is not, as far as I know, a ninja turtle. They have jumped on board to follow Hockeypocalypse: Slashers, which is being posted on my Patreon as a premium webcomic before it’s eventual print release (patrons will get a copy when that’s ready!) So to recap, you can support Hell, Inc. AND get to read a whole other comic, as well! And get a book. It’s a very good deal is what I’m saying, so go check it out and also help cover the costs of my art lair.

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which is a good way to get more visibility for the comic!

Next Week: Overtime’s effect on office morale is swift. Read it early on Patreon!

Hell, Inc. and the Deathly Silence

Hell, Inc. and the Deathly Silence will also be adapted into two movies, but the creator won’t use their Twitter account to be a gigantic piece of shit. Why, you ask? Because if I get two movies worth of Hollywood money, my Twitter account will entirely consist of me posting art and weird thoughts that make me sound high but I’m not, my brain is just like that. So like it is now except without the parts where I have to promote things like a chump.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Robbie Dorman is Employee of the Week, and 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. You should ALSO check out the Hell, Inc. Patreon, which is currently host to my new graphic novel, Hockeypocalypse: Slashers. I’m posting 3-4 pages per 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.

You can help more people see Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is the biggest of the various webcomic ranking websites. Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Look, sometimes going outside leads to some exciting opportunities to conspire. Read it early on Patreon!

Deflated

Despite being vaccinated and being able to go out and do stuff a little bit more, I’m still spending most of my time at home drawing Hockeypocalypse: Slashers and painting plastic orcs. Which, honestly, is pretty ideal for me, other than the times when my brain screams at me for not chasing freelance work as hard as possible because the projects I really care about never seem to be the ones that let me being a contributing member of my household. But other than the brain-screaming… pretty good!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Brien Aronov is Employee of the Week, and has access to several pages of Hockeypocalypse: Slashers per week as I draw them! I am extremely proud of the work I’m doing on this book, but I need more help so that I can produce it without having to take on extra freelance work to keep paying my mortgage. For $5 a month you can see 12-15 pages of the new book as I draw it, AND get a print copy mailed to you when it’s ready! Support Hockeypocalypse, and also Hell, Inc., on Patreon!

You can also help out by boosting Hell, Inc.’s visibility on Top Webcomics. Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Everyone loves taking a break from work to do other work, then going back and doing the original work during your off-time, right? Right? Read it early on Patreon!

Punishment Delivery

It’s ideal when you don’t have a plan but then some force beyond your control solves your problems for you.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Joe Amon is Employee of the Week, and because he pledges at the $5 tier he’ll have access to Hockeypocalypse: Slashers. I’m serializing my next graphic novel, a YA horror story about mutant hockey players in post-apocalypse Canada, 2-4 pages per week on Patreon! When it’s done and printed, $5 and up patrons will be getting copies in the mail!

Voting on Top Webcomics is also helpful, especially early in the month when the rankings reset. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: People who sit down all the time are excellent pack mules. Read it early on Patreon!