Saturday, November 29, 2014

"A Calendar of the Gods"... again


[This is not really TMNT-related, but it might be of some interest. -- PL]




   "Everything old is new again."
I was recently reminded that a project I worked on back in 1977 with my late brother Don -- "A Calendar of the Gods" (hereinafter referred to as CotG) -- which was originally intended to be used for the year 1978, has -- due to the cyclical nature of calendars -- now become useable again. 

Well… not NOW, exactly, but in a couple of years -- in 2017, to be precise. In going through some of my mother's stuff recently, my sister found and gave to me a small pile of the CotGs, still in their manila envelopes with the little logo patch rubber cemented to the outside of the envelopes. (Well, some of them -- due to their age -- had fallen off. I guess rubber cement is not intended to last that long.)

Given that they will shortly be able to used as calendars again, I'm thinking of offering them for sale via eBay. Counting the cover, each calendar contains thirteen drawings by me, with extra graphic designs by Don Laird.  He also researched the various gods and did the text pieces describing them.

This project was the first thing that Don and I did under the auspices of "Saurian Design", the graphic design business I began shortly after graduating from college. It never went anywhere, and -- sadly -- neither did the CotG. I think we sold a handful of them, and the rest of the print run -- which, if memory serves, numbered 150 copies, and was paid for by Don -- went into our respective closets or other appropriate storage areas.

I think there were about half a dozen with my mother's stuff, and if I'm remembering correctly, I think I may have a few dozen more in my files (also known as "boxes of stuff I've lugged with me through multiple moves in three different states"). For anyone interested in publications with rare early Peter Laird artwork, this might be worth a look. I will post again here if this plan sees fruition.

        Below are shots of two sample months, June and February. -- PL


                                                  

11 comments:

  1. Hi Mr. Laird
    I would be very interested in one of the calendars. When would they be up for sale?


    Thank you
    Ivan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ivan, I have not quite figured that out yet. But I will post it here when I do. -- PL

      Delete
  2. Any plans on posting the rest of the images? I would love to see them, even if I'm unable to afford them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris, I don't plan on posting all of the images, though that could change. -- PL

      Delete
  3. Oh! Any chance there's a Tuetonic Odin or Thor or Freyja in there?! I'm not an eBay guy, but I would buy a couple just so I could frame your drawings of one of those!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here's the list of the "gods" in order, beginning with January: Viracocha, Kama, Lei-Kung, Ishtar, Earth Mother, Quetzalcoatl, Pan, Sekhmet, Satan, Poseidon, Kali, and Odin. I don't recall being very involved with picking which deities we used, as I am pretty sure that my brother Don did most of the choosing. It's possible that we had a list which we both picked from, but I can't recall.

      And -- shades of "Michaelangelo!" -- looking at the calendar to write up this list of the "gods", I notice with some embarrassment that "Poseidon" is misspelled as "Poseiden". I never, until this moment, noticed that. And no one else ever mentioned it. Now I feel like I should re-proofread the whole thing to see if I can pick out any more mistakes. I think that while I was tasked with doing the illustrations, Don had the job of making sure the text was correct. But that's a sizable mistake, and I should have picked up on it.

      Oh, well... no use crying over thirty-seven year-old spilled milk. -- PL

      Delete
  4. Hi Peter,

    Did anything ever come of this? Do you still have these calendars in your archive for possible future sale? The artwork looks fantastic and I absolutely love the theme. It would be great to own one and actually be able to use it in 2017! Definitely an unusual piece for the collection of a hardcore TMNT fan.

    Regards,

    Paul

    ReplyDelete

  5. Baccarat in ways that many people do not miss.

    IBCbet Website to Present Luck To risk the world wide. Betting Markets World wide betting opportunities Online casino games are fun activities that are fun to have a habit. The new desire to win the chance to create a good view. The opening of the financial path created is excellent. Meet new betting games. A way to play a game that brings you to the overwhelming victory. Meet the ultimate gambling luck. Open the path of fun. Online casino games, casinos, slots, slots and many other leading sports are one of the online gambling sites that open the path to happiness. With many casinos are known to be excellent. Relaxing game opens the path of finance to the perfect. Choosing an alternative to gambling that is fun every day. Open your eyes to the gambling industry. Join the fun. With more than 200 games to choose from more fun games with special discounts for you to play with. Bet on the web. Sbobet

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Peter

    Just reaching out to see if you still have a CotG calender that you would be prepared to part with?

    Thanks for the consideration, David (UK).

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm pretty sure I still have my copy from the Little Used Bookstore.

    ReplyDelete