Tom Radford has spent thousands of pounds and hours going under the needle
Tom Radford holds the Guinness World Record for most Marvel tattoos on the body.(Image: Tom Radford)
A Hull man is hoping to break his own Guinness World Record for having the most Marvel characters on his body. Tom Radford, 40, only achieved his title in December having racked up 63 tattoos of superheroes and villains from the comic book universe.
The factory manager has worked with Hull-based tattoo artist Andy Walker on the intricate portraits of characters ranging from Thanos to Galactus. Now, the mega fan hopes to attract the attention of Marvel bosses as he prepares to beat his own tally with several more works lined up at Creative Vandals studio in Hessle.
Tom said: “I have been a fan of Marvel forever, I don’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t obsessed with it. It started when I was very young and has been a big part of my life ever since and will continue to be. I credit Marvel for being who I am, the values I have, the way I see life, it has made me who I am today.
“I got my first tattoo in 2004, when tattooing was very different, it wasn’t even close to the levels of detail there is now. From getting my first one, it became a thing for me. I always wanted another one and another one and since that very first one I have always been booked in for my next one.”
It has taken Tom about a decade to reach the world record level, which had been 40 tattoos, until he broke it with 63. Altogether it has cost him about £18,000, and he estimates he’s sat in the tattoo chair – in agony – for the equivalent of more than two full weeks.
Tom also has a number of other, non-Marvel tattoos which cover almost half his body. But he still thinks he has room for another 14 Marvel characters – some in places that “nobody in their right mind would ever want to get tattooed”. His neck and face, however, are off limits thanks to a red line issued by his mum.
“I was talking about it for years and I don’t think anyone believed me,” said Tom. “The record was broken a few times while I was going through the tattooing and I was running out of space on my body as well.
“When I eventually applied [for the record] and got it a lot of people said ‘I can’t believe you’ve done that’. I had really nice words from one of my best friends who said it is an honour to know me.”
In pursuit of his next, margin-busting record, Tom is booked for upcoming sessions with Andy Walker who he praises for the quality of his work. The next character will be Deadpool in his arm pit, and comes nearly a decade after he was first decorated by the Hessle-based artist.
Tom said: “I had been tattooed by a lot of artists at that point but I had never seen a tattooist work the way Andy did. The amount the colours he used, the way he did it. It was like watching an artist paint on a canvass – it was like nothing I’d ever seen. The finished product was simply breath-taking, I had never seen something so detailed and real looking before.”
Tom will jet off to the US for international comic book convention Comic Con in the summer, where he hopes to show off his tattoos and catch the eye of Marvel bosses. He hopes his dedication will bag him an invite to a premier or film set.
The San Diego trip in July is described as a lifelong dream and follows a similar visit to the 2024 Comic Con in New York where he met Thanos actor Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen who plays Scarlet Witch – and later ended up getting their signatures tattooed over corresponding characters.
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