Bob Smith Inks

Welcome to the Inkwell Awards' Sinnott Inking Challenge Spotlight on GENE COLAN! This is the 9th edition in our annual series.

This 11"x17" page of art on 2-ply board has blueline (printed) pencil art by the late, legendary, master artist GENE COLAN and it was hand-inked and signed by artist BOB SMITH and donated to the non-profit Inkwell Awards. Bob inked numerous published comics over Colan at DC Comics in the 1980s-1990s. It is numbered and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, limited to a series of only 10 versions, authorized and signed by Inkwells' director Bob Almond. The Inkwells were able to acquire permission from the Colan Estate thanks to their estate attorney and Inkwell special ambassador, Clifford Meth, and the owner of the original art, Simon Reed, who approved of a low-resolution file. This year’s Challenge features COLAN’s tonal pencil of public domain properties like his iconic Dracula design from Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula series and Jack the Ripper in a Victorian London setting. The event, which focuses on educating about the art form of comic book inking and is a major fundraiser, is launching in 2026, the year that celebrates what would be his 100th birthday anniversary.

These are low-resolution scans that do not showcase the actual high quality of the artwork. NOTE: All have a small copyright disclaimer printed on the side of the image. The blueline pencils are NOT included. The CoA image file of the page backside shown represents an example of the rest with slight changes like the inker name and number.