Did anyone else pick up a strong Oatmeal influence here?

Definitely... http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell

That said, after looking at the two side by side, it's not like any artwork was lifted, despite the similarities.

I was also strangely annoyed by the typoes ("you'l", "bajilion"...)

Just got rid of our Scope Creeper yesterday, it was getting ugly. Funny enough, this client was also our Buzzturd. Thanks for the fun read!