Everybody loves lists. My old pal Joe Vegas used to say, "Make a list and everyone will want to be on it." He's right, and it doesn't make any difference what kind of list it is. Best Dressed, Worst Dressed, it couldn't be less important. The important thing is, you're on it. Your name is mentioned and you're included.

Just the other day, Damon Conklin was telling me about this and that and mentioned he was on a list: "Top 20 Something," he said. "No big deal." Right. No big deal, except if you weren't on it.

I especially love it when, every once in a while, I see some tattoo magazine print a Top 10 Tattooers list. Big photos of the artists and their work. But, six months later, they publish another Top 10 list and the original ten artists aren't included. What happened? Aren't those original ten worth mentioning anymore? Have they been totally erased from the history books? Did they somehow fall from grace?

The fact is, Top 10 lists are bogus. They're usually the Top 10 Friends of the Publisher, that's what they really are. But my lists would be different. More esoteric and honest. Hey, it's easy putting Jack Rudy, Filip Leu, Ed Hardy, Horiyoshi III, Paul Booth, Leo Zulueta, Mike Malone, Grime, Bob Roberts and Vyvyn Lazonga on some big hoo-hah Top 10 Tattooers of the Decade rundown, but what about the rankings that really count? How about a Top 10 Jerks in the Business list? How about Biggest Hair, Biggest Nose and Biggest Bullshitter? Wouldn't you like to see a Worst Artists list? Biggest Creep Photographer, that would be a good. Or Biggest Ego for No Discernable Reason list. We all have nominees for that one.

A few years ago we had a Merde of the Month page in SKIN & INK. It was a place in the back of the magazine where, each issue, a truly terrible tattoo would be published, along with artist's name. But no one wanted to play. We never got any photos in the mail. In a short time, it became evident no one thought they'd ever put out a bad tattoo. Not once did they screw-up or make a mistake. We finally had to cancel the page, due to lack of participation. But one thing I know for sure: if we had a Worst Tattoo Ever Inked list, everybody, from first-year hotshots to old-timers with one foot in the grave would want to be on it. It's human nature.

Bob Baxter
Editor in Chief