Our hero finally gets his Nerd Rage under control and Hawaiian Shirt Guy has to go and slug the poor dude. Is it possible jefbot can recover from that blow or is he down for the count? And if he can recover, will he be able to take the bully on in “Green Mode” or does he need to return to the “Dark Side” to stand a chance?
Sorry for the delay in getting this strip posted, BOTreaders! I was seriously depleted after the Alternative Press Expo and had to take a day off to get myself back together. I’ll try and get a blog post up soon, detailing some of my adventures at the con. Thanks for all the support during my time away!
Aha! Another awesome strip Jeff 😀
Long live the scarf!!!
hey, thanks, Kaze! yes: long live the Scarf!!!
and check you out: you just achieved the Shades of Firsting! wear them well: these have a reinforced strap, keeping them securely on your face should you get into a fistfight with any undesirables:
😎
Panel 2 strikes me as a Very Scrawny Moment! (and beautifully colored, too). But poor little scared doggy! How can I root for our hero?
I find myself clicking on the tags out of random curiosity… has a “chomp” really occurred in a previous strip? You actually tag the sound effects!
heheh. yes, Panel 2 was a Very Special Scrawny Moment, Kim! let’s just be thankful that bot didn’t complete that “doggy pitch” after that dramatic wind-up!
and, yep: “chomp” has appeared in at least one other strip! can you guess/remember what it was before hitting the link? 🙂
Not a clue… and after hitting the link, still none. The current strip is the only one displayed on the results page.
JEFBOT.23
Love it, one of my favorites. Maybe if this whole scarf thing doesn’t work out, ‘bot can go find that piece of iron!
This is fantastic!! And don’t even worry about taking a break. Cons and expos can take a lot out of you. 😀
thanks, Laynie! (for the kudos + the understanding.) didn’t think i’d be so zonked from APE, but yeah – took me a couple days to recover.
Ah the Bot is back!
woo! finally!
JB, you need to pay attention and philosophize later. Like when you’re not in the middle of a fight. Otherwise, you’re gonna get clobbered.
it’s true, KenderBryant – he made that classic mistake of philosophizing on the battlefield.
Hawaiian Shirt Guy need a lesson, but not too rought JB, please, stay in Green Mode.
By the way, JB, if you enter in “introspection mode” in the middle of a fight do it in manga style so you can meditate for hours in just a couple of seconds.
we’ll see if jefbot can maintain “green mode,” ContableEnorme, or give into the quick and easy (but possibly more powerful?) “red mode” instead.
and if bot has a “manga introspection mode” he better figure out how to use it, fast! heheh.
no mercy, unleash the dogs of war (no pun intended). One shall stand and one shall fall
i like the pun, Jiro Maeda – now let’s see if bot has anything left in him to unleash!
Yeah, internal monologuing works about as well as the other kind.
The dog would make a fine shield. I’m just sayin’.
a very fine shield what can even be used for shield bashing after al chiwowas are kinda nuts
yeah, my friend has a chihuahua that’s completely bonkers, drakeye. really mean old thing. the one in the strip seems a bit more well-adjusted, tho.
My parents had three (count ’em) chihauhaus before I showed up.
Needless to say, they weren’t pleased with me and (according to family lore) sat beneath my crib whenever I was in it and barked in shifts, before figuring out I wasn’t going anywhere.
Though they did bestow upon me the power to sleep through almost anything, which came in handy once my sister was born.
i need that power, Sarah W. and i need it now.
ha! you just know jefbot’s gonna be thinking about using that dog as a shield, Sarah W! let’s hope he doesn’t go back into “red mode” or he just might.
lol….as much as i like JB to be a good guy he is better off being evil…wahahahahahaa…kinda like Doc Horrible…
heh. so far, RAGEbot does seem to be better suited to fighting bad guys, Anonymous! (and Dr. Horrible’s awesome.)
maby he can go all guy gardner on hawian shirt guy
then again he wasnt really the good guy perhaps you might want to stick with being good old Hal
I’d say he’s doing a fine job of going all Guy Gardner…he’s already been “ONE PUNCH!”-ed.
ha!
i think there’s a war between bot’s internal GG vs. HJ at this very moment, drakeye! we’ll see who wins out.
Ouchies! Bendito Jeff Dahlin.
Good Morning all! *sleep*
morning, Pixie! (actually afternoon for me, at the moment.) hope you got some good ZZZs.
Whew! Good thing he didn’t hurl that dog,even if it did bite him. I think he would have regretted that a lot more than giving Hawaiian Shirt Guy a scarf burn.
yep! bot would totally regret harming Dolly, shanna, even if he could blame being under the influence of the Scarf.
Inner moral dilemmas are not something you need to be having during a fight. Jefbot is in a good deal of trouble now. And possibly knocked unconscious.
true dat, Fijiman: bot should leave the contemplation ’til after the fight, not during. he’s read enough comics to know this.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t try another three day gaming session to attempt to gain control over the scarf again when he’s done dealing with whatever consequences this fight will have.
yes, that would be very bad, Fijiman! he’s already running on vapors!!!
Awesome strip…. And I hope he stands a chance in “green mode” lol
we might just see how bot fares in “green mode,” Ky! stay tuned.
I love that there’s been more superhero action in Jefbot lately than in some superhero comics…maybe the ‘bot should consider a full-time hero gig (or at least part-time).
ha! glad you’re liking jefbot’s superhero antics, Joe. whether or not he considers going “full-time” might just depend on how this fight turns out!
*krak* KO!!!! xD
we don’t know if bot’s KO’d yet, TCG! at least give him ’til the count of 10! 🙂
Dude, Bot’s already asleep. Maybe this will just wake him up. 😛
heh. you might be right!
Just getting caught up on this storyline, and your work is still top-notch. Every panel is stunning! Bravo.
So, how do you do it?
thanks for the compliments, Tim! and i’m happy you’ve caught up on the storyline. as for how i do it: well, i guess a combination of my macbook pro, photoshop and cintiq! (hoping to make a video of the process soon, bear with me.) 🙂
Right when he comes to terms with morality life punches him in the face. Yikes. Will he go all evil again? Stay tuned! BTW great meeting you at the Con – the commentary in the book is fun. Glad you were at APE!
yes! stay tuned! if bot’s still conscious, i’m sure it’d be very tempting for him to go all “red eye” again.
and it was great meeting you at the con, too, Angela! big thanks for stopping by my table and picking up a book (sorry ’bout the swipe-y thing not working at the time). was fun talking with you. keep up the art! 😀
Hey thanks! And no worries about the card swiper – I got a discount, so no complaints from me 🙂 I hope that it started working later on so that you could sell more fantastic swag. Also – can you send me a clearer picture? Mine came out super fuzzy.
hah! i look at it like DnD. Paladins have a code to keep, and must always be paragons of “good”. however, some understand the truth of the world, that in order for the good to win, sometimes evil is needed. that’s the Greyguard prestige class (i think). think of them not as evil paladins, but paladins that are willing to get their hands dirty to protect the rest of the world from evil.
well put, acolyte. i think jefbot would definitely be part of the “Greyguard” in that he doesn’t see things in black and white (or red and green) very often. but you never know – he really needs a taste of both to make a decision!
actually, right now i’m waiting for cel to show up and save some stuff
That’s not good…..Let’s hope Hawaiian guy didn’t just knock bot unconscious. I’m imagining a sort of Doc Oc sequence where the Angry scarf goes on a rampage while unconscious bot just hangs there getting carried around.
Aaaaand yet another example of why it’s bad to monologue, especially when it’s the dark side doing the monologue-ing. Sad really, villains are never allowed to have their speech and beat the hero too.
heheh. i like that scenario, DerelictJet – i wonder how evil the Scarf would get if left to its own devices? hmmm.
and yeah, villains are always punished for monologuing. maybe if bot had gone “full green” before he started, he could’ve gotten away with it.
Ahhhhh! The glasses!? Not the glasses!!!
let’s hope they don’t get trampled in the fight, ZAD-Man!
Poor puppy ):
at least bot came to his senses before launching it, dj!
My hope is that the sentient scarf saw the blow coming even when Jefbot didn’t and is about to react and throw Hawaiian shirt guy towards the mountains… of Colorado.
And his little dog, too.
colorado, you say? if only there was someone there who could help bot out with this troublemaker (and his little dog.) hmmm…
Dun Dun Dun! Uh-oh! I hope that the scarf doesn’t get the best of you! Congratulations on the Expo in San Fran! Your booth looked amazing. I’m sure you were a huge success! P.S. I LOVE the anger in the dogs eyes in the first panel. I think that dog lives on my street! …and I’m totally okay with you giving him a good toss!
thanks for the congrats, FunnyShaffer! and glad you liked the strip!
See, you start to think good thoughts and you get destroyed…I’m just saying…
This guy has a good point Bot. Rage is the new rage these days. And I’m not talking about the new game from ID Software.
heheh. been hearing mixed reviews on Rage, TCG. although everyone seems to agree that it looks beautiful!
hard to argue with that logic, Slave1. but we haven’t seen bot fight in “green mode” to compare with his dark self… yet.
I’d pop him one too if he tried to do that with my dog!
it’s true, TPC – bot kinda deserved the slug to the face in this one.
Come on do the safest thing for everyone: run. Not cool, but everybody lives.
… Awh, what the hell, just aim low and kick hard.
running probably would be the best option right about now, Maryz. maybe if bot comes to his senses, he’ll do exactly that. not exactly heroic, but he’ll live to fight another day.
And now we find out how well our hero takes a punch. Roll with it, ‘Bot, roll with it!
ha! good advice, T. we’ll see if bot “rolls with it” or is “out before he hits the ground.” 🙂
Despite common paradigm’s; thinking aloud is usually proof that you’re not malevolently crazy. For example, I sometimes talk to myself. I still consider myself crazy, but the good kind of crazy that will merely do something artistic, humor appealing, or philosophical in appropriate circumstance.
However, if you are having a fully fledged verbal conversation with yourself comparing the smell of one granny smith apple with the exact same granny smith apple for hours on end because you swear on your grave that it smelled like it was going to try to steal your plans to turn planet earth into a pine-needle flavored lollipop, there’s a high chance that the load bearing column of your brain has crumbled.
i talk to myself all the time, Whistle-Tall! increasingly so, since i started living without a roommate. glad to hear i’m the “artistic” kind of crazy and not just “crazy” crazy. well, at least that’s the hope. 🙂
Now that’s a rookie mistake, and you just hate to see it. Never NEVER reflect on the consequences DURING the fight!
definitely a rookie mistake, DK! guess bot was still more “villain” than “hero” when he was monologuing there.
I guess that a transition like that would necessitate some turmiol.
ow. this is not going to end well….
this is getting pretty exciting.
woo! glad you’re excited, steve!
Understood, Jeff. I hope APE went well for you!
APE was cool; glad i did it. next year, i think i’m gonna hit WonderCon in SF instead, though.
Sooo, any chance I could borrow that scarf bot? I think I could put it to good use…
We paid our rent on time the other day, and a couple of days later, we get a notice to vacate for nonpayment of rent taped to our door. My roommate called the manager of the complex this morning at 9:30 am, and the manager said he’d call back at 2 pm. At 4 pm, I got home from work to find my roommate still awake (he had to call in to work tonight so he could take care of this, so he lost money over this BS) and STILL waiting for a call. We went down to the office and found a sign saying “Will Return at 2 pm”. We then proceeded to wait until 5 pm, and finally got the maintenance guy to call the manager’s cell, and he told us that he wasn’t coming back today.
So PLEASE let me borrow the Angry Scarf, so I can go Red Eye on this unprofessional prick and beat him soundly!!!
And seconds after posting this, the phone rang. It was the manager asking for the receipts of our money orders. My roommate just went down to take care of this. Is he a jefbot reader? Is it a big coincidence?
hmmm… your manager might be a reader, Maddgodd81 – in which case, it means he FEARS THE SCARF!!! and well he should. 🙂
that sounds horrible, Maddgodd81! a buddy of mine went through something similar, recently. what’s up with that? anyway, he’s borrowing the Angry Scarf to exact vengeance at the moment, but maybe you could persuade Xinda to knit you an Angry Scarf of your very own?
hope things work out. keep us posted.
Thank goodness I’m so damn anal about keeping financial records. Since we had the receipts of those money orders, not only did the manager agree that we TRIED to pay our rent, but we were able to track them (they weren’t cashed) and cancel them. They’re being reissued and sent in the mail. And since we were on camera dropping the envelope in the drop-box, he even waived the late fee, since whatever happened to them happened in his office.
But you have to wonder, what the hell happened to those money orders? We went through that office with a giant hair pick*, but nothing. Let’s hope that they didn’t fall onto a newborn alien species and spawn The Angry Money Orders!!! 😛
[*- If you get that reference, you are as big a Jon Lovitz fan as I am! Watch out for lub-lubs!]
I’ve finally caught up again. And I couldn’t help but laugh at all these little nerd jokes. I love this series so far. (: Now if only you could moosh CF in here. Hope you had fun at the expo!
glad you’re loving the series, Natalie! storyline’s nearing completion, but it’s still possible CF could get involved if he gets back from his errand in time…
JB needs to learn how to get the best of both worlds- once he figures out how to get the raw power of red mode and the level of control of green mode, he’ll be nigh unstoppable, assuming there are no other supers in his universe. And he doesn’t go up against weapons. Actually, I think he only has an advantage against unarmed opponents, now that I think about it.
In other news, I’ve been re-reading Homestuck in anticipation of the End of Arc episode that’s in the works. Seriously, if you haven’t read it yet, you should try and get as far as you can here: http://www.mspaintadventures.com/
sounds like a good plan, NeoD – the raw power of the Red and the control of the Green seems like it’d be an excellent combo! we’ll see…
as far as other “supers” in JEFbot Universe go – well, it’s possible. and like you said, let’s hope they’re unarmed. heheh.
and: ms paint adventures is pretty cool!
Chihuahuas make such cute projectiles. Glad bot didn’t do it, though.
And Bot! Don’t give into the temptation! Being a hero is not all it’s cracked up to be. Come, join the Villains. You know we have cooler costumes…
those little dogs do make good projectiles, Archtus! (not that i would know first hand or anything.) and the one in the strip seems perfectly suited for the Scarf’s catapulting! but yes, it’s good that bot didn’t go through with it. heheh.
villains do generally have cooler costumes. hmmm…
I want to say that the Scarf isn’t controlling Bot, so much as it is bringing his inner darkness to the surface. Power corrupts, after all. And it is less about corruption, and more about that giddy feeling of realizing “I can do whatever I want, and no one can stop me.” Though, with an Alien Angry Scarf thing… That power is more pervasive, as it is both powerful, and strange. It’s less like holding a gun or knife, and more like having magic. Good comic as always, Shootzee.
thanks, R.H! and your theory does sound plausible: the Scarf isn’t absolutely controlling bot, it’s just bringing out his “dark side.” let’s hope he doesn’t get addicted to the feeling. 🙂
The Dark Side isn’t stronger. It’s just a heck of a lot flashier.
indeed, Drakey – the dark side definitely does things with style. 🙂