“It’s Bad Luck to Die” resembles more of a “traditional” love story than in “Fatso” and “Beatrice.” While Lois and Tiny’s relationship is odd in its own way (their age difference is one example) the relationship is between two normal human beings. Their relationship is still complex, though.
Tattoos are used as a bridge for the two characters. Tattoos are how they met; tattoos are involved in their everyday lives. McCracken uses the tattoos to describe her characters and move the story along. While she never describes what Lois looks like, except that she is tall, the tattoos that Tiny gives her provide insight into her character and her relationship with her husband.
When Lois’s mother finally sees all her tattoos, she says, “…you’ve finally made yourself into the freak you thought you were.” Lois then goes on to say that she has never felt like a freak but rather she has always felt like a ghost just taking up space. Perhaps letting Tiny give her so many tattoos was her trying to “color herself in.” Maybe the artwork was not only her way of her trying to express her love for Tiny but also her way of trying to feel less like a ghost and more like a person. Lois has never felt like a freak because she has always felt invisible, and that is why her relationship with Tiny is so beautiful. For the first time in her life, she felt noticed. Tiny not only acknowledged her; he accepted her and in his own way used his artwork to help her feel less like a ghost or a waste of space.
There is not one type of love. In “Beatrice” we saw love between man and machine. In “It’s Bad Luck to Die” we see a love that evolves over time. While the story is odd (with the age difference between the characters and the fact that Lois becomes a walking canvas), the characters grow and change with the tattoos. We see Tiny’s art styles and interests change, but we also see Lois grow into herself. Lois comments that she always felt that Babs was the rebel, but Babs grows up to lead a “normal” life. Lois, on the other hand, marries an older man and allows him to basically tattoo her whole body.