Before being brilliantly portrayed by Michael C. Hall on the Showtime series, did you know that Dexter Morgan was initially a fictional character from Jeff Lindsay’s novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter?
While Dexter is based on a book series, it differs from the likes of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones as only the first season was adapted for television; seasons 2-8 bear no resemblance to Lindsay’s work.
For those unfamiliar, Dexter became orphaned as a child when his mother was murdered and cut into pieces with a chainsaw. He was subsequently adopted by Harry Morgan, a Miami police officer, who moulded him into the man he would become. Dexter ended up working in law enforcement as a bloodstain pattern analyst and committed criminal acts on the side. The show follows Dexter as he hunts down and murders other murderers while remaining undetected – he literally served as judge, jury and executioner.
Dexter hit screens in 2006 and ran for 8 seasons and 96 episodes before concluding in 2013. The show returned for a 10 episode limited series titled Dexter: New Blood in 2021. It has since been announced that Dexter: Origins, a prequel series, is in development.
If you enjoyed the television series it may interest you to read all eight Jeff Lindsay books and see his intentions for the Dexter character. Both the books and television series could serve as tattoo inspiration, as could the Dexter animated series, the limited comic books series, or even the various physical and digital games.
Keep scrolling to see my top 25 picks and think about the style, imagery, and artist you would select for your own Dexter tattoo.
The Tattooed Archivist 