THOMAS YEATES

(American, b. 1955)

Thomas Yeates is an American comic strip and comic book artist renowned for his work on Prince Valiant and Zorro, and for his contributions to Edgar Rice Burroughs-related properties. A graduate of the Kubert School—the first cohort in its history—Yeates began his career in the late 1970s, with early credits including a backup feature in Sgt. Rock #312 (1978) and spot illustrations for Detective Comics #500 (1981) . Over the years, he expanded his repertoire across multiple publishers, drawing titles such as Airboy, Tarzan, and various adaptations tied to fantasy literature, including projects connected to Dungeons & Dragons and Dark Horse’s Tarzan line.

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In 2012, Yeates took over the Sunday Prince Valiant strip, continuing the legacy of the classic pedigree while bringing his own detailing and landscape sensibility to the long-running epic . His career also includes collaborations on notable crossovers like Groo vs. Conan for Dark Horse Comics (2014) and work within the Zorro universe during the late 1990s, which showcased his ability to handle period settings with elegance and clarity . Yeates’ art is frequently praised for its dynamic composition, lush natural environments, and a strong sense of adventure that aligns with classic American illustration traditions.

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Beyond comics, Yeates maintains an active portfolio of original artwork. He’s widely cited as a major contemporary interpreter of Burroughs’s worlds, balancing homage to vintage illustration with the demands of modern sequential art.