It’s my birthday! But more importantly, our new issue is out, so let’s take a look at that. ■ It’s Fantastic Man number 43. It holds 268 pages, from a series of headwear suggestions by JANNEKE VAN DER HAGEN and BILLY LOBOS to a sprawling visual story of many men (and scenery) in Bulgaria shot by DANA LIXENBERG with styling PAU AVIA. But you’ll see this for yourself as soon as you’ve picked up your issue. ■ Let’s talk about the variety of covers first. American marvel JORDAN FIRSTMAN appeared in our magazine before, but this new story is something spectacular in and of itself. JORDAN, who presented his directing debut ‘Club Kid’ in Cannes earlier this year to huge critical acclaim, was photographed and interviewed by his colleague LUCA GUADAGNINO. It’s a brilliant chat full of intrigue and admiration, with some scoops hiding in there too. Fatherhood! 

Cover number two graces actor MAHERSHALA ALI, who I remember from his brilliant appearance in ‘Moonlight’, but of course he’s done so much more. And acting wasn’t even his first career; he was a poet and released a few rap albums too, why not. Writer ANTWAUN SARGENT’s story on ALI describes a meeting in a Philadelphia restaurant, and more precisely, what happens between 11:05 and 11:14am in that encounter full of drama and empathy. ■ TYLER MITCHELL took the photos, with JASON RIDER styling, using only DIOR, from a simple blue striped shirt to some spectacularly grand looks. 

Photographer MARK PECKMEZIAN shot Chinese music phenomenon KUN for us in Milan, earlier this summer. The cover is here, and above is a spread from the story. ■ We built a TV show set in which KUN appears to be presenting himself, and, in quite a double meta moment, a Chinese film crew happened to be capturing it all. (This is a collaborative project with our friends from Fantastic Man China.) Where does one thing end and the other begin? 28-year-old KUN has been ruling the Chinese pop charts for years and recently released his first album sung in English. ■ He’s a big fan of ELVIS PRESLEY, and at times his style evokes the totally brilliant SCOTT WALKER.

Above, one spread from the aforementioned BULGARIA story (p. 228-267) by DANA LIXENBERG, who’d never been to the country before. “Taking photos is the best way to explore a place,” she says, especially with her unwieldy 4x5 inch large-format film camera. “You’re looking closely at every texture and detail.” She loved the people in Sofia and was surprised by the food. “It’s quite like the Greek cuisine.”