Summer is supposed to be a time of release.

Bare skin, barbecues, bodies of water, feeling like you have two days in one because the sun sets so late, road trips with friends. Summer is the season of fun, and the summer of 2021 was supposed to be double-plus fun. Covid numbers were on the decline, and mask mandates were dropping. But with the delta variant, the pandemic found a new way to thwart the usual flow of things.

So here we are, in stranger times than we thought we’d be in at this point. The sun is still blazing, but so are the fires. We can finally travel again, but leaving feels risky. People have gone back to work, but many businesses have closed forever. Life these days is ambiguous, to say the least. Maybe it always was and we just couldn’t see it.

In keeping with the idea of the familiar becoming uncertain, we themed this issue Summertime. It’s the season you know so well, but explored with self-awareness—whether it’s the ennui of Brian Finke’s “Texas,” the bold individuality that Jessica Antola celebrates in “Enemy of the Average,” Jonpaul Douglass’ incredibly idiosyncratic top-10 list, or the humble heroizing of summer’s smallest moments courtesy of Caroline Tompkins’ “Fool’s Paradise.”  

Take a spin through the issue and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you. 

Kristina Feliciano
Editor, Creative Director
Gigantic