Kodansha and U.S. comic book publisher DSTLRY have announced a partnership that will see artists from both publishers regularly contributing to each other’s covers in an exciting exchange. The first of these is headlined by mangaka Shuzo Oshimi, nominated for the 2022 Harvey Awards for Best Manga alongside Blue Lock, Spy x Family, and eventual winner Chainsaw Man. Oshimi designed a variant cover for Somna #3 — the final issue of Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay’s erotic folk-horror series, arriving March 27. Oshimi is best known for his The Flowers of Evil, Drifting Net Cafe, and Happiness manga. Readers can view Oshimi’s Somna #3 cover below.
Commenting on the exchange, Oshimi said, “I was drawn to the story of Somna where dreams and reality intermingle, and the way it’s expressed through different artistic styles. Drawing the variant cover was fun!” The second issue of Somna drops on January 31, 2024, on DSTLRY. Meanwhile, the standard and Oshimi variant cover version for the third issue drops on March 27. Cloonan shared that Oshimi is one of her favorite manga artists of all time, and co-creator Lotay added, “It’s an incredible honor to have a creator as skilled and iconic as Shuzo Oshimi illustrate our characters. Oshimi-san has a deft talent for creating atmospheres of dread and fleeting hope—a perfect complement to the world Becky and I have been building in Somna.”
Fans can already read the first issue of Somna, which is described by DSTLRY as:
Set amidst the terrifying backdrop of the witch hunts in a quiet 1600s English village, Somna follows one woman’s escape from the confines of her puritanical world. Ingrid is unhappily married to Roland, the town’s bailiff and chief witch hunter, who has embarked 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 searches for the truth, she’s pursued by a shadowy figure. Ingrid gravitates to the foreboding phantom in ways she can’t resist; does this otherworldly seduction hold the key to the mystery? Or will he damn Ingrid’s soul to the blackest circle of Hell?
Kodansha and DSTLRY’s exchange program is yet another example that art has no borders. This isn’t limited only to comic books and manga, but even the rapidly growing Korean manhwa. Story Inc., the producers of the popular Japanese anime Suzume and Weathering with You, recently announced that were are launching the Matrix-inspired webtoon Red Pill Blue Gazer. Bones’ Metallic Rouge anime has similarly announced a webtoon adaptation which will debut in March. For fans looking to explore the medium further, Anime Corner’s Andrea Tran recently gave her thoughts on the gripping Goodbye, In-Law! in her review.
Source: Press Release
© Becky Cloonan, Tula Lotay, DSTLRY, Shūzō Oshimi