EDITOR'S COMMENT—JANUARY 2004
We're still here, thanks to the Perretta family. It was a shock, as many of you know, when Larry Flynt pulled the plug back in May. Within a week, however, Magna Publishing Group stepped in and saved the day. Many people in Tattooland, especially the Skin & Ink contributors and myself, breathed a combined sigh of relief. No longer part of the Hustler collection of magazines, we now join Magna's family of top selling titles, including Swank, Gent, Stag, Campus Cuties and our personal favorite adult title, Ripe (their version of everyone's favorite Larry Flynt magazine, Barely Legal).
What does this all mean? Actually, things are pretty much the same, because Magna has been in the magazine business for decades and, like Flynt Publications, is a family-run organization. Larry's wife, brother and countless relatives are part of his empire, and the same goes with Magna. Chris Peretta is our publisher, and his grandfather, father and several siblings have nurtured Magna's success, lo these many years.
So, what's on the horizon? Staying alive is what, and more surprises like the special September two-for-one 9/11 commemorative issue―our first under Magna's banner.
In any case, I want to express heartfelt thanks from both myself, my art director, my columnists, writers, photographers and illustrators for the many e-mails, letters and phone calls wishing us well and urging us on. It means a great deal to receive your support and positive comments. We are all, each any every one, grateful for the opportunity to put out the award-winning tattoo magazine that entertains and educates so many dedicated readers around the world.
―Bob Baxter, Editor in Chief