Are Men's Tattoos Getting Worse? Case in Point: The Ink on This Summer's Hottest Show.

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Slate: Let's start with our first client. So this is a man named Ace. As you can see, there's a lot going on.

Josué Malavé: Wow. It's very saturated and full.

Is that a good thing?

No, it's great.

How do you feel about this symbolism of the lion vs. the boy?

Seems rooted in some sort of family thing or maybe even religious because, yeah, the Jesus here?

How does that Jesus look to you in terms of demeanor?

Sad. But maybe that's a good thing because he's got the crown. It's not a good day for Jesus.

I think that this Jesus looks particularly evil.

Yeah, because it's contrasted. Heavy saturation, multileveled, but there's still a majority of the solid black. It looks really dark, and it looks a little evil. Maybe it's a light-and-dark thing, good and evil.

Would you get this tattoo?

No. I'll pass, I'll pass.

OK, here's another Ace photo. He has his name tattooed across his back, as you can see.

That's fire.

Do you think it's cool?

I love that. That's my favorite one so far.

Here's what I will say: Your opinion is not the opinion of many people who watch this show.

No one likes this one?

It's not the actual quality of the tattoo. It's the fact that 40 percent of his back is covered in his own name. Why would you need this?

Yeah, he could have done 20 percent.

Have you encountered people who have asked to get their own name tattooed on them?

Yeah. Sometimes, back in the day, that's their first tattoo.

Their first tattoo? What, do they forget their name?

Exactly. That's what my question would be. But I just think it's a great look in case someone behind you forgets your name too. When you're running away. It's almost like a T-shirt.

Ace, tatted up, he has a lot of religious things, like the cross, a rosary, a dove. This is like the starter kit arm. You get the five elements of a sleeve and you fill it up. You just need one—a cross, rosary beads. The filigree ties everything in. If you don't have this, you don't have the sleeve.

Let's move on to our next client, Austin.

We've got two sets that we're working with here. We've got this woman on her lower abdomen.

What's this? Is that someone he knew? Someone famous?

The internet is trying to find out. We don't know who this woman is. According to Austin, she's Black . Is there any indication of that?

Not necessarily.

Do you feel like the proportions are kind of off?

Is that her bra popping out of her shirt?

That's what I'm saying. It's a little confusing.

It's an optical illusion. It's definitely not finished. Could have added some more hair.

I have unfinished tattoos too, so I don't judge. Tattooing that part hurts—the ribs were my worst painful area.

This tattoo resembles clip art to me in a way that I think might have to do with the shading or lack thereof.

It's more like a pencil—very soft, illustrative, not as detailed. It's more amateur in style. It could be someone well renowned, like a master artist, but I just don't see it with the quality.

Let's move to the cherubs.

This one's got a machine gun. Violence. Is it missing a shoe?

Or is it bionic? Unclear. I have a hard time looking at it without laughing.

He had a “Mom” tattoo there first. That's probably his first tattoo. That looks like it was done at home.

What story is this painting for you?

Love and hate, for sure. And maybe self-determination, because he's missing a shoe. He's like, “Where's my shoe, motherfucker?”

If you saw someone with this tattoo, what would you think of them?

I would think, You need more .

Especially with the composition of the woman's portrait being all the way down there.

Absolutely. You need to add some boba tea. You need some clouds or a wave or some sort of ensemble.

Do you ever encounter tattoos that you think are cringe?

The inside of the mouth. People write the weirdest shit in there, “Daddy” or something.

Next, we have Bryan. A lot going on here. Al Pacino!

It's full, so every part of it is shaded in. There are not really open spaces unless you want to showcase a lighter area, and then the blacks are super black. I like it. It's very bold. Very statement piece.

It's well crafted because it fits like a shirt. If things are just poking out and don't make sense, then no. But the smoke is going with his ribs. The filigree I was telling you about, that goes with curvature. He ties it in all together.

I will say, I can also clearly tell that this is Al Pacino. And I don't know who the woman is, but she looks good.

It's not easy, that belly button, smoke.

Wolf nipple?

Yeah.

How does that make you feel?

I think he could have had the wolf whispering at it or something, howling at it. He probably had this first, honestly. Then he just tried to tie it all together and fit the whole style.

Most of these big projects that are not recent, they are pieced-together pieces. A lot of portraits. It's not easy to get. The style of tattooing takes six hours just for that one little detail, 12 hours for some whole thing. This style takes all day, two, three, four days, coming back for a month, maybe. It's different from just walking in and trying to get something.

OK, this is our next client, Pepe.

Pepe. “Ha, Ha, Ha”—he’s got the Joker.

How does that make you feel?

Very conflicted. Is he funny in real life?

Not from what we see. He's honestly, like, a sweetheart.

He likes comedy. He appreciates comedy and tragedy.

Now, tell me if I'm wrong: I think that this whole Joker shoulder-sleeve situation is one of the ugliest tattoos I've ever seen in my entire life.

It might be his favorite movie, though. So I don't want to offend.

Would you agree that this isn't the best portrait of Heath Ledger?

Yeah, well, he didn't do him justice. The nose is all slanted.

Why is everyone always looking down or having their eyes closed in these portraits?

It's hard to capture a face with a look that you always want to have forever, because eyes are usually blinking or looking elsewhere. Looking down or eyes closed is a more “forever” look.

OK, let's move on. Here's Taylor.

Is that an ape tattoo?

It's from the Planet of the Apes film franchise.

Oh, my God. That's a great one, though. The lettering is so crisp. I'm trying to read what the other one says: “With man, this is impossible.”

“But with God, all things are possible, Matthew 19:26.”

That looks very old in style too. People were getting these 15, 20 years ago.

The “Ape Shall Not Kill Ape” gives me pause.

Yeah, it's too much.

OK, finally, we have Zak. I think Zak has my favorite tattoos of the guys on the show.

Very cool. Yeah. He's got a lot of Asian themes.

He is Thai–British, so I think a lot of the tattoos are cultural.

He's been getting tattooed for a while. They're definitely well done. These are for life. They're not going to fade. He probably still will shade or color some in.

How can you tell that they're not going to fade?

They're done traditionally. It just seems like they're really well layered in there. Because you could tell with the other tattoos—if they look too much like faded gray, they didn't hit the right layer. Sometimes it's by design, but that design is just not going to last forever. You might need to touch up.