Jen's Simpsons Homage

There's just something completely awesome about a tattoo aficionado who shows a devotion to popular culture with an uncompromising commitment to that which he or she adores.

When I find someone going all out to illustrate this, I cannot help but admire their passion.

Last month, I met Jen and she showed me the sleeve-in-progress that displayed five iconic scenes from one of the greatest shows in television history, The Simpsons. She credits the world of Springfield with "creating her sense of humor and the way [she] looks at the world through popular culture."

Jen equated "forever" with the fact that she has watched The Simpsons "since she was four," when it premiered. Her left arm shows quintessential Simpsons snapshots which, God bless her, Jen could explicate with episode titles to make my job as a documentarian that much easier.

Let's look, shall we?

It is regarded as one of the top five episodes of all time. Remember when Bart sells his soul to Milhouse for $5, much to Lisa's horror? Here is the slip of paper representing that transaction, on the inner part of Jenn's arm:

from "Bart Sells His Soul," Season 7, Episode 4

Some of the most memorable images from The Simpsons come from their annual Halloween specials, known as "The Tree House of Horror". Here's a phenomenal piece with a jack-in-the-box a la Homer Simpson:

from "Treehouse of Horror II" Season 3, Episode 7

One of the tattoos was still in progress, so I didn't get a clear shot. This is "Bobo," Mr. Burns' childhood teddy bear:

from "Rosebud," Season 5, Episode 4

The crowning segment of the tattoo is at the top of the arm, and features Marge Simpson in full Halloween mode, broomstick and all:

from "Easy Bake Coven," which is in Treehouse of Horror VIII, Season 9, Episode 4

And finally, we have the Simpsons' answer to the Barbie Doll, at the bottom of the half-sleeve, a lovely portrait of Malibu Stacy:

from "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy," Season 5, Episode 14

And that wraps up the quintet of Simpsons tattoos that comprise Jen's half-sleeve. She used art from what she described as her favorite episodes.On a side note, Jen has fifteen additional tattoos (unrelated to the Simpsons' universe), not counting the ones shown here.

The work above was created by Craig Messina at Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, New York.Work from Lone Wolf has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks so much to Jen for sharing this work in progress. We hope she will keep us posted on new Simpsons-inspired tattoos as time goes by.

Melissa's Biblical Footnote

Strange as it may seem to have back-to-back foot posts, this may be a trend as the weather cools and sleeves grow longer.

I interrupted a conversation Melissa was having with someone else in front of Borders on Penn Plaza to ask her about her inked right foot.

The words are based on a passage from the Bible, from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 22, Verse 37, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul." It's a slightly edited version, but the message is the same.


Melissa explained that these words have even more meaning for her as they are engraved on her father's headstone. He passed away several years back.

This passage was inked by Craig Messina at Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, New York.

Thanks to Melissa for sharing this tattoo that means so much to her, here at Tattoosday.