What does your tattoo say about you? What story does it tell? The truth is people don’t particularly care anymore. Getting inked is no longer reserved for those who want to wear the deepest parts of their life story on their skin. It’s now completely normal to get tattoos to pay tribute to beloved hobbies, memorialize loved ones, make permanent friendship pacts, or even get an impulsive illustration of whatever funny idea floated through our heads. Still, they say “Think before you ink” because tattoo removal creams are a scam and laser removal is a lengthy and painful process that will drain your savings account. (Just ask my left ankle that is still haunted by traces of a botched Chewbacca with the Millennium Falcon – Oops!). Today we’re celebrating tattoos that had an undeniable amount of thought put into them before the needles touched the ink, from the witty to the sweet.
Punching Popeye
It appears that Popeye scarfed down so much of his favorite leafy green vegetable that his muscly forearm has transcended the second dimension and joined us in the real world. If this tattoo’s owner ever finds himself in trouble for a fistfight, he can always blame the scrappy sailor living on his arm.
Melding your own body parts with that of fighting cartoons and video game characters has become a popular choice for tattoo pieces in the past few years. It’s no longer enough to have your 2D idol inked on your body. Real fandom is all about sharing limbs to make them come to life.