Rank and Revue - Vol. 4, Issue 7

Moviegoers, especially fans of superhero/sci-fi/fantasy genre, have more than likely seen his work in the form of character design. For video gamers, the chances of recognition would increase significantly. And to role-playing gamers (the kind with dice), his art is as familiar as their mother’s face - his work adorns a good many of the books they own.

His name is Brom (just Brom), and he has established himself as one of the most talented and darkest fantasy artists operating today - since the inception of the genre, for that matter. His work runs the gamut of diabolical speculative art. Half-naked priestesses of the blackest gods, dark elfin warriors, demonic toys, cyborg man-computers, six-armed techno-goddesses and even Peter Pan all find an eerie life at the end of Brom’s brush.

And his pen – he now writes lavishly self-illustrated novels, all three (so far) of which have garnered both critical and fan laudation. The books are Plucker, the tale of a toy possessed by demon determined to steal a child’s soul (not recommended for anyone with a pathological fear of clowns, porcelain dolls or marionettes), The Devil’s Rose, in which a Texas Ranger is cursed to monitor the flat expanses of both Texas and Hell, and The Child Thief, a story of Peter Pan and Neverland told in a contemporary and gritty manner.

An industry veteran 20 plus years and running, Brom now enjoys the freedom to paint, draw and write whatever comes into his darkly imaginative head. It wasn’t always that way, however. His very first job was checking cars for bombs. He was “a civilian gate guard of a military base in Germany, checking cars for bombs from the RAF (Red Army Faction),” he explains.

A less explosive, first art-related job, “Would be airbrushing t-shirts in high-school. My first job in my chosen field would be a series of forgettable comic covers for First Comics.”

The Captain (aka Captain Hook) of The Child Thief Brom is what is colloquially referred to as an “army brat.” Transferred every few years to anywhere in the world, it was often hard to make new friends in a constant cycle of coming and going. Art was one of Brom’s ways to combat the lack of stable extra-familial relationships. “Art was many things growing up, it was certainly a way to be accepted when relocating. No matter where we moved, there seemed to always be a small group of artistic misfits that I fit just fine into. This sounds melodramatic, but art was the friend that was always there, so when feeling isolated or dealing with any of the angst issues that most teens go through, art always got me through.”

Starting at a young age, Brom never really had a formal art education. “I am primarily self-taught. I learned by studying the works of artists I enjoy and by trying to emulate them. I did attend a 2-year graphic arts program, but unfortunately they did not teach painting and drawing but instead such skills as setting type with picas, making mechanicals with ruby lift, airbrushing and the stat camera. All skills like that went the way of the Dodo upon advent of the PC.”

Aside from obvious influences such as pulp cover artists, HR Geiger and not so obvious influences like Patrick Nagel (there’s a certain symmetry to Brom’s women…), he says, “A few of the artists that made the most profound impact would be Frank Frazetta, Richard Corben, Waterhouse, Mucha, N.C. Wyeth, and some folks find this hard to believe, but Norman Rockwell has always been a favorite, he is a magnificent story teller in paint and there simply is no better draftsman.” He later adds, “I love [Edward] Gorey’s work!”

On the literary side of things when growing up, he says, “Literature was my primary source of inspiration. I would read a few chapters then run off and do some illustrations of what I read.”

And what was Brom reading? “When I was young, Robert E. Howard, Edger Rice Burroughs, Michael Moorcock, later, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Neil Gaiman and recently Cormac McCarthy and Daniel Woodrell. ”

Brom’s art is often given the label “Gothic Fetishism.” (I don’t really recommend googling that phrase, though – most of what you come up with is sure to infect your computer.) Perhaps it what an over exuberant fan or a journalist with a taste for leather, but Brom simply says this: “As far as the term Gothic Fetishism, I believe that just applies to my work in that both of those aesthetics have played a major role in my costuming and character design.”

While still doing contract work, he did designs for video games, role-playing games and movies, but, after the initial gig with First Comics and a later project for Dark Horse Comics (home of Hellboy), he has never really done much in the comic book realm. “I love comics,” he says, “but I hate the idea of me drawing them. Page after page of sequence panels - ack! I am not fast enough to make that work, I prefer to just hit those most iconic scenes and leave the talking heads to the imagination.”

While the talent shines through, and his images often have a humorous or ridiculous edge to them, the operative phrase here is dark. His images evoke childhood terror and the innermost twisted and erotic adult fantasies. “People are fascinated by the things that disturb them. In addition there is inherent conflict in horror, and conflict makes things interesting. The fear that something will bite you will certainly keep your attention. For me personally, it is not a conscious decision, I've just always been drawn to the dark side of things (pun intended).

“Everything [scares me],” he adds. “I am very, very superstitious and once it is dark I believe that every bad thing I have ever heard about is laying in wait to tear the flesh off my bones. I believe in every religion, I believe that all the gods and devils are out to get me.”