Although Tom Palmer 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 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]