Writer: Mike Mignola, Evan Dorkin
Artist: Jill Thompson
Cover Artist: Mike Mignola, Jill ThompsonThe paranormal activity in the outwardly charming town of Burden Hill has gone from bad to worse, as seen in Dorkin and Thompson’s hardcover graphic novel Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites. Now the occult–investigating team of dogs (and one cat) need some serious help. Contact with the Wise Dog Society has broken off, leaving the team on its own, as a series of unexplained animal slayings have begun to occur. But magic can work in surprising ways, and help is brought to the team with the unexpected arrival of the World’s Greatest Paranormal Detective.
Evan Dorkin (Milk and Cheese, Bizarro World) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother, Magic Trixie) join forces with Mike Mignola (Hellboy, B.P.R.D., Witchfinder, Baltimore) in an amazing one–shot bringing their supernatural worlds together!
Mike Mignola’s Hellboy joins the animals’ of Burden Hill!
This is perhaps the greatest team-up of all time. What did I think of the most anticipated story in the Hellboy universe so far? Check behind the cut!
There are few things in this world that I genuinely love. Among those things are comics, personal relations, and small, cute, and fuzzy animals (mostly cats). It was through that last item that Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson first caught my attention with their phenomenal Beasts of Burden comic, and I’ve been a fan patiently waiting for more ever since the first mini.
So when I heard that the Beasts would be teaming up with none other than Hellboy, my expectations were high to say the very least. Of course, since Hellboy himself was a paranormal detective and animal lover, i could only assume the best – which is exactly what I was given.
In the story, Hellboy finds himself accidentally colliding with the Beasts as they both investigate individual phenomenon. Hellboy follows the group into a dark cave, only to find himself assisting them crossing paths with a somewhat familiar foe now too big for the Beasts to face alone.
For just one issue, Dorkin packs in a helluva lot of lot story! It’s not uncommon at all for either the Beasts or Hellboy to have single issue stories, but when the two combine you’d expect to need more pages. Dorkin wraps the entire thing nicely into the issue though, and it primarily works due to the foundations we already hVe for each character. Of course, Hellboy develops his own relationship with the Beasts, primarily Pug, who really changes a lot in this issue thanks to Hellboy, setting the stage for a much different character in further stories (though the ending impact is up for debate (and painfully familiar to a certain Futurama episode…)).
The story fits seamlessly into the Beasts’ continuity though, which is amusingly appropriate. While Hellboy has always had a static timeline, the Beasts have a more slowly evolving tale, which is changed in two ways by the end of the issue. For one, we do see a continuation of an old villain, but more importantly we have a bit of twist ending, which will certainly have consequences in future stories. Though the full impact is yet to be seen, I can definitely assure you that I desperately want to see more.
The book doesn’t rely solely on Dorkin though, with Jill Thompson effectively and wonderfully bringing our various heroes to life. Thompson has acquired a definitive and recognizable style of artwork which truly captures the Beasts for who they are – adorable creatures in a not as adorable world. If I weren’t already, Thompson’s art would assuredly make me an animal lover as she deftly brings this detectives to life in a way unseen in other books. The water colors used on the book give it a unique flavor and fare that you just don’t find in other books. Thompson is certainly one of the most impressive artists around, considering it wasn’t that long ago that she was doing art for books like the Invisibles… And now she has this! No matter how you slice it, the book is a visual feast.
Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson make a collaborative team like no other. The Beasts of Burden have been one of my favorite characters within the Dark Horse universe, and hopefully teaming thrum up with Hellboy is just what they need to get to a larger audience. If you’ve never read the Beasts of Burden, I implore you to grab this issue. There is no doubt in my mind that you’ll be hooked.
Final Verdict: 9.2 – Buy
