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If there were ever two things that seemed destined to never happily coexist, they were tattoos - long the symbols of subversive underground counterculture - and geeks - those role-playing, Poky eating, Cosplaying nerds. But as tattoos have become ever more mainstream, and as being a fangeek has become ever more mainstream, the two have surprisingly enough begun to cross their beams (ya, that was kind of a "Ghostbusters" reference.) It is no longer just sailors, rock bands, and college kids who had a drunken 21st birthday party blowout, who are sporting ink on their skin. Now even the nerds with the subscriptions to "World of Warcraft" and the extensive comic book collections are carrying around permanent reminders of their love of all things fangeeky.

When a fangeek heads into a tattoo shop to get some ink done, they usually aren't picking flash art off of the wall. Instead they have a particular image or quote in mind, chosen carefully from among their favorite comic book characters, movie icons, or game warriors. So what do these favorites entail? Well let's start with the comic book characters. Superheroes and their symbols seem to be one of the most genre-crossing types of tattoos, shared equally among fangeeks and those with only a passing interest in the culture. They aren't the only comic book inspired tattoos though, with darker and less heroic characters also sharing space on the flesh canvas.

Also equally as popular with the geek and the non-geek crowds, movie characters and scenes tend to get a lot of action when fangeeks go to the tattoo shop. While a sizable amount of these tats are also superhero related, quite a few of them are also space cowboys, distressed princesses, arch-villains, and horror icons. Portraits of famous genre movie actors in particular, from Bela Lugosi to Boris Karloff, seem to be another set of images that cross the cultural beams, being a favorite among fangeeks as well as hard rocking musicians and pretentious film school fanatics.

Refusing to be outdone by the other fangeeks out there, gamers have taken an avid interest in getting their favorite characters inked into their skin. From old-school games like "Super Mario Bros" to new-school online role-playing mega games such as "WoW," no character or symbol or scene is too big or too small for the hardcore fans to acquire. It sure goes a long way toward proving that the gaming nerds aren't as wimpy as the cool kids in school always thought they were, when they are willing to sit through hours of stingy pain just to prove how dedicated to their games they are.

While many fantasy fangeeks have been picked on and laughed at for their love of dragon themed t-shirts, gothic fairy car decals, and unicorn covered backpacks, it would be hard to laugh at some of the tattoos they have come up with based on that same fantasy art. It is almost as if Nene Thomas, Michael Whelan, and Boris Vallejo (I think I just gave myself away as one of the fantasy fangeeks right there) were painting their artwork with the intention that someday it would be used to create a brightly colored back piece or be included as part of a full sleeve.

Science fiction is another form of fangeekery (I totally just made that word up but I think it has potential) that seems custom made with tattoos in mind. The artwork and movie designs by HR Giger are an incredibly popular ink style, and not just among the nerds. Biomechanical artwork has become common on men and women alike, who tattoo themselves to look like cyborg parts are located just under their human skin. Bar codes and other symbols of a less than utopian future are also seen frequently among the sci-fi nerd crowd, though those are also more of the culture-crossing tats that appear frequently on people who have grown up in this information age.

And not to be forgotten, another tattoo form that is increasingly popular with the hardcore fangeek crowds is that which is anime inspired (tattoos which I hold particularly close to my heart.) From cute chibi versions of an otaku's favorite characters, to giant arm and leg pieces with detailed renditions of their obsession, these are tats that showcase full on dedication to animation. Because they can often be overtly sexy, almost like old school pin-up models, they are another form of fangeek tattooing that manages to cross over into more mainstream territory.

So whether it is comic book super heroes, movie villains, gaming consoles, fantasy fairies, science fiction robots, or anime vixens, it looks like tattoos and fangeeks are merging in extreme and permanent ways. But let's just hope that the nerds top out at back pieces and arm sleeves. The day they start moving in to having Wolverine's claws surgically imbedded into their hands or The Dark Lord's (I wanted to see if I could squeeze a "Legend" reference in and I totally did!) horns implanted into their foreheads is the day the fangeek body modification craze has probably gone too far.