SPOILERS: Review: Manifest Destiny # 1

MANIFEST DESTINY #1

Written by Chris Dingess

Art by Matthew Roberts

Published by Image Comics (November 13, 2013)

Manifest Destiny is a fantasy retelling of the Lewis and Clark Expedition into the American West. Writer Chris Dingess springboards his story off of an actual historic oddity: President Thomas Jefferson believed that a real possibility existed that Lewis and Clark would come across prehistoric beasts and lost tribes of mythological people. Sadly, that proved not to be the case; the expedition merely encountered countless aboriginal tribes, all of whom were informed they were now American citizens to be ruled by the Great Father in Washington DC.

But in Dingess’ alternative tale, monsters do indeed exist in the dark unexplored reaches of the newly purchased American West. We quickly discover that the true purpose of the Lewis and Clark expedition is not so much to explore the Louisiana Purchase, as much as it is to seek out and remove supernatural creatures from land soon to be occupied by settlers.

It’s a great idea and, for the most part, Dingess succeeds in telling the story. The first issue does a fine job of introducing the reader to Lewis, Clark, and several other members of the expedition. Dingess provides enough historical backstory to provide needed context for the reader, but doesn’t weigh the story down with too much fact. This is a fantasy adventure, after all. But Dingess does take one misstep in an otherwise excellent script: he tries to do much. In the first issue we meet nearly a half dozen characters, including a crew which almost at each others’throats (soldiers and volunteers on one side and convict laborers on the other); given background on the mythology of the series (Lewis and Clark: Monster Hunters); introduced to a mysterious otherworldly location; and, in the final moments, watch as the expedition fight off a monster attack.

It’s all good stuff but a little too much. The introduction of the villainous character of Jensen feels awkward and a bit too on the nose. In all honesty, the few panels shown during Lewis’ diary entry early in the issue (which hint at the distrust between the crew and the arrogant nature of Jensen) should have sufficed for issue one. This would have freed up page space for world building and introducing the readers to the mythology, while allowing issue two to expand on the rift between the characters. As it is now, the issue feels rushed, as if Dingess is skipping hurriedly across a pond of wonderful ideas and concepts while the reader is left saying, “Hey, wait! Slow down. This is cool!!” I mean, I love character development as much as the next literature buff, but let’s be honest: people aren’t going to buy the next issue based on how bad Jensen is. They’re going to pick up the next issue because of the freaking monster that attacked the group in the last couple pages.

Matthew Roberts’ art is very good. His style, which seems a mixture of modern realistic and old school “big foot”, is a great fit for a historical book which often careens into fantasy. This is my first exposure to Roberts and I came away very impressed.

All in all, Manifest Destiny is a fun read and has the potential to be a great series. Dingess has some intriguing ideas, Roberts’ art is great, and together, they've put together a book that’s pretty damn cool.


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