Following up from Covert Operations (Part 1 of 2), Franky Banky is in a chat group sharing stories from his covert stuttering days when he was younger. In this part two, I wanted to show his emotions and thought processes whenever he had chosen to refrain from speaking due to his fear of being judged negatively because of his stuttering.

There’s nothing worse than wanting to say something, tell a joke, create a good impression, speaking up in class or in a meeting, etc. but stopping yourself from doing so. That is the spirit of the Stuttering is Cool book, podcast, and my Franky Banky comics.

The reason stuttering is awkward and embarrassing is because no one else understands it. You may worry about what the person you’re talking to may be thinking (if anything at all), and they may be wondering why you are talking that way. So you spend your conversation having to deal with all this anxiety and what-ifs.

Telling others that we stutter eliminates all that and both you and the person(s) you’re talking to can focus on what you’re saying, not how. The former is important while the latter is not. You’d be amazed to learn that everyone you speak to turns out to be totally ok with your stuttering. Give or take one or two jerks but that’s a reflection on them, not you.

Spud and Willomina

I introduce two characters from my earlier days of cartooning in this comic; Spud and his extremely jealous ex-girlfriend, Willomina. I created the twosome in the early 1990s when I was in high school long before creating Franky Banky or even being overt about stuttering.

Spud and Willomina come from the dark side of the moon. Spud likes to go on adventures and Willomina likes to follow him in order to keep an eye on him. I don’t know why she feels compelled to do so but I think she needs to move on.

I was very prolific in drawing and posting Spud comics in the 2000s and in fact, you can read a bunch of them at superspud.com. Both Spud and Willomina also made appearances in my book, Stuttering is Cool: A Guide to Stuttering in a Fast-Talking World. As you have seen in this comic, you’ll be seeing more of them in future Franky Banky comics. I’m glad to be drawing them again and in Franky Banky’s world, too.