Dark Horse Comics has announced the release of Beasts Of Burden: Neighborhood Watch, a one-shot collecting three short short stories by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, and we have an exclusive look at Thompson’s cover, which you can view here below.

The Eisner Award-winning team bring back some of their most beloved characters in this one-shot, which features the gang of neighborhood pets battling a chicken-stealing goblin, a basilisk, and helping a strange, lost heard of sheep find their way. As usual with Beasts Of Burden, things don’t go so easily. The stories can be fun, humorous, and heartwarming as much as they can be twisted, frightening, and heart-breaking. All these reasons are why I love this comic and this cast of characters. If you haven’t checked out Beasts Of Burden: Animal Rites, it won’t be a necessity to follow the events of Neighborhood Watch, which was originally released in Dark Horse Presents, although I highly recommend it if you enjoy good comics.

Jill Thompson’s watercoloring is as beautiful as always on this new cover, which showcases our furry heroes with a nod to the impending doom that lies ahead, capturing the essence of Beasts Of Burden entirely. I’m incredibly excited about this one-shot, and I hope we’ll see more from this creative team in the very near future.

Beasts Of Burden: Neighborhood Watch is scheduled for release on August 1, 2012 for $3.50.

Cover by Jill Thompson

[Cover courtesy of Dark Horse.]