They haven’t made an appearance in the strip for a while so it’s understandable if you aren’t familiar with their characters, but that’s Xinda’s daughter, Akira, and husband, Ted, talking to jefbot in today’s strip! Here are some of their past exploits:
• JEFBOT.29_Bad Uncle
• JEFBOT.38_Parachutes
• JEFBOT.98_Chain Reaction

And although I’ve tried to “keep things real” over the course of this storyline, I must tell you that I had to tone down my sister’s “terms of endearment” for my niece and brother-in-law. When I asked her what her pet names were for them, her answers could not be shared in a “PG” comic. Or even a “PG-13″ one. Heck, they’d even be pushing the boundaries of a hard “R.” Anyway, enjoy!

Well, Xinda didn’t say “No,” so as far as jefbot’s concerned, the jury’s still out on whether she had anything to do with his scarf becoming sentient. (For new readers, she is partly responsible, though she doesn’t know it, as it’s her “angry vibes” imbued in the scarf during its inception that made it so testy, combined with some alien microbes the scarf later had an accidental run-in with that made the yarny mass come to life.) For a refresher:
• JEFBOT.02_The Angry Scarf
• JEFBOT.271_Origin Story
• JEFBOT.349_It Lives
• JEFBOT.356_There Will Be Scarf (storyline)

We still have another strip of jefbot visiting his sister, Xinda, in the hospital after her breast cancer surgery, so stay tuned when the new strip appears on Friday.

Maybe not to the degree of the previous strip, but today’s JEFbot does mimic reality to some extent, as I did have a conversation with my sister in the hospital about her desire to become an Amazon, what with her losing her right breast and all to cancer. I would’ve dismissed this as a deranged thought from a drug-addled and post-surgery mind, but she actually brought it up again when I talked to her recently, and it’s been several months since that initial hospital stay. Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised, as it’s in keeping with her career choice from the past, as represented in this strip from 2008.

Again, thanks for all the incredible support for my sister, right from the beginning of this storyline. You can’t imagine how much she, and the rest of us Schuetzes appreciate it.

I never said things wouldn’t get weird with this story arc. Unfortunately, today’s strip isn’t something I made up, but something that was taken almost verbatim from a conversation I had with my sister, Linda, in the hospital. Frighteningly, It’s possible I would’ve given in to her request had she persisted – she does have cancer after all and can get pretty much whatever she wants from me – but she dropped it after a while and hasn’t brought it up since. I’m hoping she’ll ask my other sister, Laura, for the nipple donation when the time comes, but if not – I may have to draw jefbot with one nipple instead of two in future strips featuring him shirtless.

And in case you were wondering, I talked to my sister and cleared using her mastectomy in the strip before I started working on it. While it may be a bit heavy for some, I didn’t want to sugarcoat the severity of the operation to remove her cancer, and Linda wouldn’t want me to pull any punches, anyway. Also, during our initial, grim conversation in the hospital about nipple donating, I can’t deny that we both found the humor in it, even then.

I don’t remember everything that was said when I first visited my sister Linda at the hospital (she was heavily medicated, so I doubt she can remember much more), but I do recall one of the first things we talked about was how best to tell our parents and the rest of the family about her condition. Not an easy thing, let me tell you, and I can completely understand my sister’s apprehension. Not so much angst about them being “mad” (though that’s how she put it, initially) but more that they’ll be in a state of shock and grief at the news. Funny how Linda would even be concerned with such things after undergoing such major surgery.

Also wanted to send out a huge thanks to the unprecedented outpouring of support and encouragement for my sister after Monday’s strip went live. I’ve received so many positive comments, emails and Tweets wishing Linda well, that I haven’t been able to respond to them all, so a big THANK YOU from the Schuetze Family. All these awesome vibes are sure to help her on the road to recovery!

And a reminder to my L.A. peeps that I’ll be at the Comikaze Expo this weekend (November 5-6) at the L.A. Convention Center, so come by the JEFbot booth (#3601) and say hi! Linda/Xinda will be there with Mombot and Popbot on Sunday, with possible appearances by my other sister, Lor/Laura and brother-in-law, Coolhand/Mike. I know the Cornfather will be at the convention throughout the weekend, too! See my blog post for details about it, here.

My sister, Linda (the inspiration for Xinda, of course), was diagnosed and operated on for breast cancer earlier this year. I’ve been struggling with whether to incorporate her condition into the continuity of JEFbot or not for a long time, but after talking it over with Linda and other family members and friends, I decided to go forward with it, as the consensus was that her story might raise awareness of the issue (October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month after all) and also possibly give comfort to those that have either been through it themselves, or know loved ones who have. This storyline – actually, it’s not really a storyline, as it will be an ongoing challenge for Xinda in future strips for as long as it’s a challenge for Linda – won’t always be funny, but I’ll try to find the humor in it whenever possible, just as my sister has.

Although the cancer was removed at a late stage, the good news is that Linda has just recently completed her chemotherapy and radiation treatments and is doing well. (I don’t think I would’ve been able to make these strips otherwise, honestly.) I’ll let her disclose as much of the specifics of the operation and treatment as she’s comfortable with, and knowing her, I’ll bet nothing is off limits if you have any questions, which you can post in the comments. She’ll either answer them herself or I’ll pass them along.

• National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. donation page

Here’s a pic of Linda at the hospital after the surgery that sums up her attitude towards the cancer perfectly:

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And here’s one of the two of us celebrating Linda’s birthday at the Grove in West Hollywood a week ago:

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A quick note that this is the last strip in The Angry Scarf storyline, which means this is the end of the three strips a week schedule! The next new strip will be on Friday, so next week will begin our regular schedule of new strips being released every Tuesday and Friday.

Also, if you’re in L.A. this weekend (November 5 & 6) come to the JEFbot booth (#3601) at the Comikaze Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. If all goes well, Xinda (and/or possibly Mombot, Popbot and Lor), will be helping me out at the booth throughout the weekend!