This time of year always makes us feel a little bored. Red maple leaves are a distant memory, but crocuses are still a purple dream, and some days it feels as if the birds will never come back. To combat this tired-of-staring-at-old-man-winter’s-dreary-butt feeling, Issue 119 is full of surprises. Grab yourself a bowl of hot soup* and tuck in.

*Recommended soup pairings: “tyrannosaurus morning” by Rob Yates: bone broth (preferably made from dino fossils); “Waterloo” by Nikki Williams: creamy potato (thick as a “ghost-grey / fog”); “Independent Horror Movie: Post-Credit Scenes Explained,” by Jeanine Skowronski: classic tomato, naturally; “Mending” by Elizabeth Porter: split pea, green and gluey; haiku by Edward Cody Huddleston: fragrant miso with delicate nori stars; “Velma” by Micah Cozzens: carrot-ginger, as orange and cozy as a turtleneck sweater.

Cover art by resident genius Sam Snoek-Brown.