EDITOR'S COMMENT — May 2004
This is a double-barreled issue. For one, May 2004 marks the seventh year since we changed format and emerged as what Henry Goldfield called, "The National Geographic of tattoo magazines." Over the years, we have featured most of the marquee names in the business, plus introducing a raft of newcomers that have since made a place for themselves alongside the legends of the industry. In 2002, we won a coveted "Eddie," the Editorial Excellence Award from Folio Magazine. What a thrill to receive plaudits from both the international tattoo community and the world of publishing.
To mark the current celebration (I am sipping champagne as I write this), I thought it fitting to duplicate a milestone event that happened in January of 2001. According to the bean counters, that was our very best-selling issue. Its genesis is rather interesting.
It seems that newsstand sales are pretty-girl motivated. Put a sexy babe on the cover and sales go up. Put some bubba with a tattooed battleship poking through a jungle of chest hair and sales plummet. Case in point, the beautiful painting by Sedona's Clark Davis on the cover of the September 1997 issue. A knockout by any standard. A bare-chested Iroquois Indian, war club in hand, emblazoned with authentic tattoos that Clark unearthed through years of digging through manuscripts in musty, old research libraries. I loved it. Readers didn't.
The word came down from the publisher (Larry Flynt at that time): "Illustrated covers don't sell. It's got to be a photograph."
Nonetheless, for a special January 2001 flash issue, we just happened to take along a cover featuring a black-and-white drawing of a koi fish. For each issue, there was a cover meeting with the company brass. For some reason, I can't explain it (there were two stunning mockups featuring gorgeous, young ladies sporting intricate ink work and, of course, the illustration of the fish), Flynt chose the koi.
The rest is history. The koi fish cover was our best seller ever and, to commemorate the fact, we deliver to you not only another illustrated cover, but inside is an enormous collection of flash from many of the greatest tattoo artists that have ever put pen to paper. Some were featured back in 2001. Just so you know, this isn't just some slapped-together pile of drawings we had sitting in a drawer. This is a invitation-only, world-class collection that fills both the Readers' Gallery, the center pull-out and a special 16-page outsert. Conservatively, several thousands of dollars of artwork.
Happy seventh anniversary to us. Happy anniversary present to you.
Bob Baxter, Editor in Chieff