Welcome to the best of 2008. All one hundred and seventy-six pages! And how was that determined? Selecting the best, after all, is quite subjective. Easy. We ooohed and ahhhed our way through each and every issue, traded punches, debated until dawn and arrived at the winners. Basically, one or two articles stood out each month. Perhaps it was the incredible artistry of a particular tattooist, or maybe it was a particularly fascinating story. Sometimes the photos told us what to choose. Sometimes it was the text. But all of the time, it was the Wow Factor.

Looking back over a year's worth of issues was often surprising. With over fourteen hundred pages of words and pictures to draw from, it's like being a kid in a candy shop. Oh, my. I totally forgot about the macadamia nut fudge! Look, there are twenty-five flavors of jellybeans! Hey, Andy Shou and Jeff Gogué were in the same issue! Can you believe it? The Calgary convention and Eccentric Super Tattoo! Yup, each month, lotsa goodies and more goodies.

In case you missed a couple, we're reprinting every cover and every poster. And every columnist is represented: C.W. Eldridge, Matty Jankowski, Travelin' Mick, Danielle Oberosler, Mr. G, Mike Bakaty, Shanghai Kate, Lisa Marie, Dana Brunson, Jeff Davidson, Aaron Bell and Vyvyn Lazonga. Two exceptions: The Pizz's ongoing cartoon strip and Val Rivera's timely gossip column need to be savored when fresh off the griddle. To make up for it, there are feature stories on museums, conventions, tattoo shops, indigenous tribes, art projects and even a road trip. Lots of informative writing, tons of fabulous photos.

Learn all about Red Cross tattoos, stars (the five-pointed kind), a trip to Beijing, the genius of Shane O'Neill, a history of tattoo machines, remembering Paul Rogers, the first tattoo convention, Marisa DiMattia, the Tuttle T-shirt, a SKIN&INK Doll, Aaron Bell on r-e-s-p-e-c-t and Hipshots from Maury. And that's just the columns.

So, there you have it. But there's more to come. Over the next year, SKIN&INK will be growing both in page size and number of features. We're debuting our first-ever flash contest, How to Draw with David Nestler, a convention calendar and, in June, coverage of the Green Bay convention, a bilingual tribute to one of Canada's greatest inkers, a walk down Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, Electric Eye in Tulsa, party time in Wales, Paul Booth and Bob Tyrrell in Beijing, life-saving tattoos and so very much more.

So, bid goodbye to last year and say hello to an exciting and entertaining future in the wonderful world of tattoos.

Bob Baxter
Editor in Chief

baxter@skin&ink.com
www.skinandink.com