SORRY! I didn’t want to start my first post of 2012 with an apology but I had to give a big one for the site not being updated in over a week. Ugh. Now that the holidays are over, though, and a lot of the stuff that’s been keeping me busy for the past few weeks has been settled, I’m hoping to get back on track with regular updates every Tuesday and Friday starting next week. I have a lot planned for you readers in 2012, so if everything goes smoothly, this should be JEFbot’s biggest year yet! Again, sorry for the irregular schedule, and Happy New Year!

This is the last of 2011′s Christmas Bat arc! This one ends on a bit of a cliffhanger as The Bat’s rather homeless at the moment and we didn’t find out who was responsible. No doubt that question will be answered in a future installment. And now that this tale has ended, expect some regular standalone strips before we launch into the next big storyline!

Previous Christmas Bat Strips:
• JEFBOT.24_The Christmas Bat
• JEFBOT.106_The Christmas Bat II
• JEFBOT.201_The Christmas Bat III_part one
• JEFBOT.202_The Christmas Bat III_part two
• JEFBOT.300_The Christmas Bat IV
• JEFBOT.401_The Christmas Bat V_part one
• JEFBOT.402_The Christmas Bat V_part two

Dun dun dunnn… A cliffhanger! At least we know who The Christmas Bat’s evil eye will target now that he has been released from his makeshift tomb. No doubt Santa would be a mighty adversary, if it comes to that…

Keeping this short as I should’ve had this strip up yesterday, but once again fell into the chaos of the Holidays.

But one last thing: If you have a Christmas Bat nest of your own, take a pic and send it in! I’ve received a couple in the emails from you readers, and will post those in the next day or two, so if you have one of your own, chances are it’ll be featured in the JEFblog! If you’re new to the Legend of The Christmas Bat, making a tribute to the flying holiday mammal is easy:
1.) Make a nest of tinsel at or near the top of your Christmas Tree.
2.) Place a bat (rubber or otherwise) in this nest, preferably with just one red eye. Use some red nail polish and a black Sharpie, accordingly.
3.) You are done.

Previous Christmas Bat Strips:
• JEFBOT.24_The Christmas Bat
• JEFBOT.106_The Christmas Bat II
• JEFBOT.201_The Christmas Bat III_part one
• JEFBOT.202_The Christmas Bat III_part two
• JEFBOT.300_The Christmas Bat IV
• JEFBOT.401_The Christmas Bat V_part one

I’m happy to present The Christmas Bat’s fifth installment! Hard to believe the tradition of him appearing in the strip has occurred so many times, but it’s true. It’s gotten to the point that readers expect and request him around this time of year, and I’m all too happy to oblige, since it’s fun for me to take a little break from the regular happenings of the “JEFbot Universe” every so often. For those that aren’t up to speed on the Christmas Bat, or don’t understand what the deal is with the gift wrap (and why TCB should fear it), check these strips out:
• JEFBOT.24_The Christmas Bat
• JEFBOT.106_The Christmas Bat II
• JEFBOT.201_The Christmas Bat III_part one
• JEFBOT.202_The Christmas Bat III_part two
• JEFBOT.300_The Christmas Bat IV

In addition to The Christmas Bat milestone, we are also officially over the 400th strip mark! I might just have to do something to celebrate, but I have to get through Christmas and New Year’s first, then we’ll talk.

Sorry for the missed strip on Tuesday! It wasn’t due to anything as dramatic as my computer failing or my eye becoming diseased, it was mainly due to increased obligations to my day job and just the craziness of the holiday season here at the end of the year. Hopefully the next few super-sized Christmas Bat strips will make up for it a bit. Once 2012 gets here, my schedule will calm down and I’ll be able to get the strip out regularly, and at a decent hour. Speaking of which, I have a meeting I need to be at in a few hours so I’m going to stop typing now.

Strip’s up! Sorry if you came to the site on Christmas Day or over the weekend and saw this. Good news is, I think today’s JEFbot is the biggest strip yet! What started as something comparable to last year’s Christmas Bat poem turned into something at least twice that size, so instead of one monster strip, I’ve split it into two, the second part of which will be out on Tuesday.

I hope you all had a great time over the holiday and are still in a festive mood! Can we just pretend, and consider this an attempt to extend the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Oh, and if you’re not familiar with the tradition of The Christmas Bat (is this really the 3rd year our one-eyed friend has appeared?), check these past strips out:

• The Christmas Bat
• The Christmas Bat II