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Published by: Image Comics / Skybound
Released on: Feb. 12, 2013
Writer: Chris Dingess
Artist: Matthew Roberts
Cover: Matthew Roberts
Having found the small outpost of LaCharette to be nearly deserted of humans, Lewis, Clark and their crew dealt with the sick and diseased flora-zombie things in a way involving fire. The young Indian girl they were supposed to meet did not show; the French lady wants the infected member of the explorers' party to be killed off before he starts turning into a plant and ripping apart the other party members; the buffalo-headed centaur things they are hiding from are still out there waiting to kill them. Things are a bit bleak.
On the way out to face the buffalo-beasts, up walks a Frenchman by the name of Toussaint Charbonneau, and in tow is a horse, an Indian girl, and one humanoid buffalo head. It was seem this small Indian, Sacagawea to be precise, dispatched the whole group of monsters for them before coming to the gates of the colony. She's pregnant and Charbonneau is the proud pappy.
Floyd, the guy infected, starts to go nuts and attacks a comrade while they share a piss together. Clark deems that an offense punishable by 20 lashes, but a few into the work and Floyd shows his true colors. Those colors are green and the green is gooey. Seems they'll need to take care of his new found form quickly, but that's a story for another time (as in next issue).
Dingess and Roberts continue to impress with their tale of supernatural hunters exploring the vast lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase at the turn of the 19th Century. The introduction of Sacagawea will no doubt bring an interesting dynamic to the story, and the throwing historical accuracies out the window succeeds in keeping the reader guessing as to what is coming next. Sacagawea is pregnant for a reason (other than nature) and this reader is looking forward to finding out what direction that will go.
Attractive artwork (with help from colorist Owen Gieni) and a story involving monsters of many types make for a comic book worth checking out. Issue four lacks the violence so prevalent in the issues before it, but there has to be a lull in the storm at some point. If you haven't given Manifest Destiny a go yet, you really should. It's just getting geared up and manages to maintain a high level of entertainment throughout.
