Gerald Brom

Gerald Brom (born March 9, 1965), known professionally as Brom, is an American gothic fantasy artist, illustrator, and author known for his work in role-playing games, novels, and comics.

Early life Brom was born March 9, 1965, in Albany, Georgia. As the son of a U.S. Army pilot he spent much of his early years on the move, living in other countries such as Japan and Germany (he graduated from Frankfurt American High School), and in U.S. states including Alabama and Hawaii. Brought up as a military dependent he was known by his last name only, and now signs his name as simply Brom: "I get that asked more than just about any other question. It's my real name, my last name. I got called Brom all the time as a kid, and it just stuck." TSR, Inc. hired Brom on full-time in 1989 at the age of 24. His paintings have been published in collectible card games such as Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering and Last Unicorn Games' Heresy: Kingdom Come. Brom's paintings, along with Frank Frazetta's, were used in the development of the visual look of the game series Warlords.

In 1993, after four years at TSR, Brom returned to the freelance market, still specializing in the darker side of the roleplaying game, card game, and comic book genres. He has also returned to painting for book covers for TSR's successor Wizards of the Coast, including the covers for the War of the Spider Queen series and reprints of The Avatar Series.

Reception In 2014, Scott Taylor of Black Gate, named Brom as #4 in a list of The Top 10 RPG Artists of the Past 40 Years, saying "Brom is arguably one of the greatest pure fantasy talents of his generation, and he still creates works just as sublime as he did in his 1990s glory."

In 2019, Brom entered the Origins Award Hall of Fame.

In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath reviewed the fantasy role-playing game Dark Sun and noted, "The art of fantasy illustrators Gerald Brom and Tom Baxa tie together this aesthetic-first high concept ... the art of Brom and Baxa distills and transmits the themes of the setting without players having to read a single word of the boxed set. ... Brom's paintings, many of which were composed before the details of the setting were decided, evoke an alien landscape that seems dry, harsh, and strangely sexy."

Works

Books Brom's Little Black Book Offerings Darkwerks: The Art of Brom (2000) The Plucker (2005) Metamorphosis (2007) (beinArt) The Devil's Rose (2007) The Child Thief (2009) Krampus the Yule Lord (2012) The Art of Brom (2013) (Flesk) Lost Gods (2016) Slewfoot (2021) Evil in Me (2024)

Novel covers War of the Spider Queen: Dissolution (2003) War of the Spider Queen: Insurrection (2003) War of the Spider Queen: Condemnation (2004) War of the Spider Queen: Extinction (2005) War of the Spider Queen: Annihilation (2005) War of the Spider Queen: Resurrection (2005) "...and Their Memory Was a Bitter Tree..." (2008)

Movies (as concept artist) Galaxy Quest (1999) Sleepy Hollow (1999) (poster art) Bless the Child (2000) Ghosts of Mars (2001) The Time Machine (2002) (uncredited) Scooby-Doo (2002) Van Helsing (2004)

Video game covers Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (1993) Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (1994) Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager (1994) Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994) Heretic (1994) Skyborg: Into the Vortex (1995) Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (1996) Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands (1996) MageSlayer (1997) Heretic II (1998) Diablo II (2000) Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (2001) World of Warcraft (2004) Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (2007) (concept artist) Diablo III (2012) Hearthstone (2014) Diablo IV (2023)

Tabletop games Button Men:Brom (a series of 12 buttons for the Cheapass Games collectible game) Dark Age (concept artist) Deadlands, 1st edition (cover artist) GURPS Magic Items 3 (cover artist) Magic: The Gathering (concept artist) Nightbane (cover artist) South America: Rifts World Book Six (cover & internal artist) Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of, (cover & internal artist)