The 75th edition of Manic!, Malta’s favourite intelligent magazine that has always tried to take a slightly alternative view of things over the 13 years it has been in existence, will be out next Sunday with this newspaper.

Once again, the magazine will offer plenty of enjoyable reading material, food for thought and great photography. The same sex marriage issue is explored in a comprehensive article covering the various opinions and offering an opportunity for readers to make up their own mind up. It’s a divisive issue – one that many gay rights activists see as ‘the next step’ in the achievement of full equality for a group of people who were made to feel like outcasts in the past; and one that more conservative or religious people often feel would be a liberal step too far. The article also offers some interesting angles from gay people who are not, as one would expect, totally behind the concept of ‘marriage without restrictions’.

Manic! also goes abroad, as it often does, this time to neighbouring Sicily, where delicious wine is created on the slopes of Mount Etna. We also travel to Greece, Morocco and Tunisia for an easy-to-make taste of their cuisine.

Readers with young children will be interested in the article about a fitness centre that specializes in exercise for and with kids, while, in typical Manic! fashion, we look at the style of someone who doesn’t ‘go with the flow’. Then there’s our short story with tantalizingly erotic undertones.

Finally, the birth of locally produced stand-up comedy is analysed by Steve Hili, while the winning band in the Hard Rock Rising competition and the cover stars, the hugely entertaining international ensemble Mana Tapu, tell us why we should vote for them on Facebook in the international leg of the competiton. Ensure to get your free copy with The Malta Independent on Sunday.