The tattoo is an art form, a practice...for some, a ritual. Its history is long and colourful, dating to the Neolithic, when our ancestors marked their bodies with symbolic lines derived from a carbon paste. Today, those same markings can be made on entering the neon parlors that line our cities. Maybe it's time to stop taking them so seriously! Loosely based on fact, cartoonist/satirist Paul Thomas delves into the history of the Tattoo whilst concocting a healthy amount of hilarious fiction along the way.

Author Biography

Paul Thomas has been the political cartoonist of the Daily Express since 1998. Prior to the Daily Express, he was pocket cartoonist for the Independent on Sunday from 1990-2000, for whom he also contributed both sports cartoons and the "Blair Babe" cartoon strip. He was business cartoonist of the Evening Standard from 1990-1998, and political cartoonist of Punch magazine from 1987-1991, where he created "The Safeways" strip and was also cartoon editor. He was a regular contributor to the Spectator from 1988-1998, providing several covers, spot cartoons and the "World Affairs" cartoon strip. He was the political cartoonist of the Sunday Telegraph from 1995-1996. Paul's work has also appeared in the Sunday Times, The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, Private Eye and Shares Magazine. He has illustrated three books by Hunter Davies for Random House.