Customer Reviews

Tolkien Calendar 2004

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ted Nasmith's 2004 Tolkien calendar depicts scenes from The Return of the King, thus making it a fine companion to his 2002 and 2003 works. The calendar bears all the hallmarks of a Ted Nasmith production: magnificent depictions of craggy mountains, tumbling foaming streams, and misty forests; nightscapes bathed in silvery moonlight; and battle scenes with plenty of smoke and flame. I find this calendar especially appealing because Nasmith has chosen to to portray some less familiar scenes, such as the passage of the Oathbreakers out of the Paths of the Dead (very ghostly) and the wretched, defeated Saruman and Wormtongue after the end of the War of the Ring. The illustrations are in roughly chronological order, and each page also has a smaller picture of an earlier or alternate version of the main painting, which allows us some insights into Nasmith's creative processes. This is a calendar which will delight all year long.

This years Tolkien 2004 Calendar illustrated by Ted Nasmith is as good as or better than the one he did last year! This year's calendar is replete with beautiful imagery from "The Return of the King" and is, quite simply, a wonderful collection of art that captures the imagination of Tolkien's phenomenon magnificently! High praise goes to Ted Nasmith for another outstanding calendar giving tribute to Tolkien's masterpiece!

Listed below are the images from each month and the book and chapter they're from:

January - The King of the Oathbreakers - (RoTK - Book V, Chapter II The Passing of the Grey Company)
February - Nazgul at The Walls - (RoTK - Book V, Chapter IV The Siege of Gondor)
March - The Aid of the Wild Man - (RoTK - Book V, Chapter V The Ride of the Rohirrim)
April - Eowyn & The Nazgul - (RoTK - Book V, Chapter VI The Battle of the Pelennor Fields)
May - The Domes of the Dead - (RoTK - Book V, Chapter VII The Pyre of Denethor)
June - Endgame on the Mountain - (RoTK - Book VI, Chapter III Mount Doom)

A beautiful centerfold image of Gandalf the White riding Shadowfax toward Minas Tirith

July - The Shadow of Sauron - (RoTK - Book VI, Chapter IV The Field of Cormallen)
August - Eowyn & Faramir - (RoTK - Book VI, Chapter V The Steward and the King)
September - Saruman is Overtaken - (RoTK - Book VI, Chapter VI Many Partings)
October - Sam & Rosie Cotton - (RoTK - Book VI, Chapter VIII The Scouring of the Shire)
November - Storming the Bank - (RoTK - Book VI, Chapter VIII The Scouring of the Shire)
December - The End of The Age - (RoTK - Book VI, Chapter IX The Grey Havens)

Outside of the imagery that Peter Jackson has created with the hugely successful "The Lord of the Rings" movies, the imagery in this calendar also gives a wonderful perspective of the books from an exceptional artist in Ted Nasmith. I highly recommend this calendar and any others with Ted Nasmith's name on it! {ssintrepid}

As with the 2002 and 2003 calendars, and his earlier calendar work, Ted Nasmith is unparalleled in the beautiful scenery he creates and his use of color and shadow. This is probably my favorite of the recent three calendars for its variety in theme. He still has problems dealing with character drawing (Sam in particular looks very strange), but he is improving. Eowyn and Faramir, in particular, are nicely drawn if still a bit cartoonish...
Now, to my title: There is a return to all of the favorite characters in ROTK but Aragorn himself! I guess Nasmith thought that scenes of King Aragorn and *spoiler* his wedding were overdone. Tis true. Instead, there are great scenes that explore other parts of the story: The Wild Men, The Domes of the Dead, Eowyn and Faramir (lovely), ruined Saruman, Sam's homecoming, and the battle to save the Shire. Other more well-trod areas, such as Eowyn fighting the Nazgul, the Nazgul at the gates, and the Grey Havens, are presented here in a fresh and nicely detailed way.
The "free poster" is the best that I have seen in years (Gandalf riding to the White City). I wish that removing it meant not losing the pictures on the other sides of it! Oh well. All in all, this is a Calendar that I will be proud to display in my home, and I like every single month in it. It is truly one of my favorites in my dozen+ collection of Tolkien calendars. If you like Ted Nasmith's work, then this is a must have.

This calendar is like the title says, simply beautiful. I opened it up and looked at the gorgeous pictures. Even after the year is over, I will be hanging onto this for the artwork.

I'm a year late (and 15 dollars short) with this. But, in case Mr. Nasmith comes out with a new calendar, I just wanted to add one dissenting opinion to all the glowing ones. Nasmith's landscapes are OK, but any facial closeups seem...well, sort of warped, especially Sam's and Eowyn's. Nitpicking? Maybe. But perhaps it's telling that none of these facial views are included on the back cover "preview".