Sunday, June 22, 2014

Manifest Destiny, Vol. 1

Manifest Destiny, Vol. 1

'Manifest Destiny, Vol. 1' plays out like the very best kind of alternate history. Even though it's a classics meets monsters mashup, and those have seemingly been done to death, it's fresh and original here.

In 1804 when Lewis and Clark set out to explore the Louisiana Purchase, it was a daunting and dangerous task. There was a lot of unknown territory and there was wild speculation of what they might run into. There were talks that they might find herds of wooly mammoths and who knew what else. In this comic book series, that is sort of exactly what they find. The main story deals with a plant based virus that is turning everything into a zombie carrier. There are also some strange menacing creatures to deal with. Along with that, there is possible mutiny among the convicts that have been sent along on the trip. There are endless samples to collect and document (and humor about what to name something no one has ever seen before). Sacajawea even shows up a couple times to save the day.

Chris Dingess has written a brilliant series here. Acknowledging events from the actual journey and giving a taste of how hard the trip is with, then adding in strange encounters. Art by Matthew Roberts is really good. I can't wait to see where this series goes next.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this great graphic novel.

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