UPDATE — The strip’s finally up!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the champions of the first Donkey Kong Battle of The Last Arcade! It was a hard, long-fought war, but the deserving victors pulled through in the end! Let’s just hope Pinky and her brother don’t take it too hard…
—
Sorry for the delay, folks! Today’s strip is a big one, since 1) it’s the climax to The Last Arcade storyline, and 2) it’s ten big ol’ panels, so I didn’t want to rush it. Since it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to finish this one on time even if I pulled an all-nighter, it’ll most likely go up tomorrow night (I have work tomorrow, so won’t be able to start drawing again ’til after I get back in the evening.) I’ll post an update on my Twitter feed and Facebook page when it goes up.
In the meantime, I thought you might like a sneak peek at the first panel of the comic. I did a little onion-skinning on it so you can see some of the process behind the pencils, inks and colors.
Looks worth the wait. Jefbot never fails to amuse so keep up the good work (interim spectacles of firstness welcomed!)
Someone is going to get the “Shades of Firsting”!!!
congrats, Rod Lane! the Shades of Firsting are yours. wear them well: 😎
there’s going to be a double-donning of the spectacles this time, as they’ll be given out to the person who Firsts when the comic-proper goes up! if you double-don them yourself, it’d be another first…
I love it! This would make a beautiful wallpaper, just as it is right now!
thanks, Kim! i do kind of like it at that high resolution, too. loses so much when i size it down to “panel” size for the strip.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in live from “The Last Arcade”, Jeff “Nerd in love” Bot vs Donkey “The Machine” Kong. This match will left Jeff “The Author” Schuetze sleepless tonight.
Go go Power Rangers…. oops, go go JB, GO!
i love the live commentary, CE. especially the part about the sleepless author. heheh.
Just see the complete strip, IS FANTASTIC!
Can’t wait to see this! Especially with Cel emceeing. 😉
i hope it didn’t disappoint, T!
Oh this looks awesome! Can;t wait. Going back to bed now. Insomina kicked my butt. Stayed home to sleep….
imsomnia. how i hates it!!!
You already know that we’re willing to wait, Jef. (As long as we know that you’re alive and well!)
awWw. thanks, Sonitan!
Cel is all big sports event commenter like 😀
And to my post on the previous strip, I guess I will go with Fuzion 5 (still considering basicRP starter )
Damn Im so indecisive
And a traitor. Where the HECK have you been, you-so-called Minion of Doom?!
Hfmm!
*scorn of doom*
what ? where? which? What? My empress, what have I done?
let me know how your Fuzion 5 games go, Eddie; i think one of the D&D campaigns i’m on is about to end so might have an opportunity to try something new.
Sorry for my absence the last 5 weeks, my computer decided it wanted to die. I like the strips, but it sucks that I missed them as they were posted. What have I missed?
What have you missed? Not much.
1) Sonitan took over the world.
2) DorkKing (EvilStepQueen’s husband) took your place as most perverted reader. (He’s fun to razz. But he’ll probably view that as a compliment anyway, so I shouldn’t worry too much about offending him.) 😉
And I hit him with a shovel. Twice.
and it was glorious
been wondering where you’ve been, Red! glad you’re okay, and hope your computer troubles are behind you.
yep, i think shanna’s summary, with Fijiman and Eddie’s addendums, gets you all caught up. 🙂
Looking forward to the rest of it… this is great so far!
thanks, Shay!
Is Bot’s hair smiling at me?
yes.
…At first I thought it was just a big symbolic thing you had going on by not displaying the actual events!
But I’ll still look forward to the real thing!
ha! i think if i had made that “teaser” image the actual strip, and followed it up with “the end” people might have been a tad pissed, Angelsquid. 🙂
Hey, it looks great! I can wait.
arigato, #1JF!
First thing that came to mind:
That and the Mortal Kombat theme…
ah, yes. a great theme to all sporting events, CG!
Nice! If this is the first panel, the rest will be worth the wait!
judging by Pinkys expression Bot is pwning big time
indeed he did, Eddie!
thanks, Sarah W! hope you felt it was worth the wait!
Yes! 🙂
Prettyyyyy…
🙂
Yay! Big strip on the way! I can’t wait. 😀
big strip took long time! thanks for waiting, shanna.
Let’s get ready to rummmmbbblleeeeee!!
Can’t wait yay!!!
wOOOOOO!
Dude, just take as long as you need to get it artistically GREAT!!
i knew it was going to take a long time, Bl4ckw0lf, but not as long as it did! BUH.
Does anyone else find it a little scary or at least unnerving how well websites tailor adds to us these days? I see a yarn add to the right of these posts (Google Adds). What do the rest of you see?
triple a auto insurace. don’t need lol
It was Alstate, but now it’s one of those Zwinky things.
I’ve got a Yoplait ad. Not that I don’t like yogurt — I do, very much — but unless it’s an ad for plastic scale models or a hobby shop or something related to Classical music, I’m pretty much going to ignore it. I rarely buy brand name products anyway. Too expensive.
Claro cell phones.
*raises eyebrow of doom*
Political ad…
Considering that I browse comics between political activism… not that scary…
Webcomic adverts and gaming ones
wow. i thought the google adbox tailored itself to words on the site, not to individuals. that is scary if that’s what it’s doing. 😯
I think the program checks what you have recently being looking into through the browser. So if you wann know what people are looking at, don’t check the web history, just see what ads come up.
I don’t know what happened, but I’m back in firefox again. Squeeeeee.
sweet! couldn’t figure out what the problem was since Firefox from my work computer was working, Bl4ckw0lf. glad all is well now!
I knew this was gonna be a big one about one minute after I pulled up the site. CAN NOT wait to see the grand finale, Jeff. 😀
heh. hope it lived up to expectations, Fijiman! the final jpeg (at 664KB) was one of my biggest yet.
[Charlie Brown ] AUUUUGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!! [/Charlie Brown ]
Okay.. okay… Breathe… could be worse.. could be Megatokyo…
( Sorry Fred, teasin’… know you gotz stufz goin’ on… )
heheh. sorry ’bout the wait, Samuraiartguy.
You can do it Jeff! No rush! No pressure! Art isn’t rushed and all that! I look forward to the finale where Bot kicks butt!!! no pun intended
woo! bot’s up and kicking butt now, Jiro!
Keep expecting Jeffbot to go all “WHEEEEEEEEEEEATOOOOOOOOOON!” ala big bang theory
hey, Liam – you get the second pair of the Shades of Firsting for commenting on the actual strip, now that it’s up! enjoy: 😎
Oooooh niiiiiiice. A first with a first for me.
😀
Congratulations, Team WheatZee! Was there ever any doubt? Goodness must always triumph over Evil in the jebot universe.
*diabolical glare of doom*
ha!
yay for Team WheatZee, Kim! as for goodness > evil in the JEFbot U – not always true. exhibit a: Xinda.
Aaaaand here’s the proof that wimmenz, in the end, are often the wisest. Men, especially adolescents growing into men, have this habit of going juuuuust a tiny bit too far in their competitiveness.
Luckily, Bot’s approaching “gamers’ madness” is de-fused just in time.
*leans back, puts cigar back in face, and enjoys this ending, while casually squirting some more napalm on squirming evil minions…just for the fun of it..*
On the delay: Don’t worry. A lot of webcoms are seriously slow in updating. Youy’ve been a sport, despite moving and stuff, there still was a steady stream of updates. kudos :thumbsup:
yep, leave it to cel to not only help jefbot get into the mindset to win this thing, but to also calm his Nerd Rage before it could do much damage. glad you dug the ending; now enjoy that cigar (and the napalm)!
Love the fire in bot’s eyes
thanks, smashing0! you know bot means business when the fire in his eyes become pixelated.
Wow. Just…wow…
Beautiful artwork, and a wonderful finish. I love Cel’s “Let it go.” How simple, and how wonderfully profound. To quote Shakespeare: “Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand.”
i’m happy you liked it, Tiana! just as Papa Jones had to talk Indy away from losing it all by going for the Holy Grail, so too did cel need to talk bot away from fulfilling his nerd vengeance.
and thanks for the lovely (and appropriate!) Shakespeare quote. 🙂
By the way @Shootzee: I do not know [i]how[/i] much of Your income comes from ad-revenue, but I switched-off the (super effective!) AdBlock for Youyr site.
It’s an honour I only bestow on the BEST of the webcoms! *nods, and lights fresh Cohiba Behike*
the money i get from the ad revenue isn’t a whole lot at the moment, JurgenS – mainly beer and pizza money – but beer and pizza is very important, so thanks for turning off the AdBlock! very cool of you.
Way to go JB! 🙂
waHOO!
o.o wow
and yay Jefbot and cel ^^
thanks, DJ!
Ah, perfect conclusion, ‘bot. And some resolution on the Wheaton front as well? And a double sized strip? Jefbot deklivers once more! Totally dig how cel is suddenly a sports commentator. 🙂 Also, really liked the colors today. Very nice.
thanks for the kudos, Jed! yep, had to go with the super-sized strip to wrap all those threads up in this one! (not to say that bot’s vengeance is 100% resolved, but for now: he’s let it go.)
*delighted squeal* Awwwwwwww! How adorkable! Just at the brinko f Nerd Rage and she pulled him back. *feels all squishy inside*
But don’t tell anyone. I have a rep to protect ya know.
The artwork is beautiful and was completely worth the wait.
Dear Insomnia,
Go pick on someone else!.
Love Pixie.
Now what?! What comes next for our Hero and Heroine? Will Jeff and Will be buds?! Soooo many questions!
QUOTE: “Will Jeff and Will be buds?!”
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I hope your overly sugarly heart turn into Chicharron de pollo just for thinking that, Pixie!!!!!
Nerd Rage!!! I require blood sacrifices!!!!!
*diabolical laugh of doom*
sorry, Sonitan – no blood sacrifices to be had currently, but there just might be some in the future, so hold tight!
What if they become mortal frenimies for the rest of their lives?(As in, they can pal around from time to time, but are otherwise against each other.) Does that sound better?
See? that I could see! Good Job Fiji dahhhlink
YAY!:D
hooray! glad you liked this wrap-up, Pixie! and i’m happy it made you feel all squishy inside (don’t worry, i won’t tell anyone.)
as for what happens next: now that we’ve reached the climax, we’ve got a little more resolution to get to with this storyline. Wil and bot, best buds? not for now, but i hope to bring Wil back to the strip (with his permission of course) in future strips! 🙂
This is a truly awesome strip! My favorite part: cel in panel 6. She has let her guard down and looks truly happy for the first time (I think) since her arrival in the comic. I also love Pinky’s smoke cloud, cel the MC, ‘bot’s red eyes, him looking down at her hand on his, and the joyous final panel. It almost seems like there should be Ewoks dancing and singing around them. 😉 Really great stuff. You have outdone yourself!
yeah, cel doesn’t usually get very excited, shanna, so having her so animated and happy was kind of fun to see (and draw!) she’s usually pretty good at keeping her cool.
and thanks for all the kind words – so glad you found much to like! and as long as it’s the Ewok dance/song from the original version and not the new age-y stuff from the special editions, i’m cool with a little Ewok celebrating. yub-yub!
Ewoks??…EWOKS????? EEWOKS????
*Face goes red, veins in forehead start pulsing. Mangles cigar-end in mouth to chewing tobacco, aims flame thrower randomly and pulls trigger, pointing at anything short&furry*
Whew! I’m glad I’m not short OR furry! 😉
Oh, this was totally worth the wait, Jeff. It made me react with a “ha” when ‘bot said he was trying to beat Wil’s score, and then an audible “oooooh” when Cel touched ‘bot’s hand (just ask my wife — she heard it).
This has truly been my favorite Jefbot story thread to date.
hey, thanks for that, Stan! that the comic elicited some audible “oohs” and “has” out of you is pretty awesome! glad you dug the storyline – it’s been a long one, so i’m happy you’ve enjoyed it. 🙂
A great finish! Well worth the wait!
thanks, #1JF! while i’m sometimes a little apprehensive about certain strips and how they’re going to go over with readers, i knew this was how i wanted to complete this part of the storyline, so i’m extremely happy to see people are digging it. 🙂
*crowd goes wild*
BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT! BOT!
speech! SPEEEEECH!!! 😉
thanks, dude.
!*%!+* I missed the double donning of the Shades of Firsting…….oh well I enjoyed my game of golf.
Hey,l I can’t be expected to sit at my computer pressing reload TWO days running!
are you saying a day on the green is better than a day in front of a computer, Rod!? actually, i’ll have to try that someday. 😉
AND WEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS….AND WE’LL KEEP ON FIGHTING, TILL THE END….
Great strip…totally worth the wait…’bot gets the girl in the end!! WOOT WOOT!!
(good thing Wil Wheaton’s married, amIrite? LOL)
Lots of hard work on your part, really paid off…great job, Jeff, well done, sir!!!!
*breaks out the lighter and rocks out*
*breaks out lighter app on the iPhone and rocks out with Pixie*
*has heard miss ESQ sing often enough to realize those aren’t lighters, but torches, and are soon to be followed with pitch forks!*
oOOooh, you best hope ESQ doesn’t see your comment, DK! 😀
LOL
If no one hears from me for a while, you know she saw it!
duuuuuude…run!
no no, he’s right…I sing horribly…but I’m cute enough that I can get away with it 😀 LMAO
NOOO TIME FOR LOOOSERS, CUZ WEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONNNNS…
thanks, ESQ! and yep, Wil’s married, even in the strip. i don’t think even cel could have quelled bot’s Nerd Rage had Wheaton made a pass at her. heheh.
…OF THE WORRLLD!
Looooooove it!
You have to enjoy Cels touch with Jefbot, the immediate effect it had and white space after… (Supersonic Cucumber – Maroš didnt know what to make of the white place, lol)
Nerd Rage helped afet all, i was worried about that.
thanks, Maryz! glad you liked cel’s touch and jefbot’s reaction to it. also happy you were into the white space since i originally had the strip planned as a double-decker, but everything just played out more nicely by giving that last panel its own space.
Nerd Rage FTW!
oww, the darkside almost got Bot this time.. but something confuses me. There is like this empty spot in the strip between the last picture ( btw how do you name the individual boxes that make the strip? I cant find a proper word for them so Ill just call them pictures )and the one before that. Im thinking there might be something missing in the story. Something to come in the next strips maybe?
If not then does this mean were getting out of the gamescon thing? 😀
this calls for a wallpaper dont you think? Jef have promised one, but havent done it yet
working on some other BOT-related stuff at the moment, Eddie (which i think you guys will like), but if i have some time to put a wallpaper together, i’ll do it for sure.
Don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything. In this case the panels (the individual pictures that make up the strip) fit together well as two rows… plus an extra. The white space also sort of gives the effect that there is a little time that passed between the end of the second row and the last panel. I’d be willing to be that it was all completely intentional on Jeff’s part – that he sized it so that there would be that extra panel at the end.
Because he is a GENIUS!
pffft! HA!
jefbot’s always fighting between his dark side and light, supersonic cucumber! this time (with cel’s help) he was able to stay on the side of the light, but that might not always be the case.
and yes, shanna’s right – when i was laying out the strip, i decided to give that last panel (or picture) it’s own “level” since it gives the sense that some time has passed and has a little extra impact as kind of a snapshot of Wil and bot’s victory. it also let the beats play out more naturally on that second level (i would’ve had to cut out one of the “hands” panels and possibly one of the rage panels for it to fit) and i didn’t want the whole thing feeling rushed. so don’t worry – nothing was cut out. 🙂
Thanks for not pulling the football away from Charlie. This one was a long time coming.
heheh. jefbot might not have kicked it through the goalposts, 11TN – he didn’t complete his vengeance on Wil, after all – but it was a solid kick, and he has to be content with that for now.
Beautiful! The ending is perfect—if ‘bot had beaten Wil’s score, it would have ruined the moment, if he tried and failed, it would perpetuate the cycle . . . but letting go of his own volition makes him noble and wins him maturity points.
And Pinky’s expression is excellent.
Very well put.
great summation, Sarah W. – even though jefbot wasn’t able to exact his revenge on Wil, he did get some closure, plus he scored points (pun intended) with cel. those maturity points definitely got him to “level up” a bit in this one.
Congrats to Wil and Jef on a great victory! You know, great moments are born from great opportunity. Wil and Jef probably could have played Pinky and her bro ten times and lost 9..but not today….NOT TODAY!!! Oh yeah, I just went Kurt Russell in Miracle for this comment. That said, while they may have triumphed in the Donkey Kong Battle, they will be crushed by Sean Luke in the Nerfhoop Challenge this week before the Super Bowl!!!! Victory will be mine!
Puppy Bowl is on this Sunday!!!
Oh, is there a football game on?
all i know is that i’m going over to Lor/Sean Luke’s place for lots of food, nerf competitions and commercial watching, Pixie. and yeah, i think there’s some sports event happening, too.
*gasp* “some sporting event”?!?
SMH
sorry, man, i’m just not big on sports. i only sorta-kinda follow the Oregon Beavers and a little bit of golf.
Beavers! BWAHAHAHAHAHA
PUPPY BOWL! I’m telling you, it’s on Animal Planet and Lor may not allow the channel to get changed! Puppies romping around on a mini football field! With a Kitty Cheerleader halftime Show!!!!!!
So cute I could just die! To Quote Despicable Me…”It’s so fluffy i could DIE!”
I’ll have to check that out! I”m going to be on travel to a conference then, so I will have actual, real-life TV!! I’m excited. I don’t usually miss it, but it is nice to have access occasionally. And this Puppy Bowl thing sounds like it would be worth watching. I love me some CUTE!
Nerf is awesome. I have several Nerf guns already (five currently) and a lot of darts to go with them. How about you guys?
aaagh! Nerfhoop Challenge! and i haven’t practiced at all. crap.
Outstanding! I knew that you guys would be victorious~
What a beautiful strip this week… You really out did yourself Jefbot!
P. S. I love that The Cornfather is eating a bagel! Way to celebrate…
thanks, Funnyshaffer! yes, victory goes to Wil and bot! glad you enjoyed the artwork (the Cornfather’s actually eating half a pretzel in that last panel) as it took way too long to do. 🙂
Nerd rage about ended it there. There’s a time to obsess, and there’s a time to repress.
yup, yup, Red. it’s just hard to repress, once you start to obsess.
Now the question is, are Pinky and her brother good sportsmen or are they gonna sulk like kids?
It Pinky rinthia. The one who threw soda at bot. The one who knew Cel was interested and intentionally flirted with bot. The one who challenge Will cause she had to center of attention. Do you really think she and her bro gonna be adult about it? Really??
Well, her brother might not care as much as Pinky. I dunno, haven’t heard him talk at all, yet.
Maybe cause he too stoned?? Don’t know on that one. HMMMMM
we’ll be finding out both of their reactions in the next strip, rinthia!
I didn’t know jefbots eyes could do that… thats quite the scary look, might have to do something with it.
Hmm How long have you been readint he strip doll? JefBot’s eyes do that when he goes into Nerd Rage.
yep, as Pixie mentioned, bot’s eyes go all red when he goes into Nerd Rage mode, Steve. i think the only time they’ve gone pixel-y was during one of the “Earth Day” strips, tho.
we still don’t know what cel told him last time
nope. and that will remain between cel and bot for now, acolyte. 🙂
ARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!
this is worse than starting to play neotokyo, or trying to get mystic towers to run on DOSbox!
Where did cornfather get the pretzel?
Snack bar.
yep.
They got pretzels!?!?
yup! as evidenced here.
Maybe I should have said “they have some pretzels left?”
I think Cornfather and I would get along breat!
BWAHAHAHAHA
Why wouldn’t they?
Yay! 😀
woo! 😀
AWESOME!!!! Loved the pixel-flame eyes in the sixth panel. And yay, Jef and Will won!(Did anyone REALLY think that they would lose?) Can’t wait to see what happens next, Jeff.
thanks, Fijiman! glad you dug the storyline (which is not entirely finished just yet.)
beware 8-bit Nerd Rage!
Leave it to ‘bot to think about rivalry at a time of victory. This strip was totally worth the wait, and love his burning eyes in the 6th panel!
aww, thanks, Ember West! glad it was worth the wait. and yes, when jefbot’s brain goes into Nerd Rage mode, it’s pretty hard to snap him out of it. cel must have the magic touch.
Awesome. Love the fire in the eyes, and then…peace. Just Awesome. 🙂
yes, and pixel-fire no less, Alana! i think cel’s the only one who could’ve deactivated it at that point.
thanks! 🙂
For a second there in panel 9 I confused Her fingers with bot’s making me say “Oh my god! Bot was mashing that buttons so hard he had internal bleeding!” and then I took another look and it was just normal goth painted fingernails. Nice finish… now all we need is the epilogue
i knew that quick cut to the hands would be a little confusing, Jiro, which is why the camera pulls out in the next frame. i think this would make a cool animation, as it could pull out slowly for the reveal when jefbot’s eyes go back to normal. someday!
and yes, epilogue on its way! 🙂
I can’t believe no one mentioned the “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” reference, yet.
Nice finish to a VERY long story, bot.
DUDE! I can’t believe I missed the reference. * hangs head in Lil Pixie Shame*
it’s a pretty quiet one, Pixie, so there’s no shame in missing it. heh. almost had cel call bot “Indiana” but it took away from the moment, just to hammer the reference, so i left it out.
yep, proving that cel has some geek cred, Mendur! (not that we didn’t know she had some already.) 😉
Props Mendur…Tots Props mah brutha.
Ms. Cel, various members of the Jefbot harem. Your gender once again has the power to end conflict, or give us endless comedy for a while. Oh well.
Standard Evil exit monologue Epically Failed!!!! Nice going Bruce!!!
Moving. …that’s all I can say. This strip was awesome. I think it’s my favorite so far. The “let it go” is seriously Oscar worthy. The sweetness of that line contrasted with the fire and tone of bot’s obsession to beat Wil’s score was like listening to a symphony. It’s really hard to say how good you are bot because I’m not someone who reads comics, plays video games, or even goes to the museum (which is right next door to where I’m currently living) BUT I do know when I like something. And I love your strip. There has NOT been one strip in the last few years you’ve been doing this that has been less than stellar. I am continually impressed with your talent, work ethic, and hair.
Way to once again not only knock it out of the park but also knock it out of the Universe… or the Galaxy… which ever one’s bigger.
What an awesome series of compliments Michael. You are a real sweetie. And I couldn’t have said it better myself. I love the inclusion of “hair” in it, too. 😀
Haha, I love how bot is so focused on the game, even the fire in his eyes is all pixellated
lol…last
Can’t outLast me. I suck at these “video games.” 😉
Lol. Omg. Its sis lor. Haha. Fun while it Lasted. Ouch. Pun intended. Havent played any game since last year. Lolz.
No way! I’m THIS far behind!? KJHFSDKJFHSDFS I’m reading them all today!!!!
Nice, subtle “Last Crusade” reference. Very subtle. I’m surprised you didn’t reference it in the title.