Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites by Evan Dorkin, art by Jill Thompson

Dark Horse, 2018

ISBN-13: 9781506706368

Available: Hardback, paperback, Kindle ebook

Burden Hill is a peaceful suburb like any other, with well-kept yards, families, and their adoring and loyal pets…some of whom happen to be paranormal investigators. Witches, demonic frogs, werewolves, and zombie dogs are a few of the problems these brave investigators face in Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites.

The main characters in this are a group of dogs and one sassy cat. Wise dogs are summoned by the neighborhood dogs when they need guidance, something these brave souls are always ready to give. There is a black cat “familiar” looking to redeem herself in the eyes of the animals she once tried to kill. Humans have very little influence on the story, and when they are interjected into the story, it is heartbreaking and powerful simply because of the choices the animals in the story make willingly or are forced to make at the power of the supernatural.

Dorkin expertly weaves tales about loyalty, courage, acceptance, personal accountability, and a host of other very human emotions all bundled in these animal bodies. Each creature has a distinct personality. They even have their own religion, which the reader gets a glimpse of when the dogs hold a funeral service for dogs who were killed because of careless drivers. Adding Thompson’s beautiful artwork makes Dorkin’s story even stronger. It’s easy to take a few minutes to get lost in some of the fine details she includes in the panels, especially regarding the story of Hazel needing help finding her lost puppies.

Award-winning comics creators Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) first introduced the characters of Beasts of Burden in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings. They both won Eisner awards for Best Short Story (Dorkin) and Best Painter (Thompson). Animal Rites collects the earliest stories and the four-issue comic series Beasts of Burden. This isn’t exactly a kid-friendly read, so if you have young readers of Scary Godmother, be aware that there is content that may be disturbing. This would be a good read for YA and above depending on how well they do with such. I will say that there were a few times I had to take a few minutes between stories because of how much this team is able to call up emotions so effectively using animals as the storytellers. It’s truly beautiful, terrifying, heartbreaking, and hopeful all in one book. Highly recommended.

Contains: blood, brief nudity, mention of animal abuse

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker