ABOUT DAN HENK - Author and Artist
Learn about Dan Henk, his journey as an author and illustrator, and his contributions to dark fiction and art.
Dan’s early career included a year and a half drawing political cartoons for Madcap Magazine and illustrating projects such as Maximum Rock and Roll. In 1997, after a violent car crash and a knife fight with a crackhead that severed the tendon on his left thumb, he attended art school.
Receiving commercial and gallery acclaim for his artwork, he moved to New York City to start an art career. Immersing himself in the local hardcore scene, he produced artwork for the bands Shai Hulud, Indecision, Coalesce, Locked in a Vacancy, Beyond Reason, Zombie Apocalypse, Unsound, Kid Gorgeous, Neck, Lariat, The End, Compression, Koshari, and Proof of Purchase.
In 2000, he started tattooing. A year later, he was stricken with brain cancer and underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Three months after the surgery, he married fellow tattoo artist Monica Castillo.
After a brief trip down south, which included owning a short-lived tattoo shop with the infamous Joe Truck, he returned to Manhattan. His work started appearing in a growing number of tattoo magazines and fine art-influenced outlets such as Infected by Art, Aphrodesia, Pint Sized Paintings, Excavate, Visions of the Virgin Mary, and The Tarot Project. Tattoo-related books such as No Regrets: The Best, Worst, & Most #$%*ing Ridiculous Tattoos Ever , Pandaemonium, Tattoo Prodigies 1, Tattoo Prodigies 2, Black and White Tattoos, and Inside the Tattoo Circus: A Journey Through the Modern World of Tattoos also took notice and included features.
Tragedy struck again in 2007, as his wife of 6 years, Monica Henk, was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Despite extensive coverage in the local media and vigorous campaigns by both the tattoo and motorcycle community, the culprit was never found.
He moved to Austin, Texas, for three years and started doing a regular comic strip entitled “Rollo & Me” for Tattoo Artist Magazine. Illustrations for Black Static Magazine, and This is Horror followed suit.
His first novel, The Black Seas of Infinity, was published by Anarchy Books in 2011, and he started an illustrated calendar featuring a variety of artists. Deadite Press released the first book with a cover by Dan, “The Sopaths” by Piers Anthony.
A limited edition chapbook “Christmas Is Cancelled” came out courtesy of Splatterpunk in 2013, and in 2014 he started columns for Tattoo Revue and Skin Art magazines.
A reissue of his debut novel was released by Permuted Press in April 2015, as well as a collection of his short stories entitled “Down Highways In The Dark…By Demons Driven” in August of the same year.
He continued his work for independent magazines, doing art for Black Static Magazine, Red Door Magazine, The Horror Zine, Litro Magazine, a slew of books by the imprint Out Of Step, and every issue so far of the British horror zine Splatterpunk. The books “Splatterpunks Not Dead“, “Splatterpunk Fighting Back“, “Past Indiscretions-The very best of Splatterpunk Magazine“, Insatiable, Bloodstains,(an anthology that also featured a story by Dan), Tales for Dark Hours, and a joint series by Marc Anthony May entitled “The Red Death” and “The Flood” all featured his work. His third book, “The End of the World,” debuted in March of 2018, followed in 2023 by the heavily illustrated anthology “The Never Dead“. His work was featured in the anthologies “Head Blown Too” and “Tumble Bleed“, and 2025 saw the release of his second anthology, “The Joke is on Mankind“.
He releases a new episode every week of his podcast Skull Session with Dan Henk.