Josh Nichols

Comic Book Tattoo

While writing, drawing or doing anything creative I’m always listening to music. If I need to do something that has a fun and upbeat tone, I’ll put on some B-52’s. If dark, creepy and surreal is on the menu, I’ll have a random playlist of Silent Hill soundtracks by Akira Yamaoka going. A large music library is something that all artists have in common. It’s no secret that music makes for a perfect muse while creating comics, but it’s rare to find the influence going back the other way. That’s why I was so excited when I discovered Comic Book Tattoo: Narrative art inspired by the lyrics and music of Tori Amos.

Going back the other way?

I initially brushed off the idea of using Tori Amos as a basic marketing ploy to get more readers. I thought it was kind-of cheap and figured the stories would have been shoehorned into fitting the format, but the sheer size — about 500 pages — and inexpensive price — about 30 bucks — of the full-color, oversized anthology grabbed ahold of my interest. The grip got tighter when I saw the amazing variety of art by people like Jason Levesque, Hope Larson, David Mack and a whole list of other people I need to know more about.

What sealed the deal and had me heading for the register was the introduction by Neil Gaiman who tells how he came across a demo tape by an unknown musician named Tori Amos. She was a fan of his and had written a song about him. Neil loved the song and the rest of the tape (one song contained the lyrics that would later become the title of the book). After hearing the music, he got in touch with her and both have been friends ever since.

That’s the part that excited me. I realized, for the first time, that comics do influence other artists besides other comic creators. Neil Gaiman’s work with The Sandman had an affect on Tori and who knows how many people she’s inspired over the years with her music. Now, it’s come back again with Comic Book Tattoo. Even if her fans buy it just because Tori was involved, that’s a huge fan base that’s about to be introduced to the comics medium and, to me, that’s a great thing. Who knows what kind of work this book will inspire from people who don’t usually read comics?

The missing playlist

I’m a big fan of comic anthologies. They have such a wide variety of storytelling and styles that there’s always something I’ll like. This variety makes reviewing these types of books difficult, but I do have one gripe about Comic Book Tattoo. It didn’t have a companion CD with the music. Including the lyrics was nice, but I wanted to hear the music while I read the stories. That would have been icing on the cake.

To complete my experience, I created a Comic Book Tattoo playlist and painstakingly tracked down every song on it, which was difficult because a lot of the songs are odd B-sides. With my playlist complete, I could listen along to the music that had influenced the art I was reading.

Song index

Below is the list of songs featured in Comic Book Tattoo. The song title is first with the album it appears on second.

1. Flying Dutchman — B-Sides & Soundtracks
2. Bouncing off Clouds — American Doll Posse
3. Girl — Little Earthquakes
4. Merman — B-Sides & Soundtracks
5. Take to the Sky — B-Sides & Soundtracks
6. Mr. Zebra — Boys for Pele
7. Little Earthquakes — Little Earthquakes
8. Marianne — Boys for Pele
9. Crazy — Scarlet’s Walk
10. Programmable Soda — American Doll Posse
11. Toast — The Beekeeper
12. Jackie’s Strength — The Choirgirl Hotel
13. Little Amsterdam — Boys for Pele
14. Here. In my Head — B-Sides & Soundtracks
15. Suede — To Venus & Back
16. Sugar — B-Sides & Soundtracks
17. Teenage Hustling — American Doll Posse
18. Father Lucifer — Boys for Pele
19. Snow Cherries From France — Tales of a Librarian
20. The Waitress — Under the Pink
21. Caught a Lite Sneeze — Boys for Pele
22. Winter — Little Earthquakes
23. Baker Baker — Under the Pink
24. 1,000 Oceans — To Venus & Back
25. Space Dog — Under the Pink
26. The Beekeeper — The Beekeeper
27. Siren — B-Sides & Soundtracks
28. Iieee — From the Choirgirl Hotel
29. Silent All These Years — Little Earthquakes
30. Leather — Little Earthquakes
31. Gold Dust — Scarlet’s Walk
32. Precious Things — Little Earthquakes
33. Glory of the 80’s — To Venus & Back
34. Honey — B-Sides & Soundtracks
35. Crucify — Little Earthquakes
36. God — Under the Pink
37. Pandora’s Aquarium — The Choirgirl Hotel
38. Scarlet’s Walk — Scarlet’s Walk
39. Beauty of Speed — American Doll Posse
40. I can’t see New York — Scarlet’s Walk
41. Upside Down — B-Sides & Soundtracks
42. Northern Lad — The Choirgirl Hotel
43. Roosterspur Bridge — American Doll Posse
44. Cornflake Girl — Under the Pink
45. Pirates — Y Kant Tori Read
46. Hey Jupiter — Boys for Pele
47. Devils and Gods — American Doll Posse
48. Past the Mission — Under the Pink
49. Sweet the Sting — The Beekeeper
50. Ribbons Undone — The Beekeeper
51. Pretty Good Year — Under the Pink