Whether you were a child in the 70s, 80s, or 90s, animation – that is to say, cartoons – probably played a role in your formative years. I myself remember discovering He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at a very young age, then falling forward into almost every other popular cartoon as the 80s drew on into the 90s. Full of larger than life characters, the cartoons taught me two things: good ALWAYS triumphs over evil in the end, and man is it cool to be a hero.

I’ve got a Kickstarter well worth checking out, folks. Not only for the Saturday Morning cartoon fiends, but for the retrowave card sharks out there (I know you’re out there!). Magnum Force is more than a deck of playing cards – it’s a work of art depicting its own universe! Each suit of cards is a different “team,” each inspired by the 80s action/fantasy aesthetic we know and love from cartoons, film, etc. yet unique in and of itself. If you have a look on the Kickstarter page, there’s some lore/fluff for each faction of characters, for those who are interested. And why wouldn’t you be? It’s apparent that a good deal of creativity and inspiration has gone into this, making it more than just your standard deck of Bicycles!

A look at the cardbacks and deck design. LUSH!

The artist behind this colorful rogue’s gallery is none other than Basil Murad, who many synthwave and 80s aesthetic hounds will know from his work under the auspice of BLOOD+CHROME. The art is a perfect blend of the outlandish and fine detail. Seriously… even if you’re not a card player, these are worth backing and owning just for the sake of the artwork. Magnum Force promises to be a collector’s item. I can feel it in my bones! Now don’t get me wrong, you can play with ’em too, and with a little extra pledge, you can get multiple decks for a very reasonable amount of money – some to save in your collector’s vault and some to cut for some vicious parlor-gaming.

With just a cursory look at Magnum Force, I guarantee you two things, true believers: Backing this project is money well spent, and you will love what you get. We see a lot of stuff come and go on Kickstarter, and in my personal opinion a lot of it’s just ho-hum… but Magnum Force has something for anyone who loves that 80s over the top action-fantasy or who loves to ante up with their friends. Get your decks while you can!