Chapter 17 | Page 13b: Hard bargaining

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.

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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.

Seven Year Anniversary

Seven Years!

Today marks seven years of producing a daily comic strip for me! I launched my first comic, Greystone Inn seven years ago today. Greystone ran six-days-a-week (with few exceptions) until June 21, 2005.

The next day, of course, Evil Inc was launched. It has run Monday-through-Saturday ever since.

The past seven years have also seen the rise of no fewer than two weekly comics. Courting Disaster, a single-panel strip about sex and relationships, was launched on Jan 12, 2005.

And Phables, which began as a bi-weekly but has been promoted to a weekly earlier this year, is a full-page comic about life in Philadelphia which started last year on Feb. 20.

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be reaching this benchmark. There’s no way I could have done it without the amazing support of my family. My wife is, was, and always will be, the best wife in webcomics.

And then there’s you.

I can’t thank you enough for your friendship and support. It was brought into sharp focus last week during our battle with Wikipedia. You guys rallied, railed, ranted, and raged…

And you won.

You guys make it all worthwhile. I can’t say how much your support means to me. Every book you buy… every convention you visit me at… every e-mail, blog response, and forum comment… wow.

Thank you.