Chapter 17 | Page 13b: Hard bargaining

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Brad Guigar

At Evil Inc, even labor negotiations can spiral out of control — especially when “hard bargaining” takes on a whole new meaning. Cassie Cruz just realized that the conference room she prepped for Dr. Muskiday’s… unconventional solution… is already booked for a high-stakes union negotiation. Unfortunately, it looks like Doctor Threat and the henchpersons may have already reached an agreement.

I’d love your help with something big: Nominations are now open for the 2026 ’Ringo Awards, and reader nominations make all the difference. If the comic has ever made you laugh, please consider nominating Evil Inc for Best Humor Webcomic — it only takes a minute, and your support truly means a lot. You can submit your nomination here: https://go.evil-inc.net/ringo

Transcript

Panel 1
Cassie Cruz (angry):
“We are NOT having an orgy at our desks!”

Dr. Muskiday (calmly defensive):
“Of course not! I stocked the conference room with mattresses and lube.”

Panel 2
Cassie Cruz (panicking):
“The conference room?! Doctor Threat is scheduled to negotiate a new contract with the henchpersons’ union in there!”

Panel 3
Cassie Cruz (looking toward a slightly open door):
“Where’s Doctor Threat?”

Dr. Muskiday (matter-of-fact):
“I believe that’s him in the middle of — erm — ‘collective bargaining.’”

(Sound effects from behind the closed conference room door:)
“Hhh hhh”
“Plap Ngh Plap Plap”
“Hngh hhh”
“mmf mmf mmf”

Detailed Alt Text

A three-panel comic set inside an office at Evil Inc.

Panel 1: Cassie Cruz, a professional woman with short brown hair, red glasses, a white blazer, and a low-cut yellow top, stands beside her desk looking furious. A small pink “emotion cloud” with a skull icon floats near her head, indicating anger. She shouts that they are not having an orgy at their desks. Standing nearby is Dr. Muskiday, a short humanoid with a fly’s head—large red compound eyes, small body, and lab coat—who calmly explains that he already prepared the conference room with mattresses and lube.

Panel 2: Close-up on Cassie clutching her head in alarm. Her expression is wide-eyed and panicked. She exclaims that the conference room is supposed to be used for an important union negotiation between Doctor Threat and the henchpersons’ union.

Panel 3: Cassie and Dr. Muskiday stand in a hallway facing a slightly open conference room door. Cassie asks where Doctor Threat is. Muskiday gestures toward the door and awkwardly suggests that Doctor Threat is inside, in the middle of “collective bargaining,” implying something sexual. From inside the room comes exaggerated, comic-style sound effects indicating vigorous activity: heavy breathing (“hhh hhh,” “hngh”), rhythmic “plap” noises, and muffled sounds (“mmf mmf”). The implication is that the union negotiation has devolved into an orgy inside the conference room.

Schlock Mercenary Fan Art

Posted on March 8, 2007 by Brad Guigar

Schlock Fan Art for Book Three

Big news from Howard Tayler’s blog:

I’ve been checking the pagination on the next Schlock book, and it turns out that it is going to have room for some margin art done by folks besides me.

This next book is the first 518 days of Schlock Mercenary. If you think you’ve got the chops, and would like to try your hand at my characters, I’m looking for artwork that topically fits those first 17 months of comics, and that outshines my own artwork by leaps and bounds.

This shouldn’t be hard. We’re talking about 2000-2001 here. I was still learning to hold a pencil.

What do I mean by “topically fits?� Well… you could give me your take on the Kitesfear, the original Doctor, the new Doctor, or maybe a cute-as-a-button diamond beetle. And obviously you can gimme some Schlock. But no General Xinchub, no Jevee Ceeta, and no Legs, Elizabeth, or Andy — these folks don’t show up until 2002. Also, I’m not looking for strips, or gags, per se. But if you think you’ve got a good one, run it past me and we can discuss it.

What do you get out of this? Name recognition and linkage — your name goes along with the picture, and your name and URL will go in the credits in the back of the book. Oh, and you get a free sketch-edition copy of the book, too.

If you’re interested, please email me (howard dot tayler on gmail) and say so as soon as possible. Space is limited, and time even more so. You probably have less than a month to do something shiny.

If you’ve already sent me fan art in the past (including photographs of sculptures, renderings of Schlockiverse spacecraft, etc) and you’re willing to see it in print, please re-send it. I can’t guarantee it’ll make the cut, but I will at least LOOK at it again.

SPECS: All images should be at least 4 inches by 4 inches at 300dpi or better. Usually the space that needs to be filled is 7 inches wide and 5 inches high, so landscape orientations are better, but there may be some portrait-oriented slots as well. If you REALLY shine, you may get a full page to yourself. If you’ve got flavor text for your image, like a title, or a brief description, please send that along as well.

Interested?