Thomas John Palmer (July 13, 1941 – August 18, 2022)[2] was an American comic book artist best known as an inker for Marvel Comics.
Biography
Tom Palmer was born on July 13, 1941 in Queens.
Although he created a small amount of penciling work (as well as some cover art and some coloring), the vast majority of his artistic output since the 1960s was as a comic book inker. Reminiscing about how he came to be an inker, Palmer recounted:
"I walk in the door and pencil [an] issue of Doctor Strange - first job I ever penciled. At the time, I thought I did a good job, but really it was a stinker. It wasn't up to par. I went back two weeks later to get the next issue, and they said, "No, we're getting someone else to pencil it; would you like to ink it?" I said "Sure!" I'd never inked anything before! But to this day, if someone asks, "Can you handle this new assignment?" I'll say "Sure!" I may not know how to tackle that specific assignment today, but by tomorrow or next week I will.[3]"
Palmer is widely considered the definitive inker for Gene Colan, whose use of grey textures made his pencils notoriously difficult to ink in a way that did them justice.[4] Colan has stated publishers never answered his requests to be paired with a specific inker.[3] Palmer reasoned that, "I think the way we both worked in the business, we had a book to get out every month, bills to pay, and somehow we were put together as a team. We could have been forgotten and ignored, and we'd not be sitting here today. But somehow, I think, the fans have brought us to this point of recognition."[5]
Palmer's brushy, detailed, and illustrative inking style hearkens back to vintage newspaper comic strips like Steve Canyon and Tarzan, and has influenced later generations of inkers like Klaus Janson, Josef Rubinstein, and Bob McLeod.[6]
Palmer's son Tom Palmer, Jr. is a comic book professional who had a long-running column, Palmer's Picks, in the now defunct Wizard Magazine: The Price Guide to Comics and he was also an editor for DC Comics.[7]
Palmer died on August 18, 2022, at the age of 81.[8][9]
Awards
In addition to the awards below, Palmer was also named the #3 Inker of American Comics by Atlas Comics.[6]
2008 "Favorite Finisher/Embellisher" Inkwell Award
2014 "The Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award" Inkwell Award
In 2026, Palmer was selected for inclusion in the Eisner Hall of Fame.[11]
Selected bibliography
Marvel Comics
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #14 (inker) (1981)
The Avengers #75-96, 257-262, 291–299, ( Inker to John Buscema pencils ) Annual #17, 300, 400 (inker) (1985–1996); #311-318 (co-artist, with Paul Ryan) (1989-1990)
