Location: The Office

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.

A red and blue bipedal mech uses a gigantic sword to parry the gunfire of an enemy mech.

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!

Next Week: Cerberus Update, which sounds like a segment on Satanday Night Live. Read it early on Patreon!

Who Doesn’t Have to Take This?

Who doesn’t have to take this? Ray! That’s who! Except that he kind of does, because he needs his desk for desk stuff.

Also, this update is early because the thing that lets me schedule posts in WordPress is broken, and I have to go to bed at a normal time. As some sort of owl-man, this is an annoying turn of events.

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 video game Space Jerks, 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: We check in on Sara in Infernal Pacts. Read it early on Patreon!

Meanwhile, Madness

The Patreon preview for this strip is about my rules of thumb for making “a bunch of people at their desks talk to each other” strips interesting. Making talking scenes interesting is the most vital piece of a cartoonist’s arsenal.

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

Ben Hamlin, host of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben (among other casted pods), is Employee of the Week. In their most recent season, I made my fourth guest appearance on the show, this time 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!

Patreon! It’s a predictable source of income, and ALSO Patrons can play Space Jerks, the video game I made!

Also check out the newsletter, which is how to hear about what I’m up to without needing to subject yourself to things like Twitter.

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 takes a stand. It involves literal standing, at points. Read it early

Very Successful

The Patreon preview for this strip is about the differences in approach between digital and hand lettering, because I guess I’m thinking about lettering a lot lately. The fact that I have any room for thoughts that aren’t about the Stanley Cup Playoffs is probably a good sign? Then again, if the Oilers win the Stanley Cup, I might end up only ever drawing Hockeypocalypse comics for the rest of time, so who knows!

EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK:

New hire Raymond is Employee of the Week! And you can, too! Supporting me on Patreon makes you both a Cool and Good Person, and also means I can dedicate time to the art I want to make instead of spending time in the panic-inducing world of freelancing!

You can also vote for Hell, Inc. on Top Webcomics, which is a very useful way to reach new readers. Click on the banner below to vote daily!

Next Week: Bridget asks what she missed, and gets more information than she would like. Read it early on Patreon!

Chant Harder!

The Patreon preview for this strip is about the problems I gave myself trying to fit B.L. Zebub’s speech into one panel so I could keep the last three panels separate for comic timing. Do people know that I write something about the process of making each strip on Patreon? Well, if you didn’t, now you do.

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: All right, good shame, everybody. Read it early on Patreon!