The year is 1804, and you are part of a ragtag team made of up of expendable soldiers and hardened criminals your one goal is to explore the uncharted American Frontier. The crew is led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who have a hidden agenda that only they know. If you would like to join this team then you should read the action, adventure graphic novel series “Manifest Destiny”. This is a Skybound series which was published by Image Comics and created by Chris Dinges, Matthew Roberts, and Owen Gieni. There are five collector books which include six issues in them, and there are 31 paper issues out.
The title “Manifest Destiny” is a play-off the 19th-century doctrine and belief that the American people had the right and were destined to expand across the continent. On the surface that is what the story is about but as the crew starts to explore the wilds of America they run into unexpected beasts. On their journey, they encounter many giant arks which are made out of different materials and have different monsters that live around them. The first ark they encounter brings minotaur-like creatures and a highly infectious fungus that takes control of animals and people into plant zombies. With every arch brings more and more challenges. They have to deal not just the beasts but the crew members themselves as they become detoured from the mission. So Lewis and Clark must fight against the unknown, their sanity and keep their crew at bay to avoid an uprising.
I had this series recommended to me by one of the workers at the comic book store and am extremely happy I picked it up. The writing is well done and keeps the readers interested. It keeps me coming back to try and figure out what exactly their mission is and to see what sort of challenges they will face going on. The illustration is great; it is very detailed and pleasing to look at. Both the style and story remind me of a series called “Black Science”. That series is about a group of scientists who have discovered inter-dimensional travel and are struggling to return to their original dimension but that’s a review for another day.
“Manifest Destiny” is another one of my favorite series that I have discovered. I give this graphic novel a 9/10. I highly recommend that you read this series because it is a journey you’ll never forget.
