Unwinnable Monthly – May 2026
This is Not a Place of Honor
This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue 199. You can buy Issue 199 now, or purchase a monthly subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!
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Dear Reader,
Our Final Fantasy issue was a smashing success and it’s all thanks to you all. So, thanks! It’s been a blast and I have another little surprise for you. One more story! It’s a banger and you deserve it.
But enough Final Fantasy talk (or will there secretly be more?). We’ll soon fully be back to regular business with a more normal issue. I just wish I could order us all up a more normal world. Can’t push the ol’ reset button on this one though so it’s up to you all to make the world a better place. We’re here to make it more enjoyable but the world’s dying, Reader. Time to do something about it.
This month we’re featuring Leanne Rahel with an “our cup runneth over” Final Fantasy Redux, with cover art by Safdar Abidi, from the Sandia Nation Laboratory report on long-term nuclear waste storage.
For our normal rogues we’ve got Jay Castello building a world from a dusty place. Maddi Chilton somehow is also writing about an empty world without big chrome. Emma Kostopolus got that newfangled Resident Evil you all have been playing. Matt Marrone watched The Pitt and something got stuck in his craw. Deep in his craw. Natasha Ochshorn explores a different kind of dead world and revisited the piece that got her hired here! Emily Price has jury duty at the Titanium Court. Justin Reeve is dead…RED DEAD (Redemption) of these high prices! Rob Rich has been trying to find the FromSoftware of old. Levi Rubeck went to a big show and played bunch of stuff. Ben Sailer gets Neurosis. Phoenix Simms remains Weird.
I’ll keep it brief and let you get onto the good stuff. If you think we really do cool work here, share us with a friend and maybe they’ll become a subscriber (send them this link). Help us find new readers so we can keep doing this for as long as it’s fun for everyone involved.
David Shimomura
Chicago, IL
May 19, 2026
