chael Alfred Malone, one of the world's great tattoo artists, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday April

17, 2007 in Chicago, I ! "e was #$!

Malone was %orn in &an 'afael, California April 2(, 1)$2, to *rancis +arnett ,Mic-ey, Malone and ./elyn 0une .sse1 Malone! Mic-ey Malone wor-ed in the shipyards in the north +ay Area and later as a house painter! ./elyn Malone was a ho2e2a-er with a strong artistic strea-, creating handcrafts, earrings, and dolls! The Malones raised 3or-shire Terriers at their Malo%ar 4ennels during the &e/enties and .ighties!

+etter -nown %y his no2 de tattoo 'ollo +an-s, Malone was a 2aster of classic A2erican and 5riental style tattooing li-e his peer 6on .d "ardy! "e apprenticed under &ailor 0erry in "onolulu, ta-ing o/er his shop fro2 1)77-))! "e was an early proponent of tri%al tattooing and created the 2odern /ersion of the ar2%and tattoo! "e also standardi8ed the loo- and pac-aging of tattoo ,flash,, the designs displayed on the walls of tattoo shops worldwide! Malone's 'ollo2atic and &ailor 0erry +ulldog &haders are considered to %e the finest custo2 tattoo 2achines 2ade!

In later years, Malone's wor- appeared at Chicago's Ann 9athan :allery and the "onolulu Acade2y of Art! The %oo- +ullseyes and +lac.yes was a collection of his wor- and contained an e1tensi/e inter/iew with hi2! Malone was also a collector of art, 0apanese toys, and anti;ue carni/al chal- figures!

Malone is sur/i/ed %y his %rother &te/en Malone of California as well as his closest friends 4andi ./erett and 4eith <nderwood, and his second wife Margaret Moser, who edited Malone's stories until his death! Michael Malone, a tattoo artist renowned a2ong his peers for helping to populari8e and standardi8e tattooing through the /i/id i2ages of dragons, daggers, cartoon characters and crests that he distri%uted to tattoo parlors around the world, died on April 17 at his ho2e in Chicago! "e was #$!

Margaret Moser, 1994

Michael Malone

Mr! Malone co22itted suicide after a long illness, his %usiness partner, 4eith <nderwood, said! Mr! Malone, who assu2ed the pen na2e 'ollo +an-s early in his career, was noted for standardi8ing =the flash,> the 11-%y-17-inch posters on tattoo parlor walls that show up to a do8en i2ages fro2 which clients 2a-e their choices!

=?hat 'ollo did was produce clean yet powerful tattoo designs and circulate the2 across the glo%e,> said Chris Mid-iff, editor of Tattoo Artist 2aga8ine! +efore Mr! Malone, Mr! Mid-iff said, =2ost tattoo shops hand-drew their own flash! Mostly it was %ad drawing %y people who weren@t really artists!> Mr! Malone was also -nown for intricately %lending iconic Asian and ?estern i2ages, so2eti2es with a dash of iconoclastic hu2or! In one design he co2%ined a fiercely protecti/e +uddhist deity, *udo, with +luto, the 2enacing thug fro2 Aopeye cartoons! In an inter/iew on Tuesday, 6on .d "ardy, a noted tattooist and the author of a 2002 %oo- a%out Mr! Malone, =+ull@s-.yes B +lac.yes> C"ardy Mar-sD, descri%ed a nearly-full-%ody tattoo that Mr! Malone created for one client! ="e did a shortened -i2ono, open down the 2iddle of the torso, down the %ac- to the thighs, and Eust past the el%ows,> Mr! "ardy said! ="e drew a huge 2ulticolor :od8illa on the guy@s %ac-, and on the front and ar2s were other figures fro2 0apanese 2onster 2o/ies!> The priceF =More than G(,000!> Mr! "ardy said Mr! Malone was the first tattoo artist to distri%ute flash sheets featuring "awaiian designs fro2 the ti2e %efore 2issionaries arri/ed in the 1H00s I ar2, leg and wrist %ands of interloc-ed triangles, dia2onds and arrows! ast 5cto%er he was one of si1 artists featured in an e1hi%ition, =Mar-ed MenF *ine Art fro2 # Influential Tattooists,> at the 5ld 6o2inion <ni/ersity :allery in Jirginia! Michael Alfred Malone was %orn on April 2(, 1)$2, in &an 'afael, Calif!, a son of *rancis and ./elyn Malone! "is father was a house painter who 2ade -ites fro2 %rown paper and encouraged his son to paint i2ages on the2! Mr! Malone is sur/i/ed %y his %rother, &te/en, of &anta 'osa, Calif! &teeping hi2self in California@s 1)#0s counterculture, Mr! Malone wor-ed in &an *rancisco on roc- shows that had psychedelic lighting while studying cera2ics and carpentry! "e 2o/ed to Manhattan in the late @#0s and, under the tutelage of a local tattooist, %egan decorating clients at his downtown apart2ent! In 1)71 he helped organi8e an e1hi%ition called =TattooK> at the Museu2 of A2erican *olArt in Manhattan! A year later Mr! Malone 2o/ed to "awaii and %eca2e a protLgL of the artist -nown as &ailor 0erry Collins, who was fa2ous in the industry for introducing a sophisticated style and /i/id new colors to the s-ulls, roses, hearts, tigers and sailing ships of classic tattooing! ?hen Mr! Collins died in 1)77, Mr! Malone %ought Mr! Collins@s co2pany, China &ea Tattoo, in the Chinatown district of "onolulu, and with it his 2entor@s designs! ?ith those i2ages and his own designs, Mr! Malone started se/eral 2ail-order %usinesses, including one called Mr! *lash! Mr! Mid-iff of Tattoo Artist 2aga8ine said that under the Mr! *lash logo Mr! Malone produced appro1i2ately 700 sheets with 2ore than 7,000 designs! ='ollo educated the %ul- of the tattooers e/erywhere,> he said! Mr! Malone, a 700-pound si1-footer with a close-cropped %eard, ne/er 2ade a fortune fro2 his %usiness and ne/er too- hi2self too seriously! In an inter/iew with Mr! Mid-iff last year he critici8ed tattooers who thin- they are =%uilding a 2onu2ent to the2sel/es!> Tattooers are =outlaws,> he said! = i-e this tattoo I did yesterday I it said M&calawag!@ And I li-e that! It@s part of who we areF scalawags!>