A new deck from Agitcom scheduled to launch on Kickstarter tomorrow (April 7th, 2020). Like Lightning Playing Card are inspired by the stories of brave riders of the Wild West. According to Sviatoslav Pashchuk,
Stories about US West have been fascinating me from childhood. I’m a fan of Jack London’s books. His tales about times of the gold rush have always aroused my imagination. I have read books about Smoke Bellew a hundred times. Eventually, I was brought up on the films of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood. Therefore, the cards I created this time have a close connection with old US history. It is a story about brave men and women who created the legend. This is the story of America’s first horse-drawn mail delivery. Pony Express.
The characters featured on the deck are real people and Sviatoslav wants to pay tribute for their fearless and noble work that has united the United States of America and has become an example of the coordinated work of hundreds of people as a single mechanism. From the horses, who carried brave riders through many dangers, to the women who supported these men in long distances.
The is fully custom and hand-illustrated in a dry graphic style and almost achromatic palette. Sviatoslav explained,
I decided to make this deck closer to the realistic style. I like to create characters with strong-willed and beautiful faces. The eyes of heroes should ray strength and confidence – this makes them real. I work in an absolutely classic style – pencil and eraser, then scanner and computer graphics.
The deck is enclosed inside a stunning brown tuck with stunning gold foil. The idea behind the design of the tuck is to evoke emotions that had the first discoverers of the Wild West. Hence, the main design element of the tuck is in the shape of an oval gold bar, symbolizing the then Gold Rush of America. Sviatoslav concludes,
When you hold the box of these cards in your hands, you should have a sense of belonging to the story. Other decor elements, such as the black pattern, I did in the style of trim that was applied on the leather horse harness. We have to remember that all great things were created by ordinary people.
That is why the color and foil of the other box, Copper edition, has a copper color and copper green oxide that gives the appearance of old weathered metal. Ordinary people do brave and incredible actions… and they arrive to the destination due to great efforts.
The decks will be printed by the USPCC and scheduled to launch on Kickstarter tomorrow (7th of April). Don’t miss out!
