Playing Card Art by Joe Dragunas

Early in the pandemic, I started talking to Joe about doing a project to keep us both more connected and thinking about art. Joe has a style that has always impressed me with his border and line work and he would be prefect for things like tattoos (which he doesn't do) and playing cards. I had decided to get some classic comic strips done as the suits. The original agreement was that Joe would create the art and then we would consider getting cards made after. It happened a bit backwards. Joe did create the art but wanted to do it digitally first and then traditionally after. This way we could get the cards made. We did this. The cards were printed in 2023 by Bicycle, the biggest playing card manufacturer who were great to work with. The print run had to be at least 1000 cards for them to use their presses otherwise smaller orders get contracted out to photocopier printers. I wanted the good quality cards and so put in an order of 1000 cards. They were not inexpensive. The deal is that it is your order +/- 10% as they hit stop on the press and if it within 10% you pay the difference. They hit stop on the machine and by the time it stopped there were almost 1500 decks made. I paid for 1100 cards at full price and was offered the remaining print run at a discounted price which I bought. I gave Joe a number of decks to take with him to conventions. The rest of the cards are for me to give out to friends and people I meet over time. Since the likenesses are known characters, these are not for resale and only for personal use. I usually bring a few dozen with me to conventions so if you see me there and would like a deck, do ask. If I have any, I'll give them but will prioritize to those that are strip art fans so there might be a trivia question involved:) Joe did all the design work including the back of the cards. In that design you will find some hidden objects like a sword, ray gun and dragon. It was my decision to go with Barons, Dames, Kings and Villains instead of the traditions Jack, Queen, King, Joker. This an older European style and I have vivid memories of playing with an old German deck when I was a kid visiting an aunt in Germany with these cards. It left a lasting impression. We also added a distressed and aged coloring to the cards and box to make it look older. Anyways, below are images of the cards. You will notice that the top and bottom image of each card is different. I had a few uncut sheets printed and have those. I should have only had 2 of those made but i have about 2 dozen and no clue what to do with them:)