Somna: A Bedtime Story

Cloonan (the Batman series) and Lotay (Supreme: Blue Rose) team up for a seductive and explicit horror fable that melds their distinctive art styles. In 17th-century England, a woman named Ingrid is haunted at night by an incubus who tempts and tantalizes her. Though her shadowy lover assures her that “in dreams, there are no transgressions,” the line between the waking and dreaming worlds grows blurry. Meanwhile, her frigid husband, Roland, spearheads the village’s witch hunts and burnings at the stake. Even if Ingrid’s visions are only driven by sexual frustration, she’s in danger of being branded a sorceress and put on trial. Each creator contributes both writing and art, with Cloonan’s earthy human figures and lived-in environments—bustling village markets, sun-drenched country roads, lonely seaside ruins—contrasting with Lotay’s painterly eroticism. Visual nods ranging from Henry Fuseli’s “The Nightmare” to Nightmare on Elm Street add to the fun. The plot runs a bit thinner than the lavish art, but fans of dark romantasy will find it an intoxicating pleasure. (July)