Monster Collection. Shirow (from ID2): "This illustration was created for a trading card game project in which a variety of comics artists and illustrators participated. I drew four of the cards. Since it's a giant being depicted, I probably should have drawn him from a lower perspective to make him look even larger... but the illustrations were going to be used at a very small size, so I opted for comprehensibility and visibility instead."
All the four illustrations, drawn by Shirow for this game, have been reprinted inside ID2 at pages 031 to 033.

Neurohard (subtitled Planet of Wasps) was irregularly featured on Comic Dragon during 1993/1994. Inside about 80 pages, Shirow described the world and characters the Neurohard world, listing personalities, politics, races, technology, locations. He intended to open the imaginary universe of Neurohard up to other artists and writers to work in. Unfortunately now it is on hold since many of the research books he was using to create the series were destroyed when his house was damaged during the Kobe earthquake.

The following paragraph is taken from the Neko Spanish magazine (issue #15, 1996): "In Neurohard the text/picture proportion is 2/1 on behalf of the text. There are pages without any vignette. Neurohard is a science fiction story about alien civilizations. In the year 2300 the human specie is in full expansion through the space and has come into contact with other living being. After the confirmation that probably there is intelligent life on the fifth planet of the Heustone system, the space craft Flema Hyuton has departed with a crew to go there. Unfortunately the Flema Hyuton is attacked by space pirates and it is forced to land on the Antia planet. The ship captain, Cristina realizes that humans have inhabited the planet in the past, but now the predominant living being is a colony of aggressive wasps and she tries to communicate with them, thanks to the help of the auxiliary ship Housenca and of its crew: Malchina, the main character, who got hurt while she was working outside the ship, comes in contact with one of Antia wasps, Rose (who is 20 cm long), who gets into her body; Nikki, who has extrasensorial faculties; Baston, her lover; the alien Reguelian; Gueppel, the weapons specialist; Solto and Luis Flos whose relation is complicated by cultural differences. We have reported only the beginning of the story about the presentation of the characters and the Antia planet, and we suppose that after this comes the action. Anyway, Shirow's fans, be prepared. Usually it's hard to read a Shirow's manga. Read Neurohard can demand, at least, an entomological manual and many aspirins."
Thanks to Studio Proteus, Lee Barber and Pedro Luis Grau.

On November 1998 the Epoch company has released the set of Shirow Masamune Illustration Cards. Each packet costs 300 yen (the full box 6,000 yen) and there are 153 cards in all (18 special about the Orion NRPG game). Most of the images have been also reprinted inside Intron Depot 1 and ID2 Blades (for example the puzzle reproduces the Blades cover) but there are some new pictures too. Unfortunately I haven't watched them all, so may you help me to know more about these cards? Thanks. During 1999, Epoch has printed a new series of cards: SM Illustration Cards '99.
	Appleseed Black Magic Black Magic M-66 Dominion Orion The world of Shirow Puzzle Shirow Masamune Profile Check list Special NRPG Orion NRPG Orion (sign foil cards) 27 6 3 9 9 63 9 3 6 9 9

After the SM Illustration Cards, on December 1999 the Epoch company has released a new set called Shirow Masamune Illustration Cards '99. There are 114 cards total (105 regular plus 9 special; all illustrations not included in the previous edition); 8 cards per pack (350 yen) and 20 packs per box (7,000 yen).

Intron Depot 2 Puzzle Illustrations Rough Sketch Tacotyu Special

27 9 54 9 6 9

This set of cards is very interesting since it contains many uncommon pictures (images not printed inside any Intron Depot nor in calendars or comics) which are difficult (often impossible) to find.
Thanks to Keone.
Have you these cards? May you help me to know more about them? Thanks.

	Pictures Copyrights Title: ManMachine Interface ©1997 Shirow/Kodansha. From the Top: 1) Monster Collection ©1997 Shirow/(?) respective companies. 2-3) Neurohard ©1993 Shirow/Comic Dragon. 4-5) MS Illustration Cards ©1998 Shirow/Seishinsha/Epoch. 6-7) MS Illustration Cards '99 ©1999 Shirow/Seishinsha/Epoch. Left: Orion ©1991 Shirow/Seishinsha.

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