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In the coming mini-series Beasts of Burden: The Presence of Others, Part One, writer Evan Dorkin and artist Jill Thompson are back again with their wonderfully realized Burden Hill gang, the canine paranormal investigators and a feline familiar that earned them a Harvey Award and multiple Eisner Awards.  We’ve discussed previous Beasts of Burden stories before here at borg and the animal stories are among the best of the outgrowth of shorts from Dark Horse Presents, the best anthology series around.

Dorkin and Thompson first introduced their animal sleuths in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings and they made regular appearances throughout the “Dark Horse Book of” series (all collected now in the affordable The Dark Horse Book of Horrors), earning them Eisners for Best Short Story and Best Painter.  In 2009 the beasts of Burden Hill received their own miniseries, Animal Rites, and in 2010, they met up with Hellboy.  In 2012, the gang was back in Neighborhood Watch.  And Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers won the Best Single Issue Eisner in 2015.   In 2016 the Burden Hill gang returned with the one-shot issue Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In followed-up last year with Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men.

This time we find the team defending Burden Hill again, but with the help of humans.  A team of paranormal investigators poking around Burden Hill disturb the graveyard where the ”Master” lies, setting off a chain of events that will have serious consequences for the animal defenders of the haunted town.  Dorkin’s animal stories coupled with Thompson’s watercolor painted artwork simply can’t be beat.

Take a look at some preview pages from Dark Horse Comics:

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