Editorial Reviews

High Voltage Tattoo is a graphic perspective on today's global tattoo culture by Kat Von D, star of The Learning Channel's L.A. Ink and one of the most talented and popular artists working today. Designed in a style that is reminiscent of a handmade Gothic journal with its red padded cover, ornate typography, and parchmentlike pages, it throws the door wide open to tattooing culture in the way only an insider like Kat can.

High Voltage Tattoo traces Kat's career as an artist, from early childhood influences to recent work, along with examples of what inspires her, information about the show and her shop, her sketches, and personal tattoos. The book goes deep into tattoo process and culture: readers can see up close the pigments, the tools, and the making of complex, even collaborative, tattoos.

With a foreword by Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx, the book features images and stories about celebrities, rockers, pro skaters, and everyday citizens, including Slayer's Kerry King, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Margaret Cho, Jackass' Bam Margera, David Letterman, and many others. It profiles and showcases the work of artists Kat has selected from all over the world, her interviews with people who have compelling tattoos and stories, and amazing images of extraordinary tattoo work. Numerous portfolios throughout the book showcase a range of relevant subjects, from the black and gray portrait work for which Kat is famous to a popular tattoo theme, such as the rose or biblical images. There is a knockout ten-page full-body spread of Kat—clad in a yellow bikini and seven-inch, rhinestone-studded red stilettos—that catalogs in detail all her personal tattoos on her front, back, left, and right sides—even her hands and head.

Customer Reviews

HVT, 2009-10-23
by error

Kat is a cool lady.
For anyone who likes her show,
enjoys good artwork, or simply
likes Kat, then I would definitely
recommend.

Great book for the Hot Topic Punk rocker in you!, 2009-09-29
by Mclain (CA)

Kat lacks any ability for narrative storytelling, so she exploits her tattoo clients' real stories, and makes money off of their experiences. She leads us to believe that she was affected by her Tattoo clients' stories. If she was, then she would have given them royalties to their stories, rather than keeping the cash to help subsidize her income, because of her inability to do more than just awesome Portrait tattoos. The pages are covered with scattered senseless artifacts with minimal design. I felt like I was looking at Kats junk drawer in her mind. It belongs on the shelf of a Hot topic in the mall.

PICK IT UP OFTEN, 2009-09-13
by Spike's Mom (Carlsbad, CA)

This is such a beautiful book - Kat's story is intriguing, and the photos and drawings are all beautiful. The quality is outstanding for a great piece of art. It has a permanent place on my coffee table and everybody thumbs thru it. My only problem is that some of the type is very hard to read ... (my eyes aren't so young!). Whether you're into tattoos or not it is totally work owning.

High Voltage Tattoo, 2009-09-13
by Groovy G

I'v never wanted to buy a tattoo book until I saw Kat on The R and R show.I watch Kats show and love her tattoos.
I have 11 of them and all done in good taste like Kats.Very interesting read and great pics.

VERY disappointed, 2009-08-24
by E. Esparza (Whittier, CA)

After reading the other reviews here I was sooo excited to buy this book for my daughter's birthday gift - she LOVES Kat Von D, and we are both tattooed. I ordered and received it at home in Los Angeles, where I was first disappointed by the fact that I had read other reviews that said the book had a puffed/padded cover, which this one did not... it had a regular hard cover with a nice paper jacket, and so I got over that and took it with me to Seattle for the weekend, and not 2 minutes after my daughter happily started looking through the pages, they began to fall out! I am VERY unhappy about that, and had to tell my daughter that I would return the book to Amazon and see if I could find a copy that this wouldn't happen to. We both loved the content of the book, but I wouldn't let her keep a brand new book that is falling apart...