We are starting a new comic book tattoo pictures section on the site feel free to link to your favorite tattoo pictures in the section this page is dedicated to comic book tattoos.

It seems that celebrity ink craving is not limited to Hollywood.

Two time Filmfare and Bollywood Movie Award winner Sanjay Dutt has caught the bug, and from all accounts caught it big time.

Recently, while still on the set of Ajay Devgan’s “All The Best” Dutt flew his favorite tattoo artist to Goa to add another tattoo to his collection. A four-inch Tibetan Om symbol with Dutt’s Leo zodiac sign and his lucky number on the back of his neck.

The artist, Vishwas Dorwekar of Hakim Aalim’s saloon, had completed a tattoo of the Indian heartthrob’s parents names, and so impressed the actor that he had to have him do the Om.

Now that’s dedication along with ink addiction. How many American actors are so into their ink that they will fly their artist out to a shoot to get another piece done?

On the board for further work is an elaborate tattoo on Sanjay’s existing lion tattoo that has been estimated will take a total of 12 hours to complete. That one has to either be very intricate, or a full back piece. Too cool!!

Ya gotta hand it to the Bollywood star, when he decided to go for ink he certainly didn’t half ass the job. Maybe we will see some of our own stars really get into tattoos with the same dedication and still be stars.

Damn! Now I have a craving for some new ink and curry!!

Over it’s long history tattooing has enjoyed a very versatile use of application. It has been used for everything from tribal identification to magical healing rituals. It is the healing part that we are concerned with here. I’m not talking about magic, but the very real ability for tattoos to become literal lifesavers.

There are many people out there who wear some form of medical alert jewelry, and we all know that those bracelets, or medallions can mean the difference between life and death. They can also become lost.

Enter Adriana Molinar, a tattoo artist in Texas and survivor of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Adriana is offering medic alert tattoos.

Now here is an idea that I can really get behind. Just think a small tattoo that can alert a paramedic if you are allergic to any meds, or if you have a special condition that requires particular care in your treatment if you can not speak for your self. Best of all the odds of losing it while you are swimming, in an accident, or just plain forgot to put the jewelry on that morning you were late for work is eliminated.

True not everyone wants the world to know if they have a particular condition, but they probably wouldn’t wear their alert bracelet anyway. Not to mention that, as I have said before, tattoos get looked at. They all but demand to be looked at. You would almost be guaranteed that a health care practitioner is going to notice your tattoos, and even if the medical alert tattoo is the only one you have, they are going to check it out.

Come to think of it, there is one tattoo that you would never regret no matter how old you got to be. As a matter of fact, it could help you get a lot older in the long run.

Kudos Adriana. That’s one hell of a good idea.

OK. We are all use to horror stories about scratchers, and usually you get to read all about why you should avoid them here on Tattoo Blog. I’m afraid this time is going to be a bit of a shock as the offending party is not a scratcher, but a licensed tattoo artist who should know better.

The health department in Edmonton, CA closed Zipp’s Tattoo and Museum Shop at Whyte Avenue and 100th Street because of unsanitary practices and sterilization concerns over reusable piercing and tattooing equipment. They are also encouraging anyone who has had work done there since January 2009 to get tested for blood born pathogen diseases. Not a bad idea, Gang, but I would consider doing just that if I had any work done there.

It seems this is not the first time ‘Ol Zipp has been on the wrong side of the health department. Zipp had another shop closed in 2007 for the same concerns. One that he had been operating at another Whyte Ave. location since 1978! Cheese and Rice! Don’t they check these guys out before allowing them to open another shop?!

Look, Guys and Gals, I know that many think just because a tattoo artist is licensed you should have every reason to feel safe. It isn’t unreasonable, but if this doesn’t serve as a wake up call, nothing will. Just because the artist was able to slick by and get their certifications does not mean they are practicing the art correctly.

You should insist on watching the artist set up. Dirty floors are a red flag, as is the artist refusing to allow you to watch him open pre-sterilized equipment. Don’t be afraid to ask the artist questions about his sterile procedures, or to see the certificate from his last autoclave spore test. You should also be allowed to watch the artist scrub up before the tattoo.

Trust me, no legitimate tattoo artist is going to be offended, and if they are you should run for the nearest exit! After all it is your life we are talking about here. I was never offended. In fact, I took pride in showing my clients that I took every precaution possible to safeguard their health.

The moral of the story: “Just because the artist has a license, it does not mean they are safe.”

When in doubt, check ‘Em out. When not in doubt, check ‘Em out anyway.

Similar to the twitter tattoo auction for charity where this guy was willing to get your name tattooed on him for the Make a Wish Foundation. The A&E marketing team has figured out a way to encourage people to spam the Tattoo Highway tv show to all there twitter friends. If you follow @ThomasPendelton on twitter and tweet his hash tag #A&EWed10 and tell him where and why you want your twitter name tattooed on you (in 140 characters or less mind you), then you just might be one of the lucky people who get to have a website tattoo. Read the rest of this entry »

We are starting a new movie tattoo pictures section on the site feel free to link to your favorite tattoo pictures in the section this page is dedicated to movie tattoos.

The big news in Belgium is the 18 year old girl who now has 56 tattoos on her face… she’s claiming she asked for 3 star tatoos on her face, then fell asleep and woke up when she felt the pain of her nose getting tattooed. The tattoo artist said Vlaeminck had agreed to 56 stars.

“She was awake the whole time, I don’t use hypnosis or drugs. She agreed to it. The problems started when her father and his friend saw the tattoos,” said Tattoo artist Rouslan Toumaniantz.

It sounds like it’s turning into a he said/she said thing… first of all it’s not recommended for your first tattoo to be on your face, but then again may be the artist should have put it in writing how many star tattoos this person wanted on there face and there wouldn’t be any problems. The girl is suing for 9,000 euros to have the tattoos removed, while the tattoo artist is demanding his 50 euros for the cost of tattooing the girls face.

Follow up this is the guy who did the tattoo according to Daily Mail

A report came out on how some Computer Science Majors at Michigan State University Anil Jain and Jung-Eun Lee have created a computer system for law enforcement called Tattoo ID. Tattoo ID is a system that allows police to do more than a traditional search by keyword, using characteristics of the tattoo such as color, shape, and texture to identify the tattoo. Before you start panicking and getting all your tattoos removed, at the end of the day they are simply creating an “Advanced Search Feature”. Some more details of what they are doing after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been following the tattoo news recently and I keep noticing a trend more conservative newspapers keep writing articles about how with the job market the way it is more & more people are getting there tattoos removed. That just doesn’t make sense to me, if you ran a business and the world economy was crashing wouldn’t you hire the best possible to work for you regardless of there tattoos? What’s weird about these news sites talking about tattoo removal growing is they all have such disdain for tattoos in general.

“The prevalence of tattoos on American bodies was always and obviously a foreboding sign. Historically, tattoos signified “low” culture (prisons, gangs, steamships) and they’re the ultimate outward symbol of the short-term thinking that plagued society.” ~Business Insider

Many job seekers are doing everything they can, including tattoo removals, to look as polished as possible. ~News on 6

“During this tumultuous economy, there is no doubt jobs are hard to find. Securing employment may be even harder for individuals with obvious tattoos on their hands, neck, arms and other visible places.” ~Daily Democrat

At the end of the day the same people who dislike tattoos on there employees before the economic meltdown are the same people using that as an excuse not to higher you now. The picture that has accompanied goes with this article about a man who has a leg full of Chrysler tattoos.

Chris Anderson the much talked about NBA player for the Denver Nuggets does an interview discussing his different tattoos, which have all come from Tribe Tattoos in Denver