Project Description

INKTOBER 2026 Day #5: SMACK.

“This is my take on that ‘Batman-smacking-Robin’ meme that’s been going around on social media forever now. Lots of people appear to have had the same idea, as I’ve seen quite a few renditions and interpretations of it for this prompt. But, I added that little personal touch, though.

One of the many reasons I have yet to truly start, let alone finish and publish (as of this posting), my graphic novel ‘It’s Plunger Monkey Dynamo Time’ (or any of the others kicking around in my Brain) is that I never feel like my art skills are at the level I want them to be at. It’s a problem. I’ve read plenty of comics and graphic novels that were great even if they were lacking visually, as if the art was an afterthought. I know the story itself is paramount, but comics are a visual medium, the art should resonate and be interesting. I think one of the reasons I feel like my art isn’t good enough yet is because of where I’m at relative to other people in the industry my age. I had a solid ten-year gap when my kids were young and I was a stay-at-home dad where I simply didn’t have the time or energy to draw. I don’t at all regret those years with my kids when they were little, but I do recognize that was a decade of skill development I didn’t get. There is a rational-ish part of my Brain that knows my skills will never be ‘good enough’ in my eyes, so if I keep focusing on that I’ll never accomplish the things I want to accomplish. While I have been working on the graphic novel, a lot of it is almost like ‘busy work’ because of that feeling that my skills aren’t up to snuff yet.

At the end of the day, I really do just need to listen to Plunger Monkey.”

Do you enjoy these silly pen and ink illustrations starring Plunger Monkey? Wish you had a whole book full of them to gaze at lovingly whenever you wanted? You’re in luck! Get a copy of Inklings to satisfy that need: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733734716/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AO28074KOTGC&keywords=inklings+by+toby+gray&qid=1689026488&s=books&sprefix=inklings+by+toby+gray%2Cstripbooks%2C103&sr=1-1