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.

BIG CHANGES FOR THE SITE

Wow. This has been an incredible month. We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get right down to it. This site As of today, I am losing my Web hosting, which had been previously handled by Dumbrella Hosting. Dumbrella was very good to me for many, many years, and the split is an amicable one. In the short term, it’s going to mean that many of the site’s usual features will be missing. But they’ll return gradually. Better yet, I have access to some really exciting new features that I can’t wait to put into action! For example, check out those social-media buttons along the top of the comic! Feel free to tweet, Like, and otherwise post the heck out of the comic whenever you feel like it! It’s now easier than ever to join the conversation, too! Just hit the “Comment” link and you’re off to the races! If you’re registered with WordPress already, you’re halfway home! Please adjust your bookmarks I’m also switching the main URL for this comic to evil-inc.com — so please take a moment to update your bookmarks! The “Webcomics Handbook” Kickstarter In case you hadn’t heard, I’m running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the publishing of my new book, “The Webcomics Handbook.” We reached full funding in three days, so I’ve offered some stretch goals you may enjoy — like the return of Webcomics Weekly for a limited engagement. Find out all about it. The July comic The monthly digital Evil Inc comic book will be sadly delayed. I’m afraid running the Kickstarter and switching hosts and redesigning the Web site with a new Content management System has thoroughly kicked by behind. If you’re a subscriber to the series, though, you’ll not only get an early edition of the comic, but you’ll also get a special download as my way of apologizing for missing the deadline. The comic will be available soon!