Beasts of Burden Omnibus

Beasts of Burden #1-4

by Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson (illustrator), Benjamin Dewey (illustrator)

This eight-time Eisner Award-winning comic book series blending fantasy, horror, and humor features the adventures of paranormal pets investigating the horrors of Burden Hill.

When supernatural events threaten the quiet suburb of Burden Hill, it's up to a determined group of ordinary dogs and cats to defend their home from demonic frogs, zombie roadkill and a rat cabal led by a dead mystic with an insatiable appetite for blood. This edition collects all four volumes of the eight-time Eisner award-winning horror fantasy series, including both Wise Dog adventure tie-in stories and a special guest appearance by Hellboy! 

Award-winning comics creators Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese), Jill Thompson (The Sandman), and Ben Dewey (The Autumnlands) come together to share the lives of some unlikely heroes.

This volume collects the comic-book series Beasts of Animal Rites, Occupied Territory, Neighborhood Watch, and Wise Dogs and Eldrich Men, published by Dark Horse Comics.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

592 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2025

About the author

Evan Dorkin is an American comics artist and writer.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got through this very quick considering the size of this, enjoyed this a lot! This was a collection of short horror stories (longer as the book went on) that followed a group of dogs dealing with supernatural forces in their home town. What was here was really good and had a good time with the stories and wonderful art. It felt like they never got to finish this however so unless another book is released it’s a shame but a very good book nonetheless.

[Latisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paranormal horror and wise doggies? What else could a girl want in a comic anthology? Absolutely fantastic! 😍

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evan Dorkin's Beasts of Burden Omnibus collects all the stories and mini-series featuring the Wise Dogs Society TO DATE (which is still more than 500 pages of content, but I say "to date" because dark omens presage more), a book that plays at once like a beautifully illustrated children's book and a dark and gory horror comic (though Dorkin's trademark humor still shines through). Underneath the quiet suburb of Burden Hill are things that Man was not meant to know, see, but dogs (and cats and other animals) definitely do. And so they fight evil. Jill Thompson (who does most of the art) understands animal behavior and produces wonderful watercolors for the series, and we miss her when the baton is passed to Benjamin Dewey, although he proves up to snuff (perhaps especially because his chapters delve deep into the lore and use a different cast of canines). There's even a Hellboy team-up in there, completists! Animal lovers will find their due, but tender hearts may be shocked by the amount of graphic violence. I would say it's that contrast that makes Beasts of Burden the success it is. The Omnibus includes artists' notes, sketches, thumbnails and all the cover art.

[Storm Bookwyrm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most stories seem to get better when you tell them with animals. Medieval adventures? Better with mice! How about occult investigations and spooky paranormal shenanigans? Better with backyard pets!

Beasts of Burden tells the story, in short, anthology form of standalone-yet-connected-adventures, of a group of pets in your typical (or maybe not so typical) suburban neighborhood. Yet, these dogs are being tutored by the 'wise dogs', dogs who know about stuff like ghosts and goblins and all other kinds of paranormal nasties. Joining the dogs are also some cats, and the occasional encounter with a person who is capable of crossing the animal/human language barrier. It's horrifying, and charming all at once, and the artwork is top-notch.

I, being an rpg nerd, am almost inspired to want to run a Call of Cthulhu game akin to BoB, where the players have to be animals. For the first chunk of stories, with the amateur pets, it's classic Call of Cthulhu all the way, but when you get to the senior wise-dogs and their spell-slinging adventures, that's clearly two-fisted Pulp Call of Cthulhu.

[Zumie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pack of dogs (and cat) investigate supernatural happenings from both their world and the human world.

I've been wanting to read this for a WHILE so I was pumped when I saw the omnibus was being released. It did not disappoint.

On top of the art being top notch, all of the characters are awesome, the horror is creepy to sadistic, Hellboy shows up and while he DOESNT adopt them all he does get to pet and hold them and that was good. I was worried it would do stupid dogs vs cats and it greatly avoided that with the Orphan as well as *spoiler*.

Probably my one complaint is there is continuous build up to the Voice and a grave situation in Burden Hill, and that... does not get resolved. The the last chunk of the book actually moves into flashback, so it felt really incomplete for that. Unsure if they're planning to continue it/finish it hopefully? I was hoping maybe there was just more out there that wasn't included, but nothing that I see...

Also, this does have animal/pet death in it. It's not salacious or imo too graphic, but if that's a no-deal for you, just a warning.

[Jake Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely criminal this doesn't have more reviews. This series is amazing! I was surprised and delighted by these characters and their stories. I confess I expected a comic about animals to pull some of its punches, but Beasts of Burden does not shy away from shocking gore and gut-wrenching sadness when both are called for.
There is a great mix of humour and severity here that I appreciated, and if ever there are more comics featuring these wise dogs (and cats) I will be one of the first to grab them!

[G. Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning work of horror adventure, Beasts of Burden takes adventure horror and applies it to the pets that populate our lives. It will grab good of your heartstrings and rip them out of you in ways you aren't prepared for, and make you cry tears of joy and sadness as you get hot with horror stories from the lives of our favorite furry friends. Highly recommend so long as you can handle watching animals in danger.

[The Smoog · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best comics I’ve read in a long, long time. By turns suspenseful, heartbreaking, chilling, and touching, it’s a fantastic supernatural story, just with animals instead of people. The characters are all well fleshed out, the stories excellently plotted, and the entire run is a delight to read. I really hope they make more of these, as I don’t think I’m ready to say goodbye to the Beasts of Burden yet!

[Scrumb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grabbed this at release because I really like Evan Dorkin and wasn't disappointed. Beautiful painterly artwork throughout and occasionally way more gruesome in it's horror than I would have expected. Does sort of feel like it is building to something it never really arrives at, the stories end up being pretty much exclusively episodic but that's alright.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fun, dark stories in here. Great art and paintings.
I dont think I would resd the stories again but I enjoyed them when I read them.

[Kaine Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My one line review:

A horror anthology about a bunch of spell casting pets that fight off demons and shit... honestly, what else does one need from a comic series!!!

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

some truly top tier artwork and a story that starts off incredibly strong as a mystery noir (with animals), but by the end meanders a bit too much into generic superpower nonsense (with animals).

[Mothlight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need more ghost dog adventures

Very pleasantly surprised by the shibas at the end!! My fav breed