The crazy boys at BBM have just launched a new TV service on their YouTube channel. Every two weeks there will be a new episode. The first one features a new card trick called Litterbug from Liam Montier (a neat twist on an old Alex Elmsley idea). There is also a discussion of some new Karnival cards that are in the pipeline, a performance of Joshua Jay’s new Prism effect, and all sorts of suitably random bits and pieces. You can watch it below, or head over to http://www.youtube.com/bigblindmedia/ to subscribe for future updates. Enjoy…
Posts under ‘Card Magic News’
Karnival Midnight – Limited Edition
The good old Karnival Midnight – one of the earliest incarnations of the Karnival Deck – have been given a bit of a facelift (or technically a backlift!) and a posh silver foil tuckcase. We haven’t looked at them in person yet, but head over to BBM for more information and to buy!
Bicycle Transducer Fire Playing Cards
Now available in the UK at Cards4Magic for £8. This is the third in the series from the K3 studios. Very attractive 3-colour back design and flashy aces.
The previous ‘Lava‘ edition still available from MagicNevin for £8.49 or only £7.34 at DiscountMagicExtra (though watch out for shipping rates and times here).
Cheapest Bicycle Card Finder – New Entry!
We have been updating our Cheapest Bicycle Card Finder and we have a new entry from a non-magic company. PlayingCardsOnly.co.uk offer FREE p&p in the UK which makes them a bargain at only £2.95 for a single pack. They also offer discounts for larger purchases. This is the first time a non-magical supplier has been our cheapest offer. They also offer Eco Edition and Clear Plastic Cards as well as a variety of Poker versions.
Please note – the Cheapest Bicycle Card Finder is based on a single pack purchase – so there may be cheaper options when making larger orders.
Bicycle Zodiac and Bicycle Gong Cards
USPCC announced these earlier in the month – so on the one hand this is late news. However, as I am still not aware that they have made it to the UK yet – we are actually still ahead of the game!
They are both ‘Chinese’ themed decks. Here’s the Zodiac case:
It features a red and yellow version of the standard rider back and various zodiac elements on the faces – more details when they hit the UK.
Here’s the Gong case:
It was released in celebration of the Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit. Full title – the Gong Xi Fa Cai deck – which I understand translates to ‘Wishing you prosperity’. This new deck features a Metallic Gold Tuck Case, Metallic Gold Rider Back Design with Special Ace’s.
I don’t know how broad the appeal of these decks will be in the UK – but if they make it here we’ll let you know…
Update! I’ve just spotted that Merchant of Magic are listing these – though I imagine they may be ’special order’ – Bicycle Zodiac Deck £4.95
Bicycle Gong Xi Fa Cai £4.95
Caan Craft – a mini review
When I first got wind of this new JK Hartman/Gordon Bean production I was very excited. After all, ACAAN is one of my favourite plots to think about and explore. Does that make me a sad man? Probably, but I’m ok with that. So I was delighted when our review copy dropped through the door.
The Externals
It’s a nicely produced, slim (85 pages) black hardback number with elegant silver embossed writing on the front and spine and comes complete with a specially printed (Bicycle) card which you will use in one of the routines. The text is clear and of a good size, and Tony Dunn has made an excellent job of the illustrations.
Variations on a theme…
If you’ve spent any time on this site, you will know that I love the process of creating and developing magic – and so for me one of the joys of this book is the organic way in which the different effects are linked together. It is like a worked exploration of how a clever card magician travels down an evolutionary path – with each effect representing a branch of the main stem – if you’ll allow me to mix my metaphors. And the ‘parent’ of all of these is an unpublished idea by Tomas Blomberg.
At this point, it must be made clear, that we are not really in the territory of pure ACAAN. The seed-idea from Blomberg was to involve a second card (and number) in the process – which is a more or less obvious subterfuge in the different presentations.
Three of the routines require a stacked deck – and some calculation work. If you are really a lover of our art, this shouldn’t put you off! All the routines require some sleight of hand – which is well explained in the text – and it is all within the scope of the majority of card magicians. I would hope that the sleights, and the ‘journey’ the book takes you on, would both lend power to your own creativity and stimulate further ideas on the theme.
The highlights
I don’t intend to do a blow-by-blow analysis of each effect in the book. If you want that kind of detail I would recommend the more erudite review by David Britland from Genii magazine.
For me, my favourite effect is Caan Kicker – where a spectator follows a series of instructions on a (provided) printed card to reveal a named card at a chosen number. The ‘move’ is justified by the routine and it all seems very fair. It even explains how to make your own version of the necessary card in case you lose the one provided!
All in all, a book to enjoy. I agree with David Britland that the pure ‘mentalist’ would prefer a more hands off approach than the one detailed. But Caan Craft will stimulate the card magician, and will probably provide you with a routine or two to enjoy.
I am not aware of any UK stockist yet – but you can purchase direct from Gordon Bean for $35 + $10 international shipping.
UPDATE 5/2/11 – Now available in the UK from Merchant of Magic – CAAN Craft by J.K. Hartman – £22.50
Bicycle Skulls and Mandolins Ahoy…
The Skull deck is now available in the UK at Cards4Magic for £6/pack (although MagicNevin, Prudhoe and MagicBox were already stocking this so they seem a bit slow of the mark here).
They also have the new 809 Mandolins for £3/pack (although, Alakazam, Magic Shop and Prudhoe all have them at £2.50/pack).
Here at Bicycle-Cards.co.uk we’re still wondering whether these will become the new card of choice, or how the Phoenix deck will do. Any thoughts?…
Bicycle Karnival Ryujin – First Impressions!
Although these haven’t officially hit the UK yet (official release date has shifted back a week to 9th August), my man at BBM slipped me a couple of decks to have a look at – what a gent! And I have to say I think they’re gorgeous. Gold and dragons. Nice!
But I’m conflicted.
Let me come clean about a few things. I have had this nagging suspicion with some of the other Karnival decks that they might not appeal to every audience. This is probably a sign that I’m not cool enough – and I guess with any special design like this you are going to find some people who won’t like it. But the dragon design on the Ryujins seems to me a bit more classy and more widely appealing.
On the other hand, the rather tastefully designed new Joker is not going to suit some people. It is elegantly done, and in no sense explicit, but it does feature nudity. So that will put some people off. Although it must be said that most of the magic I do with cards could be done without any Jokers in the pack – so you could always remove them if you were bothered by this.
The ace of spades is very striking with intertwined dragons and the rather classy gold ink used for the back design. You also get the apparently obligatory ‘prediction’ card (‘you will choose the 5 of diamonds’) – which I feel is rather spoiled by the advertising on the back of it. Rather nicer is the 9 of hearts ’spiked’ under the sword of one of the Jokers. There’s also a barcode reveal on the tuck case if you like that kind of thing. A matching blank-faced card is also supplied which is always useful.
The Ryujins are printed on regular USPCC stock and so handle as well as you would expect them to. There does seem to be quite a lot of ‘border’ on the back design, and on my deck these are slightly unbalanced leaving a pronounced ‘one way’ effect. I am not sure if this is intentional or is just a USPCC printing problem – you see it on normal Bicycle Decks from time to time. However, I don’t think a layperson would notice.
Ed note: having checked with BBM – there is a subtle one-way effect in the actual design; the off-centre printing is a bonus!
Bottom line – this is a nice and visually striking deck which handles well. But pick your audience carefully…
BBM are still doing their pre-order deal (buy 3 or more decks and get a free Renegade chucked in) – head over to their pre-order page for more details.
New Bicycle White Knuckle Playing Cards
MagicNevin are the exclusive UK stockist of this striking new design from the USPCC. It is a modern twist on an old design, created by artist Brett A. Jones. The colourful backs will provide great displays when fanning, and of course, they are printed on classic Bicycle 808 card stock so handle beautifully.
Whilst you are there, you will discover MagicNevin have a truly impressive range of Bicycle Cards – in addition to all the usual decks, they have the Gold Standard Deck, the White Raider Deck, Rainbow Backs, Red Dragon, Raider, all the Karnival decks, Black Scorpion and Black Spider decks, The Vintage series decks, the Limited Edition Decks, the Pastel Decks, and some ‘fashion’ decks I’ve not seen before – the ‘Bungalow’, ‘Flirtatious’ and ‘Twilight’ (pictured below) decks. Phew!
