With spring rapidly ebbing away into the balmier summer climes as we write this – the ‘April’ appellation above is already something of a misnomer as this issue comes to you at the tail end of the month – Schlock is already getting a teensy bit nostalgic about that idyllic time of year.
The one thing spring promises most of all is rebirth and newness. And how can you not be nostalgic for a season that gives you new things all the time – when nature, for a brief while, ceases to be an indiscriminate force of danger and oppression and instead decides to bestow us with gifts.
In this issue you will find many such strange and wonderful artefacts… in particular, there will be plenty of strange creatures for you to encounter. Rachel Agius will force you to see through the eyes of a dog; Xi Chuan will make you empathise with that oft-reviled creature, the mosquito. Horrors and distortions won’t be spared either, so you’re advised to stay on your guard. And neither is this issue entirely free of human intervention and conversation: Thom Cuschieri’s delightful three-page comic strip pokes fun at vanities and delusions that only our species could fall prey to.