Location: The Office

Punishful Punishosity

Usually my favourite character to write dialogue for in a series will change over time as different characters are focused on. In Hell, Inc., though, B.L. Zebub has never really relinquished that crown. He’s so malevolent but dumb that he can say almost anything.

In other news, I got my second dose of the COVID vaccination last week, so I will soon possess the superpowers of “being able to make plans without a Zoom link” and “getting groceries without anxiety.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cait is Employee of the Week at Hell, Inc. and also at her soap business, Soaps & Sorcery. She has been busy turning our kitchen into a soap laboratory to supply her new retail partner, Pe Matawe Games in Edmonton. You, too, can support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, which, starting in July, will include a Patreon-exclusive comic – Hockeypocalypse: Slashers.

You can also help Hell, Inc. out by voting for it on Top Webcomics! A new month (on Thursday) means new rankings, so click the link below daily to help make the comic more visible to new readers!

Next Week: Sometimes things just work out when you threaten your underlings without a plan. Read it early on Patreon!

This Shall Not Stand

I have visions of doing a B.L. Zebub-style header every time I stand on a chair for something. That never prevents me from standing on said chair to change light bulbs or get the crockpot or whatever, but I always think it as I’m climbing up there.

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, which will be getting an overhaul in July, which you can read more about. In short, the $5/month pledge tier is gonna be STACKED with a whole new Hockeypocalypse graphic novel.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which helps bring in new readers to check out the comic. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: It’s hard to maintain the energy of a speech when you get a head injury in the middle of it. Read it early on Patreon.

Subtlety

It’s important not to be too subtle about your expectations. Also, at some point I got much better at spacing out dialogue so that I can fit all of the balloons in comfortably and easily. BTW, this is page 169. Nice.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cait is Employee of the Week, and has just relaunched her Etsy shop, Soaps & Sorcery! Go buy soap from it, and also keep an eye out for a Hell, Inc. themed soap collab at some point later this year. She is surprisingly game for my very silly theme ideas. You should also keep an eye out on the Hell, Inc. Patreon, where new patrons receive access to over a thousand pages of digital comics, including the as-yet-unreleased Hell, Inc. Volumes 3 and 4! Also you will know that you made me super-psyched, because the feeling of getting those “you have a new patron” emails is incredibly motivating and validating.

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which helps bring in new readers! It’s early in the month, which means votes are even more valuable as the rankings reset. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Gloating doesn’t have to make sense! Read it early on Patreon!

 

Re-promoted

And that’s a wrap on volume 4! In fact, I’m already halfway done drawing volume 5, which is zipping along pretty quickly. As of typing this post, I’ve just finished strip 189, and have scripts up to 205. I’m hoping to have the whole volume scripted by the end of the week, then I’ll start figuring out the back-up story for the print book while I draw the rest of the volume.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Bartender of the Apocalypse is Employee of the Week, and presumably works at O’Hellihan’s pub. They support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, and you can, too! New patrons receive access to Hell, Inc. Volume 4: “Mandatory,” which includes a book-exclusive short story about The Bad Chair, and over a thousand pages of other digital comics!

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is where the largest number of new readers come from. Votes early in the month are especially valuable as the rankings reset, and your efforts have been keeping Hell, Inc. in the top 300 for the last several months. Click the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Volume 5 begins in the Real Break Room! Read it early on Patreon!

Busted

Patreon patrons will be aware that I’ve retitled this strip. The reasons for that are two-fold: 1) the original title on the Patreon preview was long and terrible and 2) I forgot that I had already titled every strip that’s already drawn for alternate reasons I think I’m now supposed to mention yet. In news I can tell you about, I’m almost 20 strips ahead! This one is 167, and I finished 186 on the weekend. Now I need to get back to the script mines to wrap the rest of book 5 (which will end on 210).

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Azhar Baig is Employee of the Week and would like you to consider supporting (NAME OF CHARITY HERE). You might also consider supporting Hell, Inc. on Patreon, where readers have access to new digital works as soon as they release and new patrons get access to over a thousand pages of digital comics!

You can also support Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is the largest source for new readers of the comic. You can vote daily by clicking on the banner below!

Next Week: When the boss is happy, nobody else is. Read it early on Patreon!

Elaborate Scheme

It’s always deflating when you come up with an elaborate scheme that feels like the peak of your genius and somebody goes ahead and suggests the straightforward, easy solution that you had already written off. Really ideal for writing this specific joke, though!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Christine Bennett, better known as Purple Pony Art, is Employee of the Week! She has early access to Hell, Inc. Volume 4: “Mandatory,” and you can, too! Head over to the Hell, Inc. Patreon and for as little as $1 a month you’ll get access to that book and over 1000 pages of over digital comics! That started as a pandemic thing that I expected to last two or three months, but here we are still doing it!

You can also help support Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is the primary source of new readers for the comic. Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Mission: Incredibly Possible. Read it early on Patreon!

The Greatest Hits

What are the toady greatest hits, you ask? FIND OUT NEXT WEEK! How’s that for a next episode tease? What? It’s lame? Well who asked you, anyway?

All right, I’m having a conversation with myself now, so I’m gonna stop and move this thing along.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Sebastian is Employee of the Week, and you can, too! In fact, you can also read Hell, Inc. Volume 4 – “Mandatory” before the general public by donating as little as $1 a month to Hell, Inc. on Patreon! There are also over a thousand pages of other comics available to patrons, so check that out.

You can also help Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, where a large number of new readers come from. Vote daily by clicking the banner below, as it helps the comic move up the ranks and gain greater visibility!

Next Week: Schemes upon schemes upon easily actionable non-schemes. Read it early on Patreon!

A Promotion’s a Promotion

A promotion is a promotion, except when it’s actually kind of a punishment, like when I worked at a Blockbuster and my supervisors made less than a dollar-an-hour more than me but had to do paperwork.

There’s only ONE WEEK left to vote for Hell, Inc. in the Best Webcomic category of the Sequential Magazine Awards for Canadian independent comics. I would really appreciate it if you did that, because validation is good, actually. And even better when I can hang it on my office wall! Seriously, though, please go vote by clicking the image below.

If you want to check out the nominees in the other categories, many of whom are friends and acquaintances of mine, check out the full nominee list by clicking here.

Employee of the Week returns next week (for real, this time) when I have my shit together and remember to prep the update ahead of time like normal.

Next Week: Promotions are followed by bad decisions. Read it early on Patreon!

Terrible Step-stool

It turns out that humans are not actually good step-stools, especially when they are much smaller than you are.

You’ve probably seen it on the site or on social media by now, but Hell, Inc. has been nominated for an award! It’s up for Best Webcomic in the Sequential Magazine Awards (which are for Canadian independent comics), which is very cool. The winner is voted for by you, the people, and you can vote by clicking the image below! I would really appreciate it if you did that, because winning things rules and I want an award to put in my office (the last one I won saw the company shut down before they sent me my plaque).

If you want to check out the nominees in the other categories, many of whom are friends and acquaintances of mine, check out the full nominee list by clicking here.

Employee of the Week returns next week when I have my shit together and remember to prep the update ahead of time like normal.

Next Week: Even the good news is bad news. Read it early on Patreon!

The Most Terrible Punishment

The most terrible punishment… is forced festivity!? It is in Hell! And also malls in December.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Cindy Gauthier is Employee of the Week, and can help fulfill all of your COVID-related mask needs. If you want to get your comics needs handled, support Hell, Inc. on Patreon, where you’ll get a digital copy of Hell, Inc. Volume 4: “Mandatory” (which includes a book-exclusive short story) as well as over 1000 pages of other comics!

You can also support Hell, Inc. by voting for it on Top Webcomics, which is the largest source of new readers. It’s highly ranked this month, so thanks for voting and keep it up by clicking on the banner below!

Next Week: Is Sara as sturdy as soap box? Find out on Patreon!