After a few years away, get ready to return to Burden Hill. Dark Horse today announced an all-new miniseries set in the world of Beasts of Burden from series co-creator Evan Dorkin. Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men is a four-issue miniseries written by Dorkin and featuring art by Benjamin Dewey and letters by Nate Piekos. The series will focus on the Wise Dogs, a group of canine elders who have appeared as supporting characters in previous Beasts of Burden stories.
First appearing in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings in 2003, Beasts of Burden was created by Dorkin and artist Jill Thompson. They have appeared in multiple anthologies, as well as in their own miniseries and multiple one-shots, including a crossover with Hellboy in 2010. Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men will be the first Beasts of Burden series not drawn by Thompson. Dewey is best known for his work on The Autumnlands (with Kurt Busiek) and I Was The Cat (with Paul Tobin). Piekos is veteran letterer with credits for Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, among other publishers.
In addition to this announcement, earlier today Dorkin tweeted that he and Thompson have more of the main series coming, though no release date has been set for that yet. The winner of multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards, Beasts of Burden is really a fun series, so it’s great to see it coming back in any form. The first few stories are available to read for free on Dark Horse’s website, and they’re well worth checking out.
Take a look at the covers for issue #1 – the main cover by series artist Dewey, and the variant by Rafael Albuquerque – as well as more details on the story in the official press release below. Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men #1 hits stores in August 2018.
(click images to enlarge)
MILWAUKIE, Ore., (April 17, 2018)—Dark Horse Comics is proud to welcome fans back to Burden Hill as the one and only Evan Dorkin (Blackwood, Milk and Cheese, The Eltingville Club, Dork) joins forces with artist Benjamin Dewey (The Autumnlands) and letterer Nate Piekos for a thrilling new series, Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men. Co-created by Dorkin and Jill Thompson, Beasts of Burden has been a staple at Dark Horse since it debuted in 2009 and we are thrilled to bring readers a new story starring Beasts of Burden’s Wise Dogs.
Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men follows the heroic pack of canines known as the Wise Dogs as they take on a series of new horrors and find a link among a variety of seemingly unrelated occult disturbances plaguing Burden Hill and the surrounding areas. Their discovery leads them to mountain village inhabited by a survivalist witch-cult who have uncovered the existence of a “Blood Lure” attracting occult forces, creatures, and many more terrors to Burden Hill!
Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men #1 (of 4) goes on sale August 22, 2018, and is available for preorder at your local comic shop. Issue #1 also offers a variant cover by Rafael Albuquerque.
Praise for Beasts of Burden:
“For pet lovers and enthusiasts of supernatural mysteries, the series is an absolute must. . . The surprise factor within this series is not the suspense or horror, but rather the emotional resonance that the writing and illustrations create. . . Beasts of Burden is one of the comic book highlights of 2009.”—USA Today“Dorkin’s script captures the well-meaning, dopey sentiments we attribute to our dogs and cats’ thoughts, and Thompson’s art finds a middle ground between storybook sweetness and EC Comics chills. It’s a lot of fun, and ideal for kids who don’t mind a little gore and ghosts with their adorable animals.”—AV Club
“[Beasts of Burden is] rapidly becoming one of my favorite comics.”—NEIL GAIMAN (The Sandman)
“Beasts of Burden balances humor, heart, and horror and fosters the contrast necessary to elevate a genre.”—MTV“. . . horror buffs and animal lovers alike will find a lot to like about [Beast of Burden’s] tightly-scripted storylines, beautiful illustrations, and appealing characters.” —Publisher’s Weekly
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