Tom Barber was one of the more striking, talented artists working in the sword-and-sorcery renaissance of the 1970s and early 80s. He painted the covers of many classic paperbacks of the era, including the likes of the Robert E. Howard collection Black Vulmea’s Vengeance (Zebra), three volumes of the Lin Carter paperback revival of Weird Tales, and Adrian Cole’s Dream Lords series. He also did work for several periodicals including the likes of Heavy Metal, Amazing Science Fiction and Galileo. 

These days Tom, 75, continues to do work for the likes of Pulp Hero Press, including a recent runaway train for Cole’s Nightmare Cocktails: Further investigations from the Files of Nick Nightmare. I’m particularly pleased with the cover he came up with for my own book, Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery. This was all Tom; I saw a draft sketch and suggested the treasure-horde. I also gave it a name, “Sword-and-Sorcery Reanimated,” which I tried to capture with the spirit of Flame and Crimson. I’m very pleased to have the original oil hanging on my wall. 

Tom recently completed a memoir, tentatively titled Artists, Outlaws, & Old Timers: The (sometimes hazy) recollections of a wandering artist, that is soon to be published. I read a draft version and very much enjoyed it. It’s an account of his days struggling with addiction, and his vagabond days living in Arizona, post-Vietnam (Tom is a Vietnam-era veteran, serving as a medic in Germany during the conflict). It’s honest and powerful and moving in places, with nary a dull moment. 

I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Tom a few times in 2019-2020 at his home in Southern New Hampshire. Those recaps can be found here, here, and here. He is an interesting guy, full of stories and possessed of an uncommon and refreshing perspective of life here on planet earth. Last year our schedules did not align, but I’m planning on visiting him again this spring/summer once the weather improves here in New England.  

At present Tom is not accepting commissions as they “tend to slap the creative spirit in chains.” Instead, he is looking to see what original vistas open up for him on the canvas. “Floating in a sea of possibility, seeing where the current takes me,” as he says. I’m just glad he’s still working. He is selling his existing work, however. Tom sold many of his classic paintings back in the day but still has many in his possession.

 If you are interested in inquiring or purchasing any of his work you can contact him at territom@tds.net. Or, drop him an email to let him know if you’ve ever appreciated his efforts. You can view more of his awesome images in this post on DMR. 

Tom recently sent me 10 images that encapsulate some of his excellent career work and/or “tell his story,” as he describes them. Enjoy. A few of these are for sale.