I’ve known Shane Turgeon, author of both volumes of The Force in The Flesh, for close to twenty years. Before either of us found ourselves traveling the world doing amazing things, we were wide eyes roommates. Hanging out and making plans for the future in a surprisingly large two bedroom apartment in Edmonton, Alberta. It was a time of change and we both knew it. The Phantom Menace was still in the theaters and the Dark Age of Star Wars was losing focus in the rearview mirror of The Star Wars Generation. The world was opening up and what was once something shared only in small groups was well on its way to becoming something worth celebrating with hundreds of thousands of like minded people. Our friendship was forged in these early days and much that influenced us then is clearly visible in the ventures we’ve chosen to pursue right up to today.

While most people who know Shane now see the man that is covered in them, I remember the man that came home with his first tattoo. I’m proud to say I was once the one with the most tattoos in our friendship, but it was short lived as his passion for this indelible art form took seed and went from a curiosity to a full fledge fascination. When he came up with the idea of creating a stage for pop culture tattoos to be displayed on, it was a concept on not a single radar and when the original site launched in 1999 it was quick to build a sizeable audience and that audience continued to grow steadily. Allowing the concept to grow naturally, Shane began promoting tattoos as a viable collecting genre with a booth and tattoo competition at Celebration III. While there, he and photographer Curtis Comeau were able to create almost a third of the content that made up the first volume of The Force in The Flesh. Their hard work, plus that of the book’s designer Jeff Correll, made the self published book a success and added an undeniable legitimacy to this subculture within our community.

The book became available for purchase at Celebration IV and the die was cast. Shane found a purpose that would quickly become a part of what a Star Wars Celebration is, and for Celebration V Shane pushed forward, along with Tattooer Marc Draven, to bring an actual fully-functional tattoo pavilion where tattoo artists were able to safely and hygienically guide many Star Wars fans into a much larger world of collecting. It went off without a hitch and was easily one of the most popular events at the show. Shane and Marc went on to organize three more pavilions at Celebration VI, Celebration Europe II, and Celebration Anaheim. The proof was in the pudding.

It was at Celebration Anaheim that Shane released The Force in The Flesh Volume II. Having been a big fan of the first effort I couldn’t wait to get the new edition and opted to go for the super limited edition two book slipcase set (after all, I could always use a second copy of the first book!) and offered to write a review on the book once I had it in hand. To this Shane offered to send me an advance copy of the book (yes, ultimately that means I proudly possess two copies of both volumes). Like the first volume, this book was self financed and independently published so in the interest of saving a friend money I suggested reviewing a digital version, to which Shane said he didn’t think would do the work justice. He’s very proud of this new effort and assured me that having the physical book in hand would be the only way to truly appreciate my first viewing. After receiving the book, I can say without question that he was right to insist on my first impression coming from flipping through the pages of this incredibly heavy book.

I receive many books for review, and have made it a practice to contact authors to let them know which way a review will go in advance of publication. In some cases I will tell the author that I have nothing nice to say about their efforts and offer them a chance to opt out. Nine times out of ten those authors, even those I’m friends with, understand that a book review is an opinion and not all opinions are positive. I refuse to let my personal relationships steer the direction of a book review because I want people to be able to trust what I say about the books and either lead them towards or away from a publication based solely on its own merits. That said, I’m pleased to say that I enjoyed the hell out of The Force in The Flesh Volume II.

This time out, Shane starts the book off with a warning that it isn’t meant to be a catalogue and aping someone’s design is an attack on the collector’s individuality. When the first volume was released many contributors, including myself, thought it went without saying, but the addition of the warning puts it out there without question. Copying a tattoo design is not a welcome practice.

From there, Shane’s passion and personalty take over and the book’s foreword by Steve Sansweet and the two page introduction speak volumes about the author and what the mission of the of this volume is. Before reading Volume II I was joking -on the assumption I liked the book- that I’d have a comment about the only way this book would be better is if I were in it. That joke faded when I got to the introduction. The first few paragraphs were about a shared experience last year that quickly went from joyous to tragically sad, where both of us got to share with an artist who had strongly influenced us both. Instantly I relived the events Shane wrote about, but this time the sadness was replaced with something a bit, for lack of better words, reassuring. I’m not certain if its because of my involvement in the story he shared had influenced my thoughts on the book’s introduction, but I’d like to think it only elevated what any other reader will clearly see: the story of life, friendship, family, and community. These are the notions that tone the entire book.

Getting past that, like the first book, Volume II follows a familiar layout and design, again skillfully crafted by Jeff, and leads with the collectors and then the artists. In each section, the reader will find a single spotlight page with an individual write up followed by one or more pages showing off their Star Wars themed tattoos.

Where the first book had some amazing art in it, Volume II is a unstoppable collection of some of the coolest tattoos I’ve ever seen. In the span of eight years between volumes, the medium has evolved into something that defies description. Many of the designs left me envious, and prompted me to look into some of the artists’ other work. Over all, every artist featured is exceptional, but I personally really enjoyed the galleries of Pawel Jankowzki, David Corden, Chris Jones, Paul Davies, and Matt “Oddboy” Jones. I’m going to put some very serious thought into getting some work from all of them.

The Force in The Flesh Volume II, which is over 300 pages, takes everything good about Volume I and elevates it. If you take home only one book this year, this one is certainly a contender.


Follow this link to get your own copy of The Force In The Flesh volume II now!