Take cover! The foolhardy cadets and monomaniacal slime monster known collectively as The Good Folks At Planet Scumm have done it again. What dark magic, sinister science, or desperate appeals to an angry and forgotten god ushered this volume into creation cannot be known.

But it is clear that Overgrowth-in all its forms-is here to stay. That includes the thorny, weed-choked places where nature's authority goes unchecked, shrouding strange beings with awesome appetites.

Civilizations too grow larger than anyone would prefer, overcoming the challenges of survival, governance, and exploration so thoroughly they are left to either test the limits of sensory indulgences or take to swallowing smaller empires in the galactic churn. Even lit mags sometimes find that last year's britches now fit like highwaters and last year's pet slime monster has eaten the neighbor's petunias, and dog, and children.

As Planet Scumm weathers growth spurt after growth spurt, our staple-bound first issue now seems more distant than our shining future as the planet's leading purveyor of science fiction so tasty, so subversive, so mind-expansive it's frankly a wonder these pages are legal for recreational use. .