Interest

Exclusive: Shūzō Oshimi Contributes Variant Cover for U.S. Comic Somna #3; Signals Start of Kodansha & U.S. Publisher DSTLRY Partnership

The Eastern and Western art of manga and comics have merged with a new partnership between Japanese publisher Kodansha, and U.S. publisher DSTLRY, where they will regularly exchange cover artists for upcoming releases, to show their talents to new worlds, styles, and audiences.

To kick off the groundbreaking partnership, manga artist Shūzō Oshimi drew a variant cover for American comic writer Becky Cloonan and comic artist Tula Lotay's Somna #3 erotic folk-horror series.

Aside from Oshimi and the comic series' creators, other artists also drew cover art for Somna #3. The comic is available now for pre-order, and DSTLRY will release the comic on March 27.

DSTLRY describes the comic:

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?

Oshimi is a familiar name in the U.S., as several of his manga series are published in English. Kodansha USA Publishing will release the sixth compiled book volume of Welcome Back, Alice on March 19. Kodansha USA also published Oshimi's 10-volume Happiness manga.

Vertical published Oshimi's The Flowers of Evil manga, and will also publish the 16th volume of Blood on the Tracks manga on April 23. Denpa published Oshimi's Miss Kusakabe one-shot manga digitally, and released the Shino Can't Say Her Name manga physically.

With Kodansha and DSTLRY's new partnership, it is exciting to see how the East and West's drawing art and style will influence and mix with each other.

Source: Press release