Tattoos, Rejection, and Comic Con

The A-B-C's of the last week

Mar 17, 2023

“A" thing I loved this past week

You might have heard that I got a tattoo this week. No, I'm not going to show it to you... yet. I have a couple more sittings before I'm ready for the grand reveal. Plus, right now, it's like the tonsils of your favorite Death Metal singer: bright red, inflamed, and shredded.

Since they are on my mind (also to stop me from itching), I wanted to write my list of favorite characters with tattoos.

There are some great options: Rand Al-thor from Wheel of Time, the dude in Momento, Huboric from Malazan, the dude in Prison Break, Galva from The Blacktongue Thief, and I always loved the woman in the Matrix who had the white rabbit on her neck...But, for arbitrary reasons, I’ve constrained myself to five (the comments are on, so feel free to share yours):

Leeloo from The Fifth Element. Her tattoo is small. So tiny on her wrists. And yet, it signifies that she is the perfect being. Not a bad signifier to have on your skin.

Leeloo's (Milla Jovovich) temporary tattoos as seen in The Fifth Element | Spotern

Favorite line:

"Muliti-pass" (which is the best line in the movie aside from Chris Tucker yelling, "Corbin!")

Gambit from The X-men. For some reason, I think Gambit has a card tattoo. An ace of spades, maybe? I can find no picture reference to support this—But it’s in my head, so it must be true (I would be indebted to anyone with a pic). Throwing cards as a weapon and being a thief is terrific, so much so I'm currently playing a Pathfinder character (swashbuckler) that is Gambit without the kinetic energy infusion.

Favorite line:

"I'm A Thief When All Else Fails...And All Else Failed."

Phedre from Kushiel's Dart. This book is about as steamy as I can take without squirming, and I still loved it. I loved Phedre throughout the books, even when I blushed at her, umm, tactics. The series is not for the faint of heart (read: prudish), but there are some great moments, and the way her back tattoo (called Marque in the book) is added to during the story is very cool.

Favorite line:

"That which yields is not always weak."

Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Did she start the "The Girl" book title trend? I could dive into a google-well to figure that out. But it doesn't matter; the character is the spirit of righteous vengeance in a twisted world. Super cool.

Favorite line:

"There were not so many physical threats that could not be countered with a decent hammer.”

Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I mean... is there any doubt? Aang is the most fantastic tattooed character of all time. If you disagree, watch the show again and then come back. I'll wait.

Aang before the Bangarang (of Avatar mode)

Favorite line: "Yip, Yip Appa."

(my daughter and I still say that when we want to go somewhere)

"B" kind to creatives

I know an artist struggling after a piece of theirs wasn't accepted into a prestigious competition. That stings worse than the thousand needle pokes of a tattoo because it's a blade from the inside… and sharpened by your inner critic.

I have some thoughts on how to protect yourself there.

First, take the win that you submitted.

It's a big, big deal to put yourself out there. Unfortunately, most artists do not get to that point. Most are still working toward making that first submission.

You've taken a step by trying... You're now a submitting artist! Let that sink in.

Every great artist you know started by submitting, in some way: to an agent, a competition, or an audition. You've joined their ranks.

And now, to add to that: all these great artists also faced rejection. Not once, but hundreds of times. That’s the membership price of the club that you just joined. You have to try and fail over and over… and keep going. All our members do this. Members like: Monet, Madonna, Agatha Christie… and practically every artist you can think of.

Keep going. PLEASE.

We need your art in the world. So don't stop the journey after one rejection.