The Illustrated Man, Part 13: XIII

This entry in the series will be kept very short. Basicaly, this tattoo (on my right bicep) was my thirteenth tattoo, so I wanted to get a '13'. However, I wanted a less traditional version of the number, so I had the artist draw up a Roman numeral version instead. Courtesy of Shawn at Tiki Tattoo in Lacey, WA.

The Illustrated Man, Part 12: Big D

Unlike most of my tattoos, this one actually has a story. Not much of a story mind you, but a story nonetheless. Sometime in middle school, a friend of mine (not sure which one at this point) out of nowhere called me "Big D". There wasn't any rhyme or reason for it; just one of those nicknames you give a friend in school at random. Somehow, this nickname caught on, and by the end of 8th grade, all of my friends were calling me "Big D" all the time. Fast forward a few years, after high school and once I was in the real world, and people were still calling me that. Even friends who I didn't go to school with would refer to me as such. By late 2006, I still had the nickname and was so used to people calling me Big D that it didn't even phase me anymore. So, I decided to go with my mom to Tiki Tattoo in Lacey, WA and get it tattooed on me (She also got tattooed with me that day, as she is also a tattoo fan and has half a dozen or so pieces herself. On a side note, if you're a bodybuilding fan, check out GerriDavis.com to see her official website). From there, I chose the colors black and yellow for the design, as it is my all-time favorite color combination. The end result is what you see in the picture, located on the back of my neck. Courtesy of Brad at Tiki Tattoo.

The Illustrated Man, Part 11: Grim Reaper

For tattoo number eleven, I wanted to keep going with the old school, traditional stuff. In all honesty, had Josh (the artist) stayed at Tiki Tattoo (Lacey, WA) for longer, I'd probably be covered in old school tattoos right now. He was really good with that style, and I was always pleased with the work. Anyway, this time around, I wanted to go with a grim reaper. He had a good picture of one in one of his books, but the problem was the cape for the reaper was designed to look tribal. I fucking HATE tribal work. He said he did, too, so he changed up the cape to have a more custom-yet-traditional look to it. The end result is what you see in the photo, which is located on the back of my right shoulder. I get a lot of compliments on this tattoo, and once again, the color has held up very well, despite being nearly a decade old. Currently, my artist at Brave New World Tattoo in Denver, CO, Chase Martines, has toyed with the idea of taking the cape on the reaper and extending it all the way down the length of my back. I am very much in favor of doing this, and hope to have it done within the next year or so.

The Illustrated Man, Part 10: Mr. Lucky

For tattoo #10, I decided that I wanted something on my right forearm that was similar to the on one my left forearm, keeping with old school, traditional designs. Josh (formerly of Tiki Tattoo in Lacey, WA) had me look through some work and I found I wanted to have a "Mr. Lucky"-style skull done. Once again, Josh took a rough idea, drew something up of his own based on that idea, and he put together the piece you see in the picture. He also chose the color scheme, and added a nautical star to the tattoo because I wanted one somewhere on me. Although it is hard to tell in this pic-partially because it's small and partially because the tattoo is nearly 10 years old and has faded a little (although it has actually held its color very well thus far)-this Mr. Lucky skull has three gold teeth, one on top and two on bottom. In those gold teeth are an 'X' (representing my straight edge lifestyle) and the number '13' (because, well, why the fuck not? It's a good number), respectively.

The Illustrated Man, Part 9: Straight Razor

This is the ninth tattoo I got, located on the inside of my left forearm (it is now part of a sleeve, but I'll save that for another day). Again, I wanted a more old school traditional design, something the artist was very good at. We took a look at some flash art, I picked a basic design, and then let him go to town on customizing it. It contains a straight razor wrapped in a banner. The banner contains the number '13', the traditional suits in a deck of playing cards a pair of dice rolled to snake eyes. He added some flames and a freehand design was added to the blade, and I allowed him to pick the color scheme from top to bottom. Courtesy of Josh (formerly) of Tiki Tattoo in Lacey, WA (I believe Josh moved to Hawaii and opened up shop there, but I'm not 100% positive).

The Illustrated Man, Part 8: Knightquest

After getting the Joker done, I figured I needed to get the other half of the equation: Batman. I'm a big Batman fan, and it just seemed natural to have both the mortal enemies tattooed on me in some fashion. However, I didn't want to do the traditional emblem, as that's what everyone does. Instead, I chose the logo for the Azrael version of Batman. This took place during the Knightquest story arc, and since the role of Batman was being played by another person, another logo was made to go along with the story. One difference between the logo and this tattoo (on my left pec), was the original was pale yellow and black. To make it pop a little more, Dave at Tiki Tattoo (Lacey, WA)-the artist for this piece-used a brighter yellow and added orange to the border (Funny side story-this tattoo was paid for with a $100.00 bill I found on the floor in the electronics department at Wal-Mart, where I worked at the time). After nearly ten years, the black in the tattoo had faded quite a bit, and part of the orange had almost faded completely, so I had it touched up 2 days ago at my current shop. Touch-up work courtesy of Chase Martines at Brave New World Tattoo, Denver, CO.

The Illustrated Man, Part 7: The Joker

The Joker is perhaps my favorite villain in all of comic books, and Mark Hamill's interpretation of the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series/The Adventures of Batman & Robin is phenomenal. So phenomenal that no one is associated more closely with the character than Hamill. I decided it was this was the version of the Joker I wanted to use for my seventh tattoo. I happened to have a deck of playing cards themed after the television series, so I took the deck with me to Tiki Tattoo (Lacey, WA) and used on of the Joker cards in the deck for the inspiration, including making it look like a playing card. An artist named Jim (who was helping out at the shop that day, but owned his own in Seattle; I wish I knew the name of it) drew something up for me. He changed the lettering of the word "Joker" to something more custom, and added some detail to the Joker's eyes to make him look more menacing and psychotic. Although this was one of the most painful tattoos I've ever received (on my right calf), I was incredibly happy with how it turned out. I've even had people tell me it's the coolest Joker tattoo they've ever seen.

The Illustrated Man, Part 6: Snake Eyes

Again, there is really no story to this piece. I simply wanted a more traditional, old school design, so I had a set of dice rolled to snake eyes done, surrounded by blue flames. I will get it touched up eventually, as I know it's in need of one. This is the sixth tattoo I got, and is located on my lower neck, between my shoulders. Tattoo courtesy of Curtis (formerly) at Tiki Tattoo in Lacey, 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.