Mr. William Philippus Phelps, a.k.a. The Illustrated Man
While not technically the main character of the entire book, The Illustrated Man serves as the canvas upon which all the stories are painted. He is regretful and afraid of the illustrations covering his body, as he is afraid of the power they hold, particularly the two blank areas, one on his back and one on his chest, which morph into portraits of death. He was married to a woman called Lisabeth, whom he killed after the blank space on his chest showed her death at his hands. He was initially traveling around in search of a job. Upon finding a carnival, he initially attempted to enter the carnival as a Fat Man, and when he was rejected went off to be covered in illustrations by the old woman. He finds out that the tattoos are irremovable after visiting a Skin Man. He is the protagonist of the parts of the book that feature him, though there isn't necessarily a character arc for him as he is used more as the basis for the stories within.
The Old Woman/ The Illustrator
The old woman is responsible for the living illustrations of Mr. Phelps body. Her eyes, nose, and ears are all stitched shut, and she sits, waiting for the next person who is to be illustrated to come visit her, some hundreds of years apart. She has tattoos all over her body of those that have come and those who will come to be illustrated. Her mouth is the only part of her that remains unsewn, and so she is able to converse with Phelps, and promise him that he will have "Pictures of the Future on [his] skin." The tattoos are not removable, but she does not tell him this when he visits her. She does tell him that the special illustrations, under the adhesive bandages, are very powerful and show the Future, and that he must be careful with them. She is neither antagonistic nor protagonistic, as she and her tattoos merely serve as a vehicle which carries Phelps on his journey.
Lisabeth
William Phillipus Phelps' wife, who is somewhat ashamed of him before he becomes illustrated, and is downright disgusted with him afterwards. She thinks his tattoos are terrifying, especially after one on his chest depicts him killing her. She thinks he did it on purpose, to get to her, and she demands that he have them removed. The whole event completely sullies their relationship, and it culminates in him strangling her, just as his tattoo predicted. She is an antagonist throughout her written parts, as she wantonly insults Phelps intelligence and weight, especially in their final argument in which she threatens divorce and spews various insults upon him.
The Carnies
The various mentioned carnival workers include the carnival boss, Skeleton, Midget, Balloon, Yoga, Electra, Popeye, Seal Boy, and the Thin Man. They are rather shocked by Mr. Phelps tattoos, and after he kills Lisabeth, they attack him on the road with tent stakes. After they have beaten him down, they flip him over and rip the adhesive off the tattoo on his back, revealing a portrait of "a crowd of freaks bending over a dying fat man on a dark and lonely road, looking at a tattoo on his back which illustrated a crowd of freaks bending over a dying fat man on a..." The carnies' sole role in the story is one of antagonism, as the carnival boss is the reason that Phelps ever gets the tattoos, and they attack him at the end of the story.
