Strand staffer Colin and his pick

Welcome to our newish weekly column, Staff Picks, in which we ask the staffers at our favorite book, music, and movie stores around to town to share with us what they're reading, listening to, and watching this week. We figure they're good people to ask. Last week we talked to Adam Sypnier at Videology, and this week we head to Strand, home of "18 Miles of Books!" to talk to staffer Colin M. about what he's been dog-earing lately.

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites, by Evan Dorkin

Colin says: "Paranormal investigators seem to come in all shapes and sizes, from Carnacki the Ghost-finder to Hellboy, and Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites adds a new pack to this eccentric mix. The book tells the story of a pack of neighborhood dogs and one stray cat who have just gotten wrapped up in Burden Hill's dark and spooky troubles.

The first thing you're going to notice when you pick up this book is that it's absolutely gorgeous. Jill Thompson, veteran artist from legendary comics like The Sandman and The Invisibles along with a number of children's' books, renders the whole of this book in beautiful watercolor paintings. The scenery is vivid and lush, and the main characters come alive with expressions that you'll probably recognize from your own pets.

Evan Dorkin is no slouch on the writing, either. He writes the personalities of these dogs and cats as something you can't mistake for anything but the personalities of domestic dogs and cats. All this, in some great pulp-style yarns about the supernatural. This was my favorite comic read of the last year. So much so, that it's amongst the top of my list of 'books to get people to start reading comics.'"

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites is available at Strand here.