About me

Name: Lucas...
is a hyper-advanced cyborg- his body consists of all of his active drives; his memory of all of his active sources. These are all variable, but on a periodic basis his bio components crave energy and sleep and remind him of his basic identity-layer (yes, I crave sleeping)...

Email: lucas2501@gmail.com
Location: Malaysia
Mechanical Engineer

Holiday Notice: 18th to 22nd Aug 05
See you guys when I get back! ^_^

The works featured are copyrights to Masamune Shirow and the respective companies. All copyrights infringements on my pages are un-intentional and these pages are NOT in any way for commercial purposes.
Please inform me of any inconsistencies, mistake or copyrights breach on my part and it will be ammended/corrected.
Also, Views & Opinions on the MSHP are my own (Lucas) and not that of Shirow or the respective companies.

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Intron Depot 3 Ballistics

Book Info: Title: Intron Depot 3 Ballistics Sub-Title: A Collection of Masamune Shirow's Full Color Works 1992 ~ 2002 Author: Masamune Shirow Publisher: Seishinsha / Dark Horse Comics / Studio Proteus Release Date: 28th April 2003 ISBN: 4-87892-264-8 C0079 (Seishinsha) / 1-59307-007-1 (Dark Horse) Format: Softcover, 9-1/2" x 13" Pages: 116 Price: 2800 Yen / US$49.95 Intron Depot 3 Ballistics collects Shirow's Sci-Fi and Mecha themed full color works from period 1992 ~ 2002.

Intron Depot 3 (ID3) continues the collection of Shirow's full color illustration works, this time with focus on sci-fi and mecha themes. Its been quite a long wait since ID2 was released end of 1998. The original scheduling for ID3 was 2001 but it took a couple more years to realise the publication of this next collection. In the compilation of ID3, Shirow revised the labelling and identification format of his works. Instead of number sequences, Shirow have instead used dates he started working on the respective pieces to identify them. Technical and minor differences aside, Intron Depot 3 Ballistics under the stringent quality control of Shirow is truly another masterpiece; informative, entertaining, nostalgic, and above all graphically beautiful.

When anyone asks me about Shirow's works, the first few terms that come to mind are science fiction, cyberpunk, mecha, military, insects... Even though Shirow claims himself to be an artist / cartoonist most of the time, it is undeniable that elements of science fiction feature very strongly in all of his major works. ID3 collects ten years worth of Shirow arts in the sci-fi / mecha theme, and from this fact alone its already destined to be a signature Shirow collection.

There are several very pleasant surprises in ID3. One is the inclusion of some Appleseed illustration and rough skectches. I read with interest Shirow's comments accompanying the Apppleseed pieces. He mentioned that there is a possibility of coming up with a few more episodes, so there is hope for Appleseed after all! Maybe not so soon, but at least its a positive statement. Also, Shirow seems to be attempting to draw Deunan again in a few pieces of illustrations done for ID3 including the cover (my opinion strictly, because some of the girls really look like Deunan!). I hope that with the renewed interest in Appleseed in recent times, Shirow might re-consider giving our toughest Shirow girl and her cyborg lover another run.

Deunan and Bri in Comic House Comika (Book Store) Present (19920621)

There are also finally some exposure and brief explanation on Neurohard. I have always been fascinated by Neurohard ever since I discovered the unfinished pages in Comic Dragon. There are many Shirow works featured in ID3 which I have seen and come across before but know very little about. Their inclusion in ID3 is very enlightening and solved many unanswered questions for me. Those Griffon and Gum illustrations were familiar, but again, looking at them with Shirow's commentary makes it a totally different perspective and experience.

However, there are still some missing pieces here for this ID3 collection. One obvious ommission was artwork from the Dominion Conflict series, and Ghost In The Shell both which I consider to be hardcore Shirow Sci-Fi titles. GITS I can understand might be due to ownership and copyrights, but Dominion is strangely missing. Maybe Shirow has other things planned for the series, perhaps in the next IDs with material from Orion and the rest.

Intron Depot 3 Ballistics is truly a definitive Shirow collection. I recommend it highly for any manga / anime fan who enjoy beautiful artworks, and is a must-have for any Shirow fan no matter if you just like Shirow's manga strictly, or only certain titles. I am certainly entertained and enjoyed reading this collection very much.

Note: I've decided to finalize this review. Its enough information for ID3 I hope. Better spend time on other items eg ID4, Appleseed etc. ~ Lucas.

posted by: Lucas at 02/06/05 02:41 | link | comments | Category: intron depot

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