Dark Horse Presents #8 - The Beasts of Burden

[sherkahn]

When I found out that the Beasts of Burden had another story added to this latest collection from Dark Horse comics, I had to get it. Ok, not true, I wanted the follow up to what happened to Hellboy once members of the B.P.R.D. found out he had died, but out of all the stories this one got me good.

Beautiful art, wonderful storytelling, real characters that I care about, and honest-to-Roth emotion that changes from page to page. Love, friendship, joy... and horror.

Grab the hankies, and keep your loved pets close to you after this one. Just don't squeeze them too tight.



The wise dogs are out on patrol around the town of Burden Hill, and they have come upon this flock of sheep in one of the green meadows. The sheep look lost, but also seem to have no scent, so the team investigates, hoping to direct these poor creatures to a place where they will be better cared for. They are greeted gently as most lambs do, but they are set upon by the sheep herder dog, Ben. The sheep hold back Ben, saying that the collective dogs and cat from the beasts of burden mean them no harm. Ben scouts on ahead for the sheep to follow. Since they are just "passing through".

I'll stop my rambling here. I know I am not doing this story justice. Let the art speak for itself.






And then they take young pup Jack (who can channel the dead) back to his home to recover from his trauma. And we see what the dog saw.


For all the beauty around it, that image is all the more terrible.

Comments

[icon_uk]

So they're ZOMBIE ghost sheep? Or is that what ghosts look like to him?

[sherkahn]

Jack sees them for what they really are. Walking shish-ke-babs/ghosts.

Dead, but not willing to go into the next life by choice.

[icon_uk]

Shish-ke- baaaaaaaaabs, surely?

[sherkahn]

With wood oven flavor.

And don't call me Shirley.

[auggie18]

Ugh. I love Beasts of Burden, but I can't read it. Every time I do, it's like an emotional kick to the nads.

[northstarfan]

I think that's why I read it. It's so damn rare that a comic gets a visceral response from me that's entirely about the events of the story and not, say, the creative team indulging in lazy and/or offensive writing that I'll take my genuine moments of emotion investment where I can.

[werehawk]

Can you post a couple of scans from their stories in Dark Presents 4 & 6?

Thanks!

[sherkahn]

Remind me, which ones?

[werehawk]

They also had stories in those issues, not just #8

http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/394/beasts-burden-returns-dark-horse-presents-4

[rainspirit]

I love Beasts of Burden, but it breaks my heart every goddamn time that I read it.

Anyone remember the ending to the issue involving the lake full of ghost puppies? :(

[sherkahn]

Oh yeah, those last few pages made my soul ache.

[northstarfan]

Goddamn. Thompson and Dorkin just keep hitting these out of the park -- the only thing that makes a Beasts of Burden story look less than glorious is when it's being compared to other Beasts of Burden stories.

[tacobob]

I'd practically begged my funny-book reading friends to pick these books up. They see funny animals. I see awesome art, great stories and wonderful characters. Sigh.

Wonder how the movie is doing..

[pallas_athena]

I love that the ghost sheep are calm and rational. Talking sheep in literature are so often stereotyped as dumb. It is not fair to sheep-kind.

[blackruzsa]

The sheep I know of are sweet and wise. Then again, I know of Babe.

[icon_uk]

Ummm, can't really agree with that. If anything literature tends to be kind to the walking lambchops.

Veterinarian relatives confirm that, in reality, individual sheep are dim but collectively sheep are stupid, and dangerously so.

[blackruzsa]

So cute and swee--OHMYGODNIGHTMAREFUELNIGHTMAREFUEL
): So sad. And yet you can feel the contentment.

[outlawpoet]

Beasts of Burden is the most hardcore modern fantasy comic series I've ever read. Its clever disguise as a light talking animals story only serves to underscore the epic and dark elements it has.

The magic zombie sewer rats Orphan and the Getaway Kid fight to save the witch kitty is one of the scariest sequences I've seen in comics since early Hellboy. Blood and fire. And when Orphan and his new girl make it to the surface, safe under the moon after terrible trials, we see in the distance watching over them, the Getaway Kid, covered in blood, happy to see they made it too. How did he make it out? No explanation. He's the motherfucking Getaway Kid. It's what he DOES.

Evan Dorkin just takes these suburban locales and infuses them with a tremendous sense of gravity. You really sense a dog's loyalty, a cat's pride. Legendary wise dogs, cats who can escape from anything, the bond of a pet and it's master.

[v_various]

why do I read Beast of Burden posts when I'm at work, so stupid
NO I'M NOT CRYING THERE IS SOMETHING IN MY EYE YES BOTH OF THEM.