Illustrated Worlds Magazine, Spring 2026, Issue #13, Print copy
Description
The rebirth of the year with flowers and new life doesn't mean there are no shadows to be found. We've managed to secure a few peeks into the dark side of the season with demon artwork by Michelle Koubek, playful childhood nightmares by Gerrod Craig General, mythical chimeras in the visions of Juanjo Martinez Canovas and so much more in the realm of illustration you'd be hard-pressed to believe spring is solely about sunlight and gamboling lambs.
Along with those moody images, the issue is full of fiction designed to bring a little fear and dread into those petal-covered mornings and mellow warm evenings. Author Brenda Kezar warns us to beware of what we eat in her story "Exotic Bites", Mia Dalia tells us about graveyard traditions and how to uphold them in the story "Cemetery Wedding", and the ever popular be-careful-what-you-wish-for tale by Jameson Grey titled "The Folly of Phillip Morton Hayward".
Prepare yourself to face a new source of evil in Karen M. Vaughn's "Amidst the Shining Storm" and a ravenous plant in "The Jubokko" by Paul Magnan. Also, look for stories by Tammy Komoff, Matthew Spence, Marc Sorondo, and Kellee Kranendonk.