The classic trading card game Magic: The Gathering is taking direct inspiration from the world of pulp magazine and novel covers with their newest Secret Lair card set titled “Hard-Boiled Thrillers Secret Lair.”
According to ComicBook.com, the new set is taking five previously released cards from Wizards of The Coast catalog and giving them fresh new artwork designs created by artists Josh Newton & Scott Okumura.
These five cards are the following:
Reconnaissance
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
Black Market
Dire Undercurrents
Obeka, Brute Chronologist
At first glance, the artwork on these cards hearken back to the days of the dime store pulp novels, hard-boiled detective stories and murder mysteries of the time. Some of this artwork strongly reminds me of the works from past classic artists Rolf Armstrong (Metropolitan, The Saturday Evening Post), Margaret Brundage (Weird Tales), Robert McGinnis (“Murder Is My Business” paperback cover, various James Bond novel covers) Frank Xavier Leyendecker (Vanity Fair, Life) and twins Jerome and George Rozen (The Shadow Magazine) to name a few.
On further investigation, these five cards heavily imply that they are set in the city of New Capenna. For those who need a quick history lesson, Capenna is one of the many planes of existence in the world of Magic: The Gathering. The city of New Capenna has the theme and flavor of classic 1930’s gangster films & murder mystery novels as its backdrop.
All five cards will come in Regular or Foil Editions, depending on what you want to buy.
This set will go on sale via the Secret Lair website beginning February 5, 2024 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time and end on March 3, 2024 11:59 PM Pacific Time. And once they are gone, they are GONE!
For those not in the know, Secret Lair is a sub-set of Magic: The Gathering cards that are sold as exclusive collector’s sets. These cards are printed in limited quantities and are sold for a limited time.
You can read the original article from ComicBook.Com here.
I’ve been a big fan of the Magic: The Gathering series since I was a teen, going back to 1997 with their “Portal” card set. But I really got into it once the “Invasion” card set was released. And I certainly loved the “Streets of New Capenna” card set that took the classic art deco style of the 1920’s and 30’s, along with a 1930’s gangster setting/plotline and combined it with the fantasy elements of Magic: The Gathering. The end result is just gorgeous and still puts a big smile on my face every time I look at these cards. I just love the artwork and style of these cards and quickly built some Magic decks with them myself. Combining several of my favorite things: Pulp, Fantasy, Film Noir, Detective Stories & Art Deco with Magic: The Gathering is like combing peanut butter and chocolate. It just goes so well together.
So are you excited to give these five cards a look over? In the market for a pulp styled Magic card to help class up your deck? Let’s us know in the comments below.
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