Anthony & Adrienne
Anthony and Adrienne Roy were married and became longtime creative collaborators. They often divided coloring assignments to meet demanding deadlines, including work on Crisis on Infinite Earths. [2]
COLORIST · PUBLISHER · HISTORIAN
Anthony Tollin has spent a lifetime bringing stories to life—and keeping their history alive.
Meet Anthony
01 / THE STORY
Before the deadlines and the publishing imprint, there was a boy who loved the stories.
Green Lantern was a childhood favorite. John Glenn’s orbit on Anthony’s tenth birthday connected the excitement of space exploration with the adventures on the page. In junior high, he discovered The Shadow—a fascination that became a lifelong pursuit. [2]
His career at DC Comics grew from proofreading and production into coloring covers and interiors. Alongside the comics, he built a second body of work researching the history of pulp fiction and old-time radio. [3]
Through Sanctum Books, that collector’s enthusiasm became a publishing mission: return classic adventures to readers with their artwork and historical context intact. [4]
THE PERSON BETWEEN THE PAGES
Anthony and Adrienne Roy were married and became longtime creative collaborators. They often divided coloring assignments to meet demanding deadlines, including work on Crisis on Infinite Earths. [2]
As a young amateur magician and ventriloquist, Anthony read Walter Gibson’s magic books. When he found Gibson’s Shadow adventures, he rationed his reading to four chapters a day. [3]
At DC, Jack Adler taught him the mechanics of printed color. Anthony credits that training with helping him create a quieter, more atmospheric palette for The Shadow. [1]
02 / SELECTED WORK
A few entry points into a career across comics, books, and sound.

COMICS / COVER COLOR
1990 · Cover art by Pat Broderick and Mark Nelson. Coloring by Anthony Tollin. [1]

BOOKS / HISTORY
Co-authored with Walter Gibson, the writer whose work had captivated Anthony as a young reader. [3]
PUBLISHING / SANCTUM BOOKS
Launched in July 2006, Sanctum’s pulp reprints pair classic novels with original illustrations and historical features. [4]
AUDIO / RADIO HISTORY
Anthony wrote more than 70 historical radio booklets for Radio Spirits and the Smithsonian Historical Archives, and scripted When Radio Was for six years. [3]
Comic cover artwork © DC Comics and its respective creators. Images reproduced from the credited interview archive.
ANTHONY ON HIS CHILDHOOD
“I was the child
of the space age.”
Anthony Tollin · Interview with Alex Grand, 2019 [2]
03 / THROUGH THE YEARS
Work at Warren and Marvel begins. [2]
Anthony joins DC Comics, beginning the 21-year period he recalls in his 2019 interview. [2]
His credits span Green Lantern, Superman, Justice League of America, The Shadow Strikes, and more. [3]
The double-novel pulp reprint series begins in July. [4]
PulpFest recognizes Anthony’s contributions as a publisher, writer, and researcher. [5]
By its tenth anniversary, the imprint had reprinted all 182 Doc Savage pulp novels and more than 220 Shadow novels. [4]
04 / IN HIS WORDS
The memories, craft, and people behind the work.
VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT / 2019
Alex Grand · Comic Book Historians
Watch & read the interviewINTERVIEW / PUBLISHED 2018
Bryan Stroud · Nerd Team 30
Read the conversationINTERVIEW / 2007
Robert Greenberger · ComicMix
Read the conversationTHE RECORD
This biography draws on Anthony’s published interviews and the records of PulpFest. Dates and counts reflect the cited accounts.