Tattoo Magazine #97 (September 1997) is a classic late-90s slice of skin culture, built around real people and big, bold custom work. The issue runs a series of photo-led features on Bill Daman, Stephanie, Burrito, Andy Shields, Frank & Kathy, Christopher Gay, Greg Cox, Pamela Cohen and Milton Miller, each pairing tattoos with personal stories and studio flavour. Event coverage checks in on the Motor City Expo and the Tattoos & Blues convention, framing them as loud, crowded mash-ups of music, machines and ink. The profiles section spotlights Dave Waugh’s “Pure Fusion” innovations and Tony Anguiano’s smart use of negative space, while the regular departments—reader mail, columns, flash, artist viewpoints and scene reports—round it out as a full snapshot of tattoo life in 1997, shot mostly through Billy Tinney’s lens and wrapped in moody, illustrative layout art by Gael + Hoxe.
