THE CAVE By Zac Dunn Art by Curtis Bergesen aka Collage The World Published Issue 146, February 2026 The test strips Turned blue in urine cups Or Kool-Aid given in haste Or communion of conditions Plastered upon Parisian buttresses And ramparts flippant and forgiven Moats full of eels and trout spout ROE that bubble light […]
Published in Issue 145, January 2026 As if losing her job wasn’t bad enough, now Deb had to contend with the demon she’d summoned and a friend who was “deeply concerned” about the choices she was making. “Do you think you might be self-sabotaging, just a little bit?” Sybil asked. “Well, I didn’t exactly fire
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The The Assassination of Snuffkin McGillis By Joel Tagert Art by Hari Ren Published Issue 145, January 2026 Best of Birdy, Story Originally Published Issue 028, April 2016 Snuffkin had been exsanguinated. Normally, when Patty McGillis woke up in the morning, her cat was one of two places: sitting on her pillow meowing demandingly, or,
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What I’ve Learned From The Fine People of TV By Brian Polk Published Issue 145, January 2026 From David Rose: Judging The People Who Are Having More Fun Than You Is Not As Much Fun As Having Fun On the show Schitt’s Creek, David Rose is at a housewarming slumber party where they’re playing Spin
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The Forest By Addison Herron-Wheeler Published in Issue 145, January 2026 Best of Birdy, Originally Published In Issue 028, April 2016 Arika lifted her face from the dirt and looked to the clouds. She could see the drones above her head, circling, and she could hear their calls, in her mind. She shivered and dropped
The Sleeper By Joel Tagert Art by Graham Franciose Published Issue 144, December 2025 Best of Birdy, Originally Published Issue 108, December 2022 At other Arctic villages the Felix and its crew had been variously greeted with astonishment, alarm or hostility, to be expected in places where the inhabitants had never seen Europeans, much less
Werewolf Radar: Hermit of North Pond By Nate Balding Published Issue 144, December 2025 Originally Published Issue 096, December 2021 Depending on your age the word hermit tends to conjure one of three images: Weird religious loner, a musician enslaved by a man named Herman or a scary forest sage to be accidentally found while
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Published Issue 144, December 2025 In a year of outstanding, meaningful releases across all realms of music here are a mere 44 albums that stood out and commanded repeated listens. Anna von Hausswolff – ICONOCLASTS Transcendent, elemental, operatic darkwave jazz drone. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Soft New Magic Dream Post-synthwave dream pop for abandoned
When The Wistful Are Forgiven By Brian Polk Art by Hari Ren Published Issue 144, December 2025 A Wistful Letter To The People We Used To Be There are still a few leaves defiantly clinging to the maple tree in our old front yard. I love watching them flutter in the cold winter breeze. I
Shin Godzilla By Erwin Papa Published as the Centerfold of Issue 144, December 2025 Erwin Papa is a California-based illustrator, sculptor, and toy designer with a background in art from Long Beach City College. His extensive professional work includes clients like Sideshow Collectibles and Super7, and his art is featured in the permanent collection at