The first ever Drawin' the Wildcard Tattoo Extravaganza was held at the Atlantic City Convention Center June 11-13, 2004. Pudge & I went down for the weekend to see the sights, get away from everything, and relax.

     The show was put on this first year by three individuals who decided that they had some time to spare: Marc Fairchild, Terry Manning & Jon Henderson from Wildcard Studios in Wilmington, Delaware and Marc's Tattooing in the Hazleton/Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania. They deserve a lot of credit for what they pulled together - a topnotch show!

     With close to 100 different artists in their booths all weekend long, there was ample opportunity for a chance to meet and greet with shops that we don't know as well. Some of the regular features of tattoo conventions that were present were the "live freaks and oddities" of the Rev. Frankie Luv Traveling Tattoo Sideshow and the Andrew Gore Satan Sideshow with the Gore Whores. One of the highlights of the show that was unique to Drawin' the Wildcard was the presence of Indian Larry, famed bike builder.

     I think that one of the highlights for me though, was us walking in the door, and a guy coming up to us to show us that he has "PUDGE" tattooed on the inside of his lower lip.

     The other highlight was a woman that came up to right before we left. She had an English accent, and I really didn't understand what she said, just that she wanted to show me one of her tattoos. I agreed, and figured out really quickly that she had said "I have hands on my ass - do you want to see?" as she lifted up her dress. In case you are wondering, they are her artists hands.

     The Convention Center that the Extravaganza was held in was a really nice venue, and the location - being able to walk a few blocks down the street to the slots - made this a show that we will be sure to hit each year. You can check out their website at www.drawinthewildcard.com to watch for next year's dates