Unwinnable Monthly – July 2017
This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue 93. You can buy Issue 93 now, or purchase a monthly subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!
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Ah, the call of the cicada – that’s when you really know its summer, when that creepy che-che-che starts coming from all the trees in your neighborhood. Hope you’re staying cool. [Fun fact I just learned: cicadas can pee! On you! And some people call it “honeydew.” Wear hats, folks.]
This month, we’ve got a bit of a Twin Peaks thing going on. Our cover, by the amazing Ionwhat, depicts Diane (portrayed by Laura Dern) and is a fitting introduction to Logan Ludwig’s cover story about how the character on the TV show squares with 25 years of peoples ideas about her. Its interesting stuff and digs into one of many ways Lynch and company are actively messing with audience expectations.
In our second feature, Jordan Oloman investigates the dwindling phenomenon of the videogame system start-up sound and the legacy they have found in popular music. Our sponsored feature is for a cool game called Unfortunate Spacemen, which is essentially a multiplayer shooter version of The Thing. I am a sucker for all Things, though, so maybe I am biased.
Gavin leads off our regular columns with some shrugs sent in the direction of Titan Souls and Hotline Miami. Meg Condis watches the documentary on sex creep and ruiner of American political dreams, Anthony Weiner. Casey Lynch (no relation to David) delivers his usual catalog of great heavy metal and boy, is July chock full of heavy awesomeness. Brock Wilbur digs into one of the best horror games of all time, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. Corey Milne discovers the simply Cold War joys of CounterSpy. Matt Marrone joins the rest of the TV-viewing world in being blown away by Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8. I get on my high horse about, well, high horses in a column that may just be an elaborate excuse to run images from Zardoz. Rob Rich advocates for the nostalgia masters at Zeboyd games while Jason McMaster revels in the gladiatorial mayhem of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. All that, our usual lists of recommendations and Brian Taylor’s killer crossword (literally, this month).
How’s that for beach reading?
Two other quick things. I don’t know if I ever announced A. longtime editor Harry Rabinowitz’s departure or B. longtime writer Amanda Hudgins’ taking of his seat. Harry did a lot of good work for us and we wish him well on his new endeavors. Amanda’s already been kicking butt – just look at the last couple issues!
Finally, I started an Instagram and Tumblr dedicated to chronicling my collection of tabletop RPGs. Check it out if that is your thing.
Stu Horvath
Kearny, New Jersey
July 19, 2017
