Book Review: Comic Book Tattoo Tales Inspired by Tori Amos

I've put off the purchase of Comic Book Tattoo for a long time thinking it was a book on tattoo art. It didn't help that it was in shrink wrap at a local bookshop (which I hate and love) and I couldn't peek inside.

This is a very huge and heavy book. I bought it from Amazon and they included an additional surcharge for the bulk, which I didn't notice, making it more expensive if I were to buy it locally -- ouch!

There are both paperback and hardcover edition. Mine's the paperback edition and the binding's not bad for a book this size but spine wrinkles are expected if you open the book wide. This book needs to be opened wide. I should have bought the hardcover but it's really pricey.

Comic Book Tattoo is not a book on tattoo art. It's a comic anthology created by over 80 artists featuring stories inspired by songs of Tori Amos. I can't say I familiar with any of the artists' work but the quality of work in this book is really high, plus the variety of style is incredible. There are plenty of other artistic gems in this volume.

My favourite piece is the silent comic from Kako. The perspective is from a bee flying through a playground, with a silhouetted swinging carousel against the sunset. Everyone is suspended in the air including the bee. The line art and inking is brilliant, even though I can't see how it's related to the song Marianne it's supposed to be inspired from.

I'm not sure what fans of Tori Amos might make of this book. After all, this is a comic book. Compared to the music, it's totally different sense and sensibility. Because of that, I'll recommend it more towards comic lovers.

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Full list of contributors include: David Mack, Josh Hechinger, Matthew Humphreys, Jonathan Tsuei, Eric Canete, Jason Horn, Dean Trippe, Sara Ryan, Jonathan Case, Rantz A. Hoseley, James Stokoe, Tristan Crane, Atticus Wolrab, Kako, Nikki Cook, Drew Bell, Kevin Mellon, Jeff Carroll, Mike May, Jeremy Haun, Amber Stone, Leif Jones, Elizabeth Genco, Carla Speed Mcneil, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Andy Macdonald, Nick Filardi, Cat Mihos, Andre Szymanowicz, Gabe Bautista, C.B. Cebulksi, Ethan Young, Joey Weltjens & Lee Duhig, Omaha Perez, Irma Page, Mark Buckingham, Rantz A. Hoseley, Ming Doyle, Mike Maihack, John Ney Reiber, Ryan Kelly, Alice Hunt, Trudy Cooper, Jonathan Hickman, Matthew S. Armstrong, Neil Kleid, Christopher Mitten, Kristyn Ferretti, Stephanie Leong, Sonia Leong, Peov, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Laurenn Mccubbin, John Bivens, Hope Larson, Emma Vieceli, Faye Yong, Chris Arrant, Star St.Germain, Mike Dringenberg, Paul Maybury, Jim Bricker, Craig Taillefer, Dame Darcy, G. Willow Wilson, Steve Sampson, Neal Shaffer, Daniel Krall, Adisakdi Tantimedh, Ken Meyer Jr., Mark Sable, Salgood Sam, Tom Williams, James Owen, Seth Peck, Daniel Heard, Ivan Brandon, Callum Alexander Watt, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Pia Guerra, Mark Sweeney, Kristyn Ferretti, Jessica Staley, Shane White, Ted Mckeever, Chris Chuckry, Jimmie Robinson, Lea Hernandez Derek Mcculloch, Colleen Doran and Jason Hanley.

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Comic Book Tattoo (paperback) is available at:
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Comic Book Tattoo (hardcover) is available at:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.fr | Amazon.de | Amazon.co.jp