Chapter 16 | Page 7a: The Ballad of Spider Mackenzie

Transcript

Evil Inc, March 11, 2025

Panel 1

(Matt the Henchman and Angus the Minotaur are sitting at a bar. Angus is holding a phone, while matt has a drink in front of him. Angus' phone buzzes with a "boop boop" sound.)

Angus: "ACH! I'm sorry, mate! Duty calls! I'm workin' a gig with The Lethal Librarian!"

Panel 2

Matt (narration panel): "You got picked by the Dewey Decimator?! I'm jealous! I love her tagline!"

Lethal Librarian (a stylish woman with green glasses, a green blazer, and a stern expression, stands pointing.): "You're OVERDUE!"

Panel 3

Angus: "Between you and me, I actually picked her!"
Matt (excitedly): "Geez Louise! How many henches get to pick their own assignments?!"

Panel 4

(Angus smirks while Matt looks on, intrigued.)

Angus: "Only two henches have top-level clearance to access the Master Job Board at Evil Inc...
Angus: "Me, and Spider Mackenzie."

Off-panel voice: "Spider Mackenzie?! He died in that Land Piranha Incident!"

Panel 5

(Matt leans in, skeptical.)

Angus: "Are you sure?!"

Panel 6

(A skeleton, covered in small green piranha-like creatures, sits eerily still.)

Spider: "Oh, I'm certain."

You Like me… you really Like me (or not)

As you know, I’m an independent cartoonist using the Web as the primary distribution for my work. I don’t work under a syndicate, and I don’t have an employer in the traditional sense. Actually. You’re my employer. You and a few thousand others who stop by and read the comic on a regular basis. Thank you, by the way. You’re the best bosses I ever had. And in the same way a good employee doesn’t want to do anything to tick off his or her boss, I need some information. You see, I use social media, like Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter, as the primary means of publicizing and promoting my work. Its the most effective means I have of growing my small business. And Facebook has long yielded the best results. I have a Facebook Fan Page for Evil Inc called Evil Inc Henchpeople. The comic is posted there regularly, as are features such as “This Day in Evil Inc History.” I post secret codes for discounts on Evil Inc merchandise from time to time, too. And little asides and background information. It’s actually a great place to get an expanded view of the Evil Inc universe and converse with other readers.

Screenshot 2014-01-14 09.00.39And that’s where I need your advice. See, Facebook works like this: It has an algorhythm called Edgerank that tries to determine what you want to see in your news feed. You don’t ever see everything that your Facebook friends post. You increase the probability of seeing a friend’s post by liking, sharing and commenting on them. That’s why you’re always hit with “Jimmy invited you to like his Page, Jimmy’s Gym Jam.”

And I hate hate hate getting those invitations.

But I’m a curmudgeon — given to fits of crotchetiness that would make your head swim.

The important thing is this: Do you hate them?

‘Cause I’m telling you right now, I’d really like to expand the reach of that Facebook page. But it’s going to take people “liking” that page. And that means inviting them to “like” the page. See the dilemma.

So I started a poll on Webcomics.com. And I got some good feedback. But now I want yours. It’s a one-question poll below, and I’d love for you to participate: