The Tolkien calendar for 2002 sported illustrations of The Fellowship of the Ring by the Canadian artist Ted Nasmith, and now comes The Tolkien calendar for 2003, again illustrated by Nasmith, this time covering The Two Towers. The 2004 calendar (due out in the summer of 2003) will continue this trend of coinciding with the release of the Peter Jackson films with Nasmith’s illustrations of The Return of the King.

The Tolkien calendar for 2002 comes in two forms, the usual wall version, The Tolkien Calendar 2003 (ISBN 0060086564, $14.99), and the smaller desk diary format, The Tolkien Diary 2003 (ISBN 0060086556, $17.00).

There are thirteen Nasmith paintings included in each calendar, though the arrangement varies. The back cover of the wall calendar shows some vignettes of some of the paintings.

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The top shows "The Wrath of the Ents"; the middle left, "The Stranger in the Forest"; the middle right, "The Tree Shepherds"; the lower left, "Shelob’s Retreat"; and the lower right, "Apparitions."

The illustration of "The Wrath of the Ents" appears on the cover of the wall calendar, and is also reproduced as the centerfold.

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The desk calendar (above) has on its cover "The Riders of Rohan". As usual, Nasmith’s landscapes are the most vibrant of his pieces of art. His "Fangorn Forest" and "First Sight of Ithilien" are among my favorites. The wall calendar has one added bonus not in the desk diary–Nasmith’s original rough sketch of each picture is included underneath the chart for each month, so one can see the original visual inspiration and its artistic conclusion. The one thing missing (and I don’t know why they always leave such things out) is a paragraph or two from the artist himself discussing each piece. That would truly add something to what is already a fine production.

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--Turgon