Tom Palmer, Inker & Illustrator Career Interview by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

Read Alex Grand’s Understanding Superhero Comic Books published by McFarland Books in 2023 with Foreword by Jim Steranko with editorial reviews by comic book professionals, Jim Shooter, Tom Palmer, Tom DeFalco, Danny Fingeroth, Alex Segura, Carl Potts, Guy Dorian Sr. and more.

In the meantime enjoy the show:

Tom Palmer Sr. is an American comic book artist best known as an inker for Marvel Comics.

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Tom Palmer about his extensive career as both inker and illustrator starting at the Frank Reilly school, learning from Jack Kamen, illustration for advertising, encountering Wally Wood, then inking various Marvel comic book pencilers in the Silver Age like Gene Colan, Neal Adams, John and Sal Buscema, and eventually others like Howard Chaykin, Walt Simsonson, and Ron Frenz on characters & properties like Dr. Strange, X-Men, Avengers, Dracula, Thor, Star Wars, Batman, Wonder Woman and more. Learn about his first 1968 penciling job with Stan Lee plotter, Roy Thomas writer, and inked by Dan Adkins and move forward in time to inking John Romita Jr’s Kick-Ass. Tom was also friends with Stan Drake and gives interesting details of the car accident that killed Alex Raymond.

Tom Palmer interview conducted by Alex Grand and Jim Thompson was transcribed by Alex Grand and with Palmer’s approval, sent to Roy Thomas and published in Alter Ego 84, 2023. Tom was kind enough to send a high resolution scan of his Avengers art to Alex for use in Roy’s magazine which is the cover displayed.

📜 Video chapters
00:00:00 Welcoming Tom Palmer
00:00:28 Let’s start with your name
00:01:12 Family background
00:03:07 Reading comics | Green Lama
00:04:24 Early drawings – Jack Kamen, EC Comics
00:07:26 Jack Kamen
00:09:00 Jim Bama, Doc Savage
00:10:01 Bob Peak
00:13:04 Frank Reilly
00:14:53 Howard Pyle
00:15:41 School of Visual Arts, Art Students League,
00:16:58 Working at Lexington advertising agency
00:18:27 Frank Reilly School
00:23:10 Jack Kamen
00:25:55 Society of Illustrators, Joe Orlando, Tony Bennett
00:27:34 Wally Wood, Mike Esposito, Joe Orlando
00:29:04 Working with Wally Wood
00:32:42 Mike Esposito, Sol Brodsky | Got into Marvel
00:35:09 Were you following Marvel or DC?
00:38:15 Flo Steinberg
00:39:45 Doctor Strange #171, Dan Adkins
00:41:49 Doctor Strange #172, Gene Colan
00:47:34 Colan’s full-body figures
00:49:13 Clea’s hair | Stan Drake, Juliet Jones
00:51:58 Marvel before you join… you were the change
00:53:36 Stan Drake, Alex Raymond car accident
00:55:46 Doctor Strange #173
00:58:07 Captain America #113, Jim Steranko ~1969
00:59:44 Captain America #112, Joe Sinnott
01:01:58 Ink Neal Adams Uncanny X-Men #56-#65, 1969
01:02:53 Zipatone | Wally Wood, Marie Severin
01:04:53 Neal Adams’s approach to his pencils | Neal and I, or Gene Colan
01:06:45 Avengers-Kree-Skrull, John Buscema
01:10:07 X-Men #62, memory segments
01:12:53 How long would a Page of Ka-zar and the beast?
01:16:08 X-Men #64, Don Heck issue
01:18:24 Working on Avengers with John Buscema
01:19:17 Avengers #93 Ant-Man
01:21:10 Avengers #82-Daredevil, #83-Rutland Parade
01:23:18 Amazing Adventures #5 ~1971 | Pen Points
01:25:10 Inking Gene Colan on Daredevil and Captain America in Falcon
01:27:23 You or Neal color the X-Men issues?
01:30:09 You inking and someone coloring, do you feel frustrated?
01:31:29 Becoming Tom Palmer the inker
01:35:04 Tomb of Dracula #3-#70, Gene Colan
01:40:04 Tomb of Dracula B&W
01:41:10 Inking Gil Kane covers
01:43:23 Gil Kane Dracula covers
01:45:19 At the end of Dracula…| Marv Wolfman, Jim Shooter
01:46:55 Slap at Marvel? | Stuart the Rat
01:48:34 Man-Thing with John Buscema
01:49:10 Working with people, no one recognized it
01:50:46 Fun working with John Buscema
01:56:33 Dracula #8, #11-#18
01:56:26 Movies: Jaws, Lonely Hearts Club Band
02:00:22 Beatles’ double spread covers
02:00:56 Englehart: Clea, Ben Franklin
02:01:47 Nova 3-5, Ms Marvel #10, Hulk #213: Sal Buscema – Tom Palmer, co-artists
02:05:06 Thor #272-279 ~1978
02:06:11 King Size Spider-Man #14 ~1980 | Frank Miller
02:08:41 Star Wars, inking Howard Chaykin, Simonson, Ron Frenz
02:14:48 Star Wars #87, Noel Sickles
02:16:40 Star Wars painting covers
02:19:35 Avengers, Captain Marvel cover #225 ~1985 | Mark Gruenwald
02:21:38 You came in and closed out the series
02:22:28 Roger Stern
02:24:23 Deathlok-John Buscema
02:27:07 Ink Avengers for long time? | Archie Goodwin, Mark Gruenwald
02:31:38 Shift to DC
02:33:40 Back to Marvel
02:34:00 John Byrne | Silver Surfer #1 – 1982, Star Brand #11-1988
02:37:23 John Romita Jr. | Kick-Ass
02:40:40 Pat Olliffe, Scooby Apocalypse, Hanna-Barbera
02:42:19 Intense collaborations
02:50:47 You made a real contribution to Marvel
02:53:33 Back in the ‘40s – Jack Kamen
02:56:16 Alex’s bond with Tom’s characters & work
02:58:01 Jackson Guice
02:58:35 “they still make comics?”
03:01:24 What fascinated you early on, about comic books?
03:03:11 Current work
03:07:28 Wrapping Up

🎬 Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.
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Book Historians.

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