Further into the bad place.
Creative Staff:
Story: Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer
Art: Benjamin Dewey
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
What They Say:
After a horrific attack from an army of crawling, disembodied heads threatening Japan; Emrys and his team of canine companions pick up a scent that leads them to bizarre shape-shifting tanuki, a cannibal witch, and a pack of badass Shiba Inus.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Reconnecting with this property in the previous installment was welcome as I’ve really enjoyed Beasts of Burden from Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Benjamin Dewey over the last few years. There’s just something about the property that in a way separates it from comics for me where it’s more that it’s a series of fables told to children that are really well-detailed because the adults behind it wanted it to delight those who were reading it to their kids as well. It’s not a book that you can skim through as it’s very detailed in both writing and artwork so that you linger on the details and follow every word that’s critical to explaining what’s going on.
With Emrys having brought on Mullins to help out, it’s been amusing to watch as Mullins is exposed to so much more than he realized was in the world. And he wasn’t exactly a sheltered dog to begin with. But what can you say when you’re being attacked by undead heads with tentacles that are all over you. Emrys is certainly capable but the trending theme in this issue is showing how Mullins can be very distracting with all of his panicking, which is not unexpected. But it’s also doing all that to set up things for Mullins to step up when Emrys is down for the count, which is what we get at one point in this installment since Emrys is overdoing it with his use of magic to get them further into things and discovering what’s going on out in these woods.
What we discover going into these woods is certainly fun as there are all sorts of very Japanese things out there. There are almost like waypoints where Emrys and Mullin are told to go back as we see a kappa, a nine-tails, and other things like tengu. But there’s also the woman feasting on the bodies of men – though she’s not responsible for the heads while being aware of them. It’s intriguing in setting up how the world works and how unfamiliar our leading dogs are with all of it since they’re not from here. But they push on because they have to find out if it’s a disease or a curse that’s going on here and if it can be stopped so as to ensure that others are safe. The dynamic between the two is what’s a lot of fun as Mullins is being brought into this larger world when Emrys can’t really explain a whole lot of what’s going on.
In Summary:
Beasts of Burden is a fantastic property in general and what we get here in this series is turning into a really enjoyable side story. There’s a whole world of mythology to build out there for it and doing something like this is really great to have. I like the smaller focus with just Emrys and Mullins as the last series I read was really overstuffed with characters and this one is delving into some fun Japanese things as well. This is a really solid installment that moves us further into the storyline and brings some new things to it. I’m excited for what’s next.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 5th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
