TALES OF THE TATTOOED MAN: REV. OJ FLOW

[MattBrady]

Greetings, kids! Newsarama columnist Troy Brownfield here. You may know our good friend The Rev from his regular appearances in the Best Shots column. We’ve often remarked upon his expanding collection of body art. In the interest of exploring this increasingly popular segment of fandom, we’ve gotten the Rev to share some photos and detail his experiences in the arena of ink. And now, it’s The Rev’s Show . . .

While I got my first tattoo in 1993 and got a couple of random bits done here and there over the years, it was in 2003 that I took it to a whole other level when I decided to invest in a serious piece related to comic book art. From there I was hooked, and a friendship was born. In 2002, I moved into a loft space in Wicker Park with two other guys, and one of them got a Misfits tattoo (the Crimson Ghost) from a guy in our neighborhood who had done a lot of work on the girlfriend of our other roommate. I was so impressed with the work done on my friends that I decided to get something done by this artist as well. Patrick Cornolo (www.patrickcornolo.com) has been in the business for a few years now, and he is a top flight tattoo artist. He’s far more professional than a lot of run-of-the-mill tattooists in that he works by appointment only, he does not have a catalog of flash art that he does for walk-in customers, he charges by the hour, and his quality speaks for itself. My own girlfriend has gotten two tattoos for herself since we’ve dated (her first ever) and he couldn’t be more of a gentleman.

The first tattoo I got by Patrick was of a sketch I found online of Hawkman by George Perez. I got this on my left arm. We didn’t really deviate from the original piece, and kept it black and white like the original. This year, I got two other pieces done around the Hawkman one, so I went ahead and had it colored so it didn’t look as plain around the other ones. The first two tattoos I got done by Patrick were George Perez illustrations, one on each arm. While I was at his studio after the second job, I was looking in his portfolio book of work he’d done for others. It was here that I was inspired to have him do something altogether original for me in his own artistic style. That can be found on my right leg, along with many others, which we’ll get to later.

So on my left arm are two other pieces that he did in 2005. The first one is Spider-Woman, done last June. I originally gave Patrick the cover of New Avengers #4 along with several other pictures of the character as reference art for him to come up with something new. He was so into the pose from that Avengers cover that he based his own sketch around that. In every instance, I would basically pull together half a dozen really good images of a chosen character and let him design something from that. I was so into the 1970s Marvel hotties concept after that that I decided to go with Hellcat next. This also served as a sort of cover-up in that I had some pretty dated work from years ago, a cross along with a couple tribal bands that really had to go. While the Hellcat tattoo was done in July of this year, I had Patrick go over the old tattoo and blend it into her hair in one cohesive piece in November. By the way, Patrick is heavily into the art of Mark Ryden (www.markryden.com), and that shows in a lot of his work. I like how that style has worked with various DC and Marvel characters that I’ve had him do for me.

On my right arm is the second tattoo Patrick ever did for me, the Superman of Earth 2. I got this done at the beginning of 2004. I found this image online a long time ago, a panel from Justice League of America #196. The Earth 2 Superman has always been a favorite of mine, and the way this image was framed struck me as a cool idea for a tattoo. In the book, because he’s reacting to something a bit startling, he says “Great Krypton” in very small type. It was actually my roommate’s girlfriend, the one who introduced me to Patrick, who came up with the idea of leaving the word balloon blank so I could write in a message anytime I wanted to for laughs. I thought it was a smashing idea. I’ve done it on a couple occasions.

Covering the back of the arm is Dawnstar of the Legion of Super-Heroes. This was Patrick’s original design. I got it done October of 2004. I found in Patrick a kindred soul in appreciating gorgeous, well-endowed ladies. It’s been as much a pleasure for him doing these as it has been for me.

On my bicep is my newest, done in October of this year. While you might assume that it’s simply Mary Marvel, it’s not quite. She’s “Ice Cream Girl,” and it’s actually a tribute to the love of my life, my girlfriend Tara. Earlier this year, the newspaper comic strip Nancy did a Sunday one where she envisioned herself as Ice Cream Girl if she was a superhero. The costume was clearly a takeoff of Mary Marvel’s, but it reminded me of how my Tara loves her mint chocolate chip ice cream. So I gave Patrick the image, along with some other references of Mary, and had him come up with something that was like a cartoony version of Tara. We loved the hair in it, taken from a very old Mary illustration, and even the color and detail of the ice cream cone logo is amazing. I haven’t come up with a final idea yet, but I eventually want to fill in the open areas with something to make it more of a full sleeve. Definitely comic book-themed.

In September of this year, I got work done on an area I never thought I’d do anything on: the chest. A couple of years ago, I ran across an image that someone had online, I don’t even know what it was for. It came from the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #11, it was the Robin and Huntress of Earth 2, and whoever it was isolated the image of the two from the rest of the cover and enlarged it. So Patrick did a straight reproduction of that. It’s even cited on the George Perez website HERE: http://vu.morrissey-solo.com/moz/per...s/050924-1.htm

On my right leg is where Patrick has been plenty busy the last couple of years, and where he did his first original piece. The green gal is what we came up with as a punk rock version of Fire of Justice League International. Because of the punk look, I like to call her Green Fury, as she was originally named. Seriously, now that Ice Maiden is dead, it’s really lame that Bea goes by the dull-a$$ handle “Fire.” It really only made sense when it was paired with “Ice,” and even then I thought it was pretty weak.

Anyway, Green Fury is on the outside of my right leg, and on the shin is Starfire. Per my instruction, Patrick stuck with the original costume, and did the face more in his artistic style while giving her a more rockin,’ shaggy haircut (think classic Lita Ford). Between those is a Firestorm headshot that was lifted from Justice League of America #200. Can you tell that I’m a Perez nut yet? Underneath the Starfire tattoo is a liger from Napoleon Dynamite. Patrick loved the movie and offered anyone who was interested in a liger for free. I took him up on it for the hell of it. Who am I to pass up a free tattoo??

On my calf is one he did in April 2005 of Wildfire. I gave Patrick some early-Eighties images of the Legionnaire with the suggestion to do it as Mark Ryden would. It turned out beautiful, but sadly it was marred with tragedy. For reasons we’ll never quite know for sure, the tattoo got infected less than a week into the healing process. The doctors could only diagnose cellulitis, an infection of the skin and muscle, but not a real cause. It was easily treatable with antibiotics and painkillers (the whole calf was inflamed and excruciatingly painful for about a week), but in treating it with topical creams a couple days before seeing the doctor, the tattoo all but fell apart. Graphically put, it was like a healing scab was turned to mush. Several months have passed now, and everything’s good, but about half of the color and line work was lost on the piece. Patrick, ever the nobleman, pretty much offered from Day One to redo it for free after the scarring had time to go through its process. In early 2006, we’re going to take a stab at rehabbing Wildfire and see how things turn out. You may have noticed that all of the characters except for the liger are fire-based. I decided to maintain a theme on the right leg below the knee, and I’ll probably add one more character (leading candidate is Firehawk) and then have flames filling in the open areas. This will probably be the area that I focus on the most in 2006.

On my left leg is something a bit different from the other pieces. It was my idea presented to one artist I am acquainted with to design, then Patrick did it up in tattoo form. It was a neat bit of synergy if you ask me. I met Bill Wilkison (http://homepage.mac.com/bwilkison/Menu4.html) through SuicideGirls.com, a site where I’ve made a lot of friends here in Chicago, actually, and Patrick happens to be a paid member as well. We’ve always looked at is as an adult version of MySpace.com. Don’t laugh. Warren Ellis and Fraser Irving are on my friends list there. Bill’s an up and coming comic artist in his own right, and I approached him about doing Phantom Lady in his trademark style. Turns out I asked the right guys as Bill is a HUGE Matt Baker fan. He came up with a design based off this classic Phantom Lady cover and even came up with the idea of the ropes wrapping around and tying together on the other side. I love how it turned out, though I eventually want to do something to add to it since the illustration ended at the skirt and it seems a little vacant below. I’m rarely at a loss for new ideas.

The Rev. OJ Flow lives with the aforementioned Tara in a swank building in downtown Chicago. He contributes to a number of sites, including Newsarama’s Best Shots and ShotgunReviews.com. We’d really like to see him get that two-page spread of the Pre-Crisis JSA and JLA from JLA #195 on his back.

[cncoyle]

Dawnstar!

And the PCE2 Robin & Huntress is VERY cool. Can't go wrong with Perez--he's always a classic.

[BlackDog]

Jeez, and I was worried about a Superman signal tattoo I wanted to put on my arm.

[cncoyle]

Originally posted by BlackDog
Jeez, and I was worried about a Superman signal tattoo I wanted to put on my arm.

Let me clarify my statement--it's cool on other people. I'm so indecisive about stuff that if it wasn't a henna, I'd probably want to change a tat within a few weeks.

[melperfect]

A friend of mine used to run a tattoo shop near where I live and he had the occasional comic related request.

The most popular that I saw based on his portfolio and requests I heard (I hung out there a lot):
1- the Superman chest symbol (of course)
2- Ghost Rider's flaming skull. Sometimes the whole character with the bike, but I witnessed a few requests to lose the comic bike and replace it with the customer's.
3- Batman symbol.
4- Wolverine in some form or another, usually maskless clawing away at something.
5- Venom or Carnage. These requests always felt out of left field to me, but then again I never really 'got' these characters.

[Slick]

............that guy must never get laid.........

[EvilWilma]

OJ! I always knew you were a freak - now there's an article about it!


Wow. I'd seen some of those tats but not all of 'em before. You've got commitment to your hobby.

(I'd never get inked simply because I'm deathly afraid of needles. And no amount of drinking would switch that.)

[BlackDog]

It takes guts to paint your own body in a permanent way with so many illustrations.

I mean, people change. Personal perspectives change. While we all stay the same at our very core, there are things we grow out of as time goes by and as life takes us on it's many turns. Imagine if this guy really changes his mind later on!!

I remember that I was all about the rock band NIRVANA, and today, while I will always be a fan, I am not that into it anymore. The times have changed, and now i know more bands and have heard other music which I like even more.

I'll always be a metal head(hence my user name btw) at heart, what I would want to be permanently on my body has to be carefully chosen. But to each his own, I guess.

[Howard]

Here's a pic of someone I've seen with a Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy tat I thought was cool looking.



It's not the best pic and it's pixelated, but it's an adult film star so options are limited.

[brett]

The art is fantastic but like others, I could never get a tattoo because knowing me, I'd change my mind later on.

That and with life spans ever elongating, I can't imagine what those would look like on a 97 year, wrinkley, pruney, old body...



But cool for those who enjoy.

[shadow-ray]

They look good.

Makes me want to get another comic themed one. I have Shadowman on my shoulder.

[brett]

... and I just caught Huntress' face!

It almost looks like when OJ looks in the mirror, she's gasping at herself!

[Mr Wesley]

More power to him, but I could never get into tattoos. Just don't understand the point to them. I mean, you're getting branded for life, and what you like now you may regret 40, 30, even 5 years from now.

Plus, they're just not attractive on older folks. Have you ever seen a 70 year old woman with a flaming heart tattoo? It's just kind of creepy and sad.

[astronato]

Nice.

So when you run out of room, what characters are you reserving for your ass cheeks?

[The Joker]

That sucks he has to live with those.

[TCJohnson]

Originally posted by cncoyle
Let me clarify my statement--it's cool on other people. I'm so indecisive about stuff that if it wasn't a henna, I'd probably want to change a tat within a few weeks.

Yeah, I have two tattoos. My policy is that if I decide to get a tattoo I wait six months to get it. If I think it is a still a good idea I go for it.

[EvilWilma]

Whoa. One thing just struck me. Where's the love for Giganta? Shouldn't there be a Giganta tat??

[Bakema NL]

Originally posted by Slick
............that guy must never get laid.........

It may be hard to believe but there are actually people that look a bit further than outer appearance only........you know, the not so superficial kinda people ....I think he gets nooky.
And these tattoos are original as tattoos, instead of all the standard stuff everybody has nowadays. I always liked celtic stuff and wanted a tattoo down the line, made myself, but so many people have those that I'm really glad I never did, I would have been one of the herd now, blindly following the crowd......well, perceived that way.

Originally posted by Mr Wesley
More power to him, but I could never get into tattoos. Just don't understand the point to them. I mean, you're getting branded for life, and what you like now you may regret 40, 30, even 5 years from now.

Plus, they're just not attractive on older folks. Have you ever seen a 70 year old woman with a flaming heart tattoo? It's just kind of creepy and sad.

I really don't think you give a flying beep at that age, your whole body will be creepy and sad looking and your very active sexual life is way behind you, no point at parading around in your swimming trunks at that age, the chicks or toyboys don't care either way, tatoos or not.

Live in the here and now, not already as an old fart.

[Davy]

Nice work ya got there, OJ. I really like the Ryden-inspired pieces.

Davy

[Croaker]

Those are freakin sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Nice. I have many tats, but I haven't gotten a comic book one yet. Someday, I just don't know what yet.

[TCJohnson]

Originally posted by Slick
............that guy must never get laid.........

I know a lot of women who love tatoos.

[Spaz_Monkey]

Hey Rev! You've got me to thank for Warren getting onto SG. I sent him the gift account to start him up.

Look me up! SpazMonkey on SG

[buddyfett]

Originally posted by Slick
............that guy must never get laid.........

What are you talkin' about? He gets it from your mom all the time.

Stop playa' hatin'.

[CrankyViking]

Say what you will, the man's passionate about comics.

I've a friend here in San Diego, and she's got tattoos around her arms and back, and they're of her own original characters. They're not even published yet, but she loves 'em enough to get them permanently attached to her.

That's devotion.

[Zenarcade]

Originally posted by Mr Wesley
More power to him, but I could never get into tattoos. Just don't understand the point to them. I mean, you're getting branded for life, and what you like now you may regret 40, 30, even 5 years from now.

Plus, they're just not attractive on older folks. Have you ever seen a 70 year old woman with a flaming heart tattoo? It's just kind of creepy and sad.

If you go to tattoo conventions with any regularity you will see many, many elderly people with tattoos. They are among the most joyful and spirited older folks you'll ever meet.

I love tattoos on older people. Especially ones that are faded and blurred from a lifetime of wear and tear. So many interesting, indelible stories.