Beasts of Burden is a wonderful comic book series written by Evan Dorkin and illustrated beautifully in watercolor by Jill Thompson that we feel deserves a wider audience. Plus most dog lovers will love this book!

Our story is set in the hamlet of Burden Hill, a scenic little community filled with green grass and picket fences. A beautiful place that harbors dark secrets – sinister supernatural forces are at work – and the only protection Burden Hill has is an extraordinary group of dogs (and one cat) who heroically work to save the town from evil.

Authorized by the Wise Dog Society, a secret organization of canines that have been keeping mankind safe from supernatural threats for ages, a group of newly appointed apprentices have been sworn to protect Burden Hill. These are the Beasts of Burden: Pugs, Ace, Jack, Whitey, Red and the Orphan.

Saving your town from evil turns out to be harder than you might think -  as our canine protectors soon encounter… “demonic cannibal frogs, tortured spirits, a secret rat society, and a bizarre and deadly resurrection in the Burden Hill cemetery-events which lead to fear and heartbreak as our four-legged heroes discover that the evil within Burden Hill is growing and on the move. Can our heroes overcome these supernatural menaces? Can evil be bested by a paranormal team that doesn’t have hands? And even more importantly, will Pugs ever shut the hell up?”

Beasts of Burden is at times, funny, thrilling, heartbreaking, and spooky as all get out. It’s a story that we think all dog lovers would enjoy all though it may be a bit too intense for younger children.  Beasts of Burden was published as a four issue comic series by Dark Horse Comics but has also been collected in graphic novel format. The book should be available through finer comic shops and bookstores.