Although you may feel a bit out of place if you’ve never read the series before, “Beast of Burden Hunters & Gatherers” does exactly what any good one-shot should do, it makes you want more.
Powered by a fun, but cool story and art that you wouldn’t expect in a comic book, the one-shot is a quick, but entertaining read that’ll hypnotize you into taking a deeper look at the series.
Writer Evan Dorkin’s world may appear to be cute and fuzzy on the outside, but the dogs and cats in this story are serious creatures. Focused on protecting mankind from threats they can’t even begin to understand, the animals are equally as intelligent as they are courageous. Their banter back and forth is also engaging, which adds another layer of depth to the book. Even though the comic is a short one, we definitely get the idea that each character has a story and a purpose. Everything in this world fits well and is a clear indication of Dorkin’s attention to detail.
Artist Jill Thompson’s contribution to the book cannot be underestimated either. Her art feels borrowed from those old Disney children’s book from the ’80s- you know, the small ones with the gold trim on the sides. Colorful and full of beautiful description, Thompson pays so much attention to these characters’ faces that it’s almost impossible to not get reeled in by the story.
Either one of these elements, Dorkin’s script or Thompson’s art could have made the book a decent one, but together, it makes “Beast of Burden Hunters & Gatherers” the type of read that could be the beginning of a love affair with the series.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
Although you may feel a bit out of place if you’ve never read the series before, “Beast of Burden Hunters & Gatherers” does exactly what any good one-shot should do, it makes you want more.
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