like[d]" ostensibly meaning dry and desertlike – but which ultimately "has absolutely no direct connection with the foundation." The creative side of the foundation involves the usual application process, but in addition, the foundation began with "an advisory committee made up of three... people working in the industry" whose input is sought on how best to proceed with each application. Submissions are evaluated prior to Laird's involvement, and then he makes the ultimate decisions based on their recommendations. Laird stated in 1993 that: "...knock on wood, God willing, and the creek don't rise, if we go on for another couple of decades, and I'm able to put more money into the basic funding of the Xeric Foundation, then the amount of money that can be given out can really be raised significantly." He hoped that ultimately the figure can be raised from "thousands of dollars" to "hundreds of thousands of dollars," to support an increasing number of large and small projects. Other work In a 1993 interview with Stephen Bissette and Stanley Wiater, interviewer-editors of Comic Book Rebels, Laird commented: Since that time, Laird has been able to find time to pursue some other comic book work, including publishing Stupid Heroes, and the graphic novel trilogy Planet Racers, with Jim Lawson. Even this ties into the TMNT, however, since the 2003 TMNT series has episodes based on the theme of Planet Racers. In December 2019, issue #100 of IDW Publishing's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series featured a teaser ad for an upcoming comic project titled The Last Ronin in which the prospect of a possible reunion and cooperation between Laird and Eastman was held out. The project was confirmed in April 2020, with a TPD release date sometime in the summer. References External links Laird's "Blast from the Past" Peter Laird's blog DetectMind 1954 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers American comics artists American comics writers Artists from Massachusetts Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winners Living people Mirage Studios People from North Adams, Massachusetts Writers from Northampton, Massachusetts Role-playing game artists University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Inkpot Award winners