The alternative is using a big flashback to get a new cast and location, while still getting the benefit of starting off with all of the characters your audience already knows. That happens, too. I just read one of those, actually.
Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory is the fourth collection of "Beasts of Burden" stories, all set in a mildly Lovecraftian world with animals that talk to each other (and to a few magical humans), some of whom actively battle those mildly Lovecraftian horrors when required. The animals - with a heavy emphasis on domesticated dogs, though some other domestic breeds do come in, here and there - are the heroes, with humans in support roles at best.
The original Beasts of Burden series, from the late Aughts, is available under the title Animal Rites. The second big series, about a decade later, was Wise Dogs and Eldrich Men. And the inevitable collection of one-shots and anthology stories and crossovers - all of the stuff that filled up that decade between the big stories, and then some - is Neighborhood Watch.
The series was created by Evan Dorkin (writer) and Jill Thompson (artist). Benjamin Dewey took over the art side for Wise Dogs, and has been the main artist since then. Sarah Dyer has been co-writer since a couple of the last stories in Neighborhood Watch, and here as well. Letters in the Dewey era have been by Nate Piekos, and Jason Lusk is credited on this book for "flats," which is some aspect of the coloring-to-printing process that I've seen described multiple times but never quite retain.
Occupied Territory was a miniseries from 2021, with the classic "hey, who's that other guy in this old photo?" frame story, allowing series character Emrys to tell the story of how he and his then-human partner Jonathan went to Northern Japan in 1947. [1] Emrys is supposedly telling the story, but his narration boxes disappear quickly, and the frame is just at the very beginning and end - it's not the kind of story that drops back out to the frame for interjections or for each issue. Just one simple "let me tell you the story," and then the story.
As you might guess, this is the "all the cool stuff from Japanese mythology" story, which many supernatural series in various media have fallen into before. It's a bit of a one-damn-thing-after-another story; it does all hang together, but the plotline is mostly held together by "and then we ran over there to fight an Oni, and then we met the local dogs, and then the local dogs summoned the Parliament of Friendly Yokai [2], but they were no help, so we all ran over there to fight something else, and then...". As with most of the Beasts of Burden stories, the humans get left behind quickly so the dogs can do all the fun stuff in the woods.
I have trouble taking these stories seriously: these are stories about dogs barking magic spells at monsters to save the world. They're fun, don't get me wrong: good characterization, spiffy dialogue, and a lovely world that Dewey depicts in gorgeous immersive panels. But I always need to call in extra-heavy ropes to suspend my disbelief, and keep pulling on them throughout the story to keep that disbelief from sinking down to the floor.
I wouldn't start the series here: it's a sidebar at best. But it's another solid story of the same kind as the earlier stories, and - especially for animal lovers - an enjoyable light battling-supernatural-horrors romp.
[1] The heroes of this series are exceptionally long-lived, especially for dogs. I don't think we've seen exactly how long they can live, since lives of danger more often end in the field.
[2] Not called this. But it's what they are.
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