Best Tattoo Artist

Too few tattoo artists do more than stencil work. Such is not the case with Dan Martin, an artist for Scorpion Tattoos, Houston's only shop to be published in a national tattoo magazine. A graphic designer for eight years, Martin worked at The Houston Post and elsewhere before taking to skin art. Now he specializes in color and neotraditional work, tricking out old-world designs like panthers, daggers and roses. Martin also came close to the world record for longest tattoo session last year, working on Henry Elliott for 27 hours and 27 minutes. But unfortunately, before verification could be made, a tragedy occurred. In November, Elliot suffered a heart attack and passed away. The record now lies in the British hands of Chris Goodwill, who beat Martin by less than six hours. Still, this inker is well within the top five artists on the planet, and more than enough reason for Houston pride.