Unwinnable Monthly – February 2024

This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue 172. You can buy Issue 172 now, or purchase a monthly subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!

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Dear Reader,

Living in the American Midwest I used to joke that “February was for the strong.” Sure, December and January are cold but the really weird stuff happens in February. But in putting this issue together there were long stretches where I did not see the sun. Anyway, if you live anywhere where that can happen for you, I hope that this little magazine may provide you some light and warmth as we approach longer days.

This month we have Holly Boson (welcome back Holly!) on Fortnite and its fusion of the kid-friendly and the transgressive. Also Justin Kim ruminates on the beautiful and funky world of a particular flavor of anime mashup!

For this month’s Funeral Rites, brought to you by our friends at Exalted Funeral, Alyssa Wejebe quacks with Darcy Percy about DuckQuest.

As for our regular rogues . . . Oluwatayo Adewole parties like it’s 1995. Jay Castello finds some beasts of a (possibly southern?) isle. Maddi Chilton plays for blood(sport). Emma Kostopolus jumps, jives and wails. Matt Marrone ponders a giant orb in the desert. Emily Price can’t shake the feeling she’s been here before. Justin Reeve gets into the architecture of the self. Rob Rich has stopped dreaming but still wants nice things for everyone! Levi Rubeck watches a movie that I thought was Dirty Dancing. Ben Sailer gets really into a Taco Bell commercial. Phoenix Simms winds back the sands of time. And Noah Springer is here once more to remind us that all work and no play make us all dull.

Lots of goodness here for you all and more exciting things to announce as the year rolls on. Remember to speak truth to power, fight oppression and speak for those whose voices are silenced by that oppression.

See you all in the next Exploits!

David Shimomura

Chicago, Illinois

February 5, 2024