I've just gotta take a second to share an awesome story about Mr. John Zeleznik, an old-school Shadowrun artist with a body of work us fellow old timers should be familiar with:
http://www.johnzeleznik.com/site_files/home.htmlHe did the cover art to DNA/DOA, Ivy and Chrome, Dragon Hunt, Killing Glare, 2XS, Shadowrun Companion, Neo-Anarchist's Guide to Real Life, etc, etc...and, most importantly to this little story, the DMZ box art (that I use as an avatar picture).
I contacted Mr. Zeleznik several weeks ago after taking a look at his website, disappointed that there wasn't a print of DMZ available for sale. I asked if they'd previously been for sale or were out of stock, etc, etc...and in exchange he just asked for my mailing address, and told me he had a promo piece for it.
So the other day I got a full sized poster of DMZ in the mail, and he
also a signed glossy of DNA/DOA -- all free of charge, all volunteered by him without me even knowing what he'd decided to send me!
The sleek lines and cool lighting effects of his artwork really defined early Shadowrun for me, and the contrasting details of the futuristic armor and the invariably interesting haircuts (from mohawks to pink hair to fancy buzz-cuts) really just mixed both popular "styles" of Shadowrun, in my head. Magical effects alongside cool racing bikes, sleek guns next to detailed metahumans...I'd always enjoyed Mr. Zeleznik's work, but after just this one little exchange in email, I had to let everyone know what a
nice guy he was, too.