UPDATE [Feb 25, 2011]: Okay, so it looks like we’re decided – guest strips and blog posts next week! I’ll put the call out tomorrow, but if you’re a writer/cartoonist and can get me a strip this weekend or early next week, send it in!

As far as my progress for the con goes: Things are moving ahead steadily. I still have a lot to do – getting shirts printed and working on the booth banner and fliers are probably at the top of my list right now. I’ll be meeting with a printer early tomorrow before work (35 miles from my apartment. BUH.) so if all goes well, I’ll be approving proofs for the book so they can print it over the weekend! Will let you know how it goes. Maybe I can snap some images of the blueline if they have a hard copy.

Thanks for all the amazing support! You guys are the best.

Hey, folks! I hate to push the pause button on this storyline just as we’re wrapping things up but I have a very good reason: I’m doing my first comic convention for JEFbot next month in Seattle at the Emerald City Comicon!!! [insert Kermit the Frog wailing and flailing here]

While I’m tremendously excited about this (is that excitement or panic?), I’ve kept this mostly on the down-low because A) I was notified about my “exhibitor status” a little late in the game and B) Because of this, I’ve been scrambling to get ready for the convention in time to have my booth ready with signs/banners, fliers/postcards, and merch, including new BOTtons, tees and the FIRST JEFBOT BOOK!!! Yes, if I haven’t been Tweeting, Facebooking or generally hanging out as much as usual, it’s because almost every bit of my free time in recent weeks has been used to get the book to the printer in time for this convention. Now that the book’s out of my hands at this point, I’ve been working to get the merch and booth ready and I have less than a week left before I have to start shipping stuff from L.A. to Seattle. I really didn’t understand how much work would be involved with having my own booth until I started getting everything together for this. Yeesh.

Anyway, expect lots of information on the book and new merch as I find out what’s going to be ready in time for Emerald City and what isn’t. In the meantime, since I doubt I’m going to be able to fit in drawing time for the strip while I’m getting things together for the con, what would you all like to see? Should I put out the call for guest strips for this week and next? Detailed blog posts as I get ready for the con? Or a combination of both? Let me know.

Beyond all this excitement, I’d just like to say sorry for not having a strip up. Many of you know I have a full-time job which prevents me from not only increasing my weekly strip output, but also takes time away from organizing fun stuff like ECCC. (Not that I’m complaining. A lot of people are out of work right now and I appreciate having a job that lets me do fun stuff – like this con – that I wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise.) Because of this limited amount of time though, I’ll sometimes have to pause the strip. I don’t like to do it, and I know it sucks not to have a new strip up when one should be there, but I know most of you understand and encourage it. But who knows? If this convention goes well, perhaps a day will be foreseen where I can rely on JEFbot for my income! A guy can dream…

SO: If any of you live in Seattle and are planning on going to the con: stop by my booth. (#311, just like the band.) I have no idea how many people are going to come by so I’m sure I’ll have lots of time to talk, get to know many of you, and do sketches. Oh, and I’m planning on giving away free, exclusive BOTtons (like I did at Webcomic Weekend and that Earth Day event) to the first hundred or so JEFbot fans. Also, I might need some help with bringing merch back and forth from my hotel, handing out fliers and setting up my booth, so if any of you have some time and can help out, please let me know.

Okay, I’m getting back to work. These shirts and fliers aren’t going to design themselves and I know the con’s going to be here before I know it! Initiating panic mode.