We named Somna by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay as one of the best comics of 2023 on the strength of its superb first issue alone. The story crosses its halfway point this week with the publication of Somna #2 and protagonist Ingrid is in deep trouble...
Let's back up a little... Somna is one of the first wave of comics from new publisher DSTLRY. It tells the story of Ingrid, a woman living in the 1600s who is visited at night by a sinister figure. Is this simply a case of sleep paralysis, or something genuinely supernatural? Whatever the case, her visitor is terrifying... and maybe just a tiny bit sexy. That's a problem, though, because Ingrid is married to the local witchfinder and must keep up the appearance of a meek and obedient wife for her own safety.
Split across Ingrid's waking and dreaming hours (with Cloonan writing and drawing the day scenes, while Lotay handles the night), it's a wonderful comic, one that uses its creators' contrasting styles to immersive effect. 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. I've had sleep paralysis in the past and it's terrifying, but when I learned more about it I found it fascinating. And out of that experience, this little story was born.
Then about 10 years ago Tula and I were at a convention together in Sweden and I was telling her about this story. We were just bouncing ideas back and forth and she's like, 'Oh, I want to do this with you one day!' We were standing on a Viking burial mound and we made a pact.
Tula Lotay: I just felt really excited that Becky said that she'd like to do it with me. And then from that point on we were just talking about it more and more, but deadlines never really allowed it to happen up until this point.
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. We have the complete freedom to do what we want and be as experimental or as weird as we want.
Lotay: It's the perfect fit because there's a lot of stuff in this comic that other publishers wouldn't do.
So for those who haven't read Somna yet, how would you describe the story
Cloonan: It takes place in the 1600s in a small village, and it's about a woman who has sleep paralysis. This is sexy sleep paralysis though and there's the idea that it's like a demon visiting her - but is it really? 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?
Cloonan: Well, she definitely cares for him and he definitely cares for her, but there's a lot going on underneath the surface. He's struggling with his own feelings about his work - he's not revelling in being the witchfinder, it's a duty that's been pushed on him. And she's having to deal with that and wrestling with her desires as this person is pushing her away.
What were some of the films that inspired it?
Lotay: The obvious one is Robert Eggers' The Witch, because we adore that. We were talking about this story before The Witch came out and, I don't know if I've mentioned this to Becky before, but when I first saw The Witch I was blown away because there's a scene towards the end that is exactly like one of Becky's drawings.
And then just a lot of '70s folk horror and Hammer stuff. Films like Blood on Satan's Claw and The Witches - camp and hammy British films, but they always have elements in them that are just absolutely incredible. One of my favourite films is The Devil Rides Out and I guess there's a lot of that influence in this.
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. When I was a teen there was always this idea that the sexy comics are for one kind of person, but then you've got the 'normal' and 'sensible' comics that don't have the sexy stuff in. And the thing is, why shy away from it? It's something that most of us are interested in.
Cloonan: I'd also like to add a little bit to that, which is that this is a horror and there's something really scary about dipping into those two feelings at the same time, to be turned on by something scary. 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 device?
Cloonan: When you're working with two artists it's usually because someone doesn't have the time to complete a project, so you bring in another artist. It's always really nice in the story when there's a reason for the art switch, so it's not so jarring. 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. Everything is based, more-or-less, on the grid, trying to create that stark contrast between the feeling of when you're dreaming and when you're awake and then being able to kind of slowly subvert that throughout the course of the story.
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. Becky's so chill about it, but also just so brilliant and she's just allowed me to do what I wanted to do with my art, the story and the dream sequences. We're both so invested in Somna that it's just a pleasure to draw.
Cloonan: I love working with you, because you'll draw a certain setting and I can take some of that dreamy quality and pull it into my work and the real world scenes. 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.
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