A dark turn for Mullins!
Creative Staff:
Story: Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer
Art: Benjamin Dewey
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
What They Say:
After bumping into an army of badass Shiba Inus; Emrys and his team of canine companions come face-to-face with a vicious red Oni demon ready for a bowser battle!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Though I missed out on the original work when it began, 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. A lot of this is due to Dewey’s artwork style but also the way that as you read this, if you do it out loud, you’re given a lot of creative opportunity to entice and enchant others with it if you’re got a little talent.
With this installment, things start off bleak for Mullins and Emrys not only because of the other Wise Dogs that have shown up but the oni that they’re facing off against as well. Luckily for them, it’s only the Oni they have to fear and the other two local dogs, Makoto and Yuna, are able to use their skills to fend off the creature testing the boundaries of the treaty. It turns out that these dogs aren’t Wise Dogs per se but are the same thing just on this local level and not connected to the larger group. They’re still similar enough and a little information sharing between the four goes a long way, though it’s mostly Mullins excitedly telling them about everything while Emrys continues to recover after facing so many things, including the spider ladies. It’s good to see that they opt to work together without too much struggle with each other, or distrust.
The reality is that Emrys and Mullins are very out of their element and need their help in a big way. What helps the most is that they try to connect with the local council, which is made up of an array of yokai that may know more of what’s going on. The reality is that there does seem to be a curse in the area but none of the yokai have any interest in getting involved since it involves men and they have no loyalty to mankind. It’s a really nicely laid out sequence and those like myself who have read many manga or anime show that has involved yokai will appreciate how well treated the whole thing is, making it a lot more enjoyable because of its accuracy. All of it serves to show more of how things are different here in Japan and just how different the stakes are because of the things involved in it.
In Summary:
Beasts of Burden moves us through a lot of discovery here and some decent action, which doesn’t work well for Mullins toward the end, leaving me hopeful that it’ll find a way to work out because I like the little guy. I’m always wary of a book that dips into Japanese folklore and the like because we’ve seen such basic and casual understanding of it before, but the team here gets it pretty well and with a lot of interesting details that help to make it stand out all the more. I’m excited to see more of this storyline and how deep the mystery goes and how far Emrys will have to go in order to make things right as much as he can.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 2nd, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
