Project Description

INKTOBER 2026 Day #8: STINKY.

“Any other kids of the 80s and original ‘He-Man’ fans remember Stinkor? I remember thinking he had a neat design and it was cool that he smelled weird. As an adult, I’m thinking he was a odd concept for a character, especially as a toy: he smells bad. But I liked him as a kid, so some designer somewhere must have known what they were doing. Those artists deserve a lot of credit for their character designs in general. There were so many unique and memorable ones, so many visually interesting designs and ‘gimmicks’, even though so many of the toys were just variations on the same basic molds (which were great and probably partially fueled my eventual fascination with working out and anatomy, along with superhero comics). I still have Stinkor, as well as every other ‘He-Man’ figure I ever owned.

One of the highlights of getting a new ‘He-Man’ toy when I was young were the mini-comics that came with each figure. Even as a kid, I picked up on the difference in tone between them and the mega-popular animated series. The cartoon was bright and colorful, full of silly moments as well as the mandated Saturday Morning Cartoon moral lessons. The mini comics seemed darker and more serious to me. I enjoyed both, but I always wonder what it would have been like had they been able to lean more heavily into a serious sci-fantasy take for the show. I wonder if it would have been as popular. I know there were full-sized comics as well as graphic novels from the 80s (one of which still sits on my bookshelf somewhere, the glue holding the pages in having long since dried out, making flipping through it a challenge), but I don’t think they were ever as popular as the cartoon. I know the franchise has made a bit of a comeback in recent years with a new animated series and live action movie, but I haven’t had a chance to check them out yet. The core concept behind ‘The Masters of the Universe’, uh, universe, is pretty cool and I’d love to see a new take on it in some medium that was geared towards an older audience.”

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