Review: Planet Scumm Issue #14

I love Planet Scumm. Each issue is better than the last. Issue #14 is titled Extinction Events, and contains 8 exceptional stories about life, death, and what comes after. 

First up is Maxine Sophia Wolff’s dark fantasy tale, Come the Banshee. There’s transformation, body horror, and sea shanty’s in this powerful tale of omens and monsters. 

Marie Vibbert’s Single Malt Spacecraft shows the lengths a young woman will go to in order to get a good glass of scotch. Imaginative and haunting, this story will stay with you. 

All Our Missing Pieces by Frank Oreto is about a totalitarian regime, and how sticking to the rules is a good thing. 

Pharinexin by Dale Stromberg provides a heartbreaking moral dilemma after Nurul becomes a victim of an active shooter. 

Logan A Marrow’s The Gardener ponders aging and mortality through the lens of a robot called Robbie. 

In The Pulse of Memory by Beth Dawkins, Cal longs to devour the fish that contain his ancestors memories. 

Sara Saab’s Burrowing Machines provides a fascinating glimpse into London’s oppressive tunnels in this creepy story with a bittersweet heart. 

Reptilian Barbarian and the Templum Solarium by Andrew Giffin is a wonderful sword and sorcery tale of Yix, the lizard man, and his epic quest. This story inspired the beautiful cover art by Kelly Williams, and is my favorite story in an issue of outstanding tales. 

Being Emily Was Too Hard by Kieran O’Mant shows a cycle of struggle and regret. 

Leo Vladimirsky’s A Collection of Endings is a surprisingly hopeful story despite being about the wake of the wind. 

The issue also includes an introduction by Smarty Scumm, an absolutely fascinating article debunking UFO myths in Paul C.K Spears’ always interesting regular column, Bureaucracy of Weird, and an interview with cover artist, Kelly Williams. 

While the ebook version of Planet Scumm is great, I urge you to get the print version if possible. Each issue is so beautifully produced, and issue #14 features stunning artwork from Jordan Alarcon, Sam Rheaume, as well as the immensely talented  Maura “Moe” McGonagle. I particularly love Kelly Williams’ striking front cover. 

If you’re looking for a great magazine full of thought provoking, entertaining, and wildly imaginative stories, I highly recommend Planet Scumm issue #14: Extinction Events. 

I award Planet Scumm issue #14…