DSTLRY is one of the more intriguing comic book publishers to come along in recent years, thanks both to their novel approach to digital comics and the fact that many of the industry's top creators have signed on. IGN can exclusively reveal the first details about Somna, a sexually charged folk horror series from Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay.
Check out the slideshow gallery below to see some of Cloonan and Lotay's stunning artwork for Somna, but beware of some NSFW imagery ahead!:
Somna is created, written and drawn by both Cloonan and Lotay, with each bringing their own signature art style to a horror comic that invites comparisons to indie horror films like Midsommar and The Witch. Here's the official description for the series:
Ingrid is unhappily married to Roland, the town's bailiff and chief witch hunter, who is on a single-minded quest to purge the 'heretics' in their midst. After a prominent town leader is found murdered, accusations fly and no one is above reproach from Roland's deadly crusade. Ingrid has her suspicions about who the real murderer is, but even as she pursues the truth, she's pursued herself by a shadowy figure. Ingrid finds that she's drawn to the foreboding phantom in ways she can't resist- does this dark and tempting stranger may hold the key to the mystery...or will he damn Ingrid's soul to the blackest circle of Hell?
“Tula and I first bonded over our love of old Hammer and folk-horror films, with an added dose of boundary-pushing Ken Russell '70s psychedelia,” Cloonan tells IGN. “We both embraced the theme of passion and freedom blossoming from a repressive culture out of that canvas. It’s a focal point that has maintained a biting relevance through the centuries. Somna is a dream project—literally and figuratively."
"I love Becky’s writing, her tales, her art," Lotay says. "I’ve never met someone whose interests are so like mine. I remember a walk we had in the woods one day and we found a coin and both quoted Goonies at the same time. It’s like we’re the same person."
Lotay adds, "We’ve been romanticizing about this story for years. I can’t believe we’re actually doing it. It’s a joy working with Becky, she makes it so easy. I would be incredibly intimidated working with her if she wasn’t so damn nice and modest all the time. She’s my hero."
Somna #1 will be released in print and digital form on November 22, 2023.
For mroe o nwhat's coming up in the indsutry, check out the biggest comics of September 2023.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
