Hellboy/Beasts of Burden: Sacrifice #1

Written by Evan Dorkin (with Mike Mignola)
Art by Jill Thompson

The Beasts of Burden was one of the coolest and creepiest mini-series of the last year.  Now Dorkin and Thompson have returned to the mystically-plagued town of Burden, and they've brought Mike Mignola's Hellboy into the mix.

This is very much a Beasts comic, with Hellboy guest-starring.  He finds himself lured into the woods by a dog, where he meets our usual gang of heroes, who are once again faced with a problem.  As things play out, it becomes apparent that they are dealing with the same evil character that they faced in the last issue of their mini-series, as he tries once again to get resurrected.

There is the usual blend of humor and action that I like in this series, with some minimal character development tossed in for good measure (in other words, Pug actually does something for a change).  They never quite explain why Hellboy can speak to the dogs, and he doesn't seem terribly impressed by being able to understand them, which is odd.  There is a very cool tie-in at the end of the comic to another of Mignola's characters, and of course, the book is gorgeous.