West Allis artist helped design more than 100 Magic: The Gathering cards

WEST ALLIS — There’s an artist in West Allis whose work is in tens of thousands of people’s homes and pockets. That’s because he helped design around 100 different Magic: The Gathering cards.

Magic: The Gathering is a trading card game played across the world and has been translated into dozens of languages. And one of the game’s artists is John Matson.

“It’s just a really, really good feeling to know that, wow, this stuff is all over the place," John Matson, a freelance illustrator and teacher at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, said.

He created the cards from 1996-2010. Each design told its own story.

“Illustration is essentially storytelling at its heart," Matson said. "You can tell a story and kind of hook an audience.”

West Allis artist helped design more than 100 Magic