The Illustrated Man, Part 20: Crimson Ghost

For the longest time, I wanted a tattoo of the Crimson Ghost, the official mascot of the greatest punk band in history (and my all-time favorite band), the Misfits. In 2007, I finally got it done, in the middle of my back.I may end up adding some green to the eyes, as that's what color they were in the picture I originally used. Tattoo courtesy of Shaun Reed Tattoos in Olympia, WA.

The Illustrated Man, Part 19: Green Lantern

I actually did this piece the same day I did the 'STR8 EDGE' tattoo on my knuckles. It's located on my left middle finger (as if you couldn't already tell that). Basically, I wanted to do a Green Lantern ring on my hand, as I've always been a big Green Lantern fan. Unfortunately, the color never took to my skin well due to the location of the tattoo. At some point, I will probably have my artist Chase Martines (Brave New World Tattoo, Denver, CO) take a look at it and see what he can do about getting the color to stick. Piece by Shaun Reed Tattoos, Olympia, WA.

The Illustrated Man, Part 16: sXe

For my 16th tattoo, I wanted another straight edge piece. My artist, Shaun, who I had just become friends with at the time, is also straight edge, knew exactly what kind of piece I was looking for. He drew up this custom sXe design for me, and we decided it would look good on the left side of my neck. In the process of doing the piece, Shaun thought it would look cool if we added some grey flames to it, so I let him pretty much do whatever he wanted. I'm actually glad he suggested the flames, as I like the way they turned out, especially how the one kind of goes up the side of my neck. Tattoo courtesy of Shaun Reed Tattoos in Olympia, WA.

The Illustrated Man, Part 5: Spawn/Chapel

Again, I'm still somewhat of a comic book fan, and much like the Punisher, Spawn has always been one of my favorite characters. Ever since I picked up my first issue (number 18) and looked at Spawn shoot an army official square in the eye, Spawn has always been a badass to me. What better way to commemorate that badassery with a tattoo? This tattoo is on the back of my left shoulder, and features half of Spawn's face, as well as half of one of Spawn's greatest rivals, the prostitute-fucking murderous bounty hunter with a skull mask melted onto his face (courtesy of Spawn) known as Chapel. This piece was actually taken from the cover of a Spawn issue (number 12), and was done courtesy of Marco Hernandez at Lit Fuse Tattoo (formerly of Tiki Tattoo, which is where the piece was done at), Olympia, WA.

The Illustrated Man, Part 4: Poison Free

This is my fourth tattoo (on my right shoulder) and was was my first straight edge piece done. It was originally taken from some flash art, but my artist at the time, Marco Hernandez, changed it up to not only make it a little more affordable for me, but to make it more customized as well (I have only one true piece of flash art tattooed on me). Straight edge is my lifestyle, and I was very pleased how this one turned out. I've gotten three other straight edge pieces since this one, but I will save those for another time. Formerly of Tiki Tattoo (Lacey, WA), Marco is now the owner of Lit Fuse Tattoo in Olympia, WA.

*Recent touch-up work done by Chase Martines of Brave New World Tattoo.