Comments on: More than Tramp Stamps

By: Vinnie Tesla

Vinnie Tesla — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:52:35 +0000

Another very relevant work (a couple years old at this point) is Mieville’s The Kraken–very much a book about both magic ink and animate tattoos.

By: Rose Fox

Rose Fox — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 22:12:50 +0000

I’m astonished to see all the negative comments here about tattoos; I had no idea so many people still viewed them that way. I really don’t understand judging someone for what they decide to do to their own body.

By: BookChatterCath

BookChatterCath — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:04:27 +0000

There’s Ink and then there’s the stupid little words and symbols that teenagers are putting all over their bodies!

The ‘trend’ amongst young people today is to have as many little tattoo’s as possible on your hands, arms, legs, ankles, neck, behind the ear etc.

Its out of control and kind of sad…

By: Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 04:54:14 +0000

I’m at the tail-end of a generation which equates tattoos with concentration camps.

Nice on other people, but not for me. Also not good if you want a job in corporate America. Get one where it won’t show.

By: Kevin A. Lewis

Kevin A. Lewis — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:39:27 +0000

Tats are a confirmaton of how far pop-culture has plummeted in the last 30 years; it’s a free country and all, but when everyone tries to look like they just off the carny midway it’s a sign that we need to get our cool generators adjusted…

By: Kevin A. Lewis

Kevin A. Lewis — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:35:15 +0000

I’m sorry, but I’ve been turned off to tats since a friend in my space cowboy days of the 70′s showed me a new one that was misspelled…(I was tripping on acid at the time, which made it a permanent imprint) Fortunately, I’ve been happily married for the last 20-odd years because I’d be telling all the girls these days, “Honey, I’m so not putting my mouth on that…” Cigar-smoking yuppies with greasy hair were bad enough in the 80′s, but you can always wash your hair and stop smoking, but trailer-park fashion statements tend to last forever…And Conan the Barbarian and Bilbo Baggins didn’t have tats-doubly so for Snow White!

By: Jacqueline Carey

Jacqueline Carey — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:47:30 +0000

Submitted by fans since “Kushiel’s Dart” came out in 2001: http://www.jacquelinecarey.com/gallery_tats.htm

In the text, tattoos have significance on a number of levels, including ownership of the body. I’m just sayin’… :)

By: Sasha

Sasha — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 15:36:58 +0000

Not that I recommend them, exactly, but there are also PC & Kristin Cast’s YA vampire books, House of the Night, where vampires are magically marked with tattoo like decorations. The series started in 2007.

By: Paul Riddell

Paul Riddell — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 15:02:23 +0000

I think it works in cycles, much like tattoo trends themselves. I'm just reminded of a guy I knew who used to hang out at the shop where I got my own ink, absolutely fascinated by Joe Lansdale's descriptions of the tattoos on the Popcorn King in The Drive-In, who went for a few of those himself just because the book fascinated him that much.

By: Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:52:59 +0000

Rose–a very interesting question! Tattoos play an important role in my Taker series (the villain marks his favorite companions with a special tattoo while he himself bears a different one, and he knows neither the meaning nor the origin of it) and it’s definitely about ownership of the body, but also about claiming ownership to someone else. The idea came from a personal incident that happened long ago, an old boyfriend and a misguided effort to win me back by tattooing my name on his arm. To name something is often a form of ownership–though not in this case.