When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Heres how it works.
Is this simply a case of sleep paralysis, or something genuinely supernatural?
Whatever the case, her visitor is terrifying… and maybe just atinybit sexy.
Steeped in atmosphere, it takes the reader into some dark, dangerous and seductive territory.
Newsarama sat down with Cloonan and Lotay to find out more.
Newsarama: Becky, Tula, tell us a little about the origins of Somna…
This book was a long time in the making, right?
Becky Cloonan:I had the kernel of the idea over a decade ago.
And out of that experience, this little story was born.
We were standing on a Viking burial mound and we made a pact.
Becky Cloonan:Last year when DSTLRY happened it all just came together.
What made DSTLRY the right publisher for this book?
Cloonan:It felt right because Chip[Chip Mosher, co-founder and CCO of DSTLRY - ed.
]was in on it.
He knew our ambitions for the book.
Or is it just a dream?
Her husband is the local witchfinder and things are not all well at home.
A lot of our inspiration for this story came from things like Hammer Horror films.
We wanted to lean into that a little bit and make it super sexy.
Yeah, she has a complicated relationship with her husband.
How would you describe it?
What were some of the films that inspired it?
Lotay:The obvious one is Robert Eggers' The Witch, because we adore that.
And then just a lot of ’70s folk horror and Hammer stuff.
As you mentioned earlier, the comic has this strong erotic element to it.
Why did you choose to mix that in with the horror?
Lotay:I like saucy comics, Becky does too.
I’ve just always loved supernatural stories and I love erotic, sensual imagery as well.
We love to push these boundaries in comics.
And the thing is, why shy away from it?
It’s something that most of us are interested in.
Trying to impart that feeling to a reader is fun.
Like, how can we just make this just awful… but also sexy.
Lotay:It’s definitely not for teens!
You have to be a full a full blown mature adult to read it.
Somna takes place in both Ingrid’s waking and sleeping hours.
Why did you choose that narrative unit?
But with Tula’s art it just made so much sense because her work is so dreamy.
It’s surreal and it has this flow state to it, even with the panel arrangements.
And then when I’m approaching it, my layouts are more rigid.
How has it been collaborating with each other on Somna?
Lotay:Oh, it’s been a dream.
It’s been the easiest comic I’ve ever worked on.
We’re both so invested in Somna that it’s just a pleasure to draw.
Our art feeds on each other in this kind of weird way.
Lotay:It’s like an Exquisite Corpse comic book.
We’re just having fun with it, going back and forth.
Somna #2 (of 3) is out now from DSTLRY.
Here’s our guide to some of thebest horror comicsof all time.
