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Published by: Image Comics / Skybound
Released on: July 16, 2014
Writer: Chris Dingess
Artist: Matthew Roberts
Cover: Matthew Roberts
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After their boat gets stuck on a mysterious underwater arch (covered in not-so-mysterious eggs), and a frog monster makes its presence known, Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea, and the crew now have two things with which to contend. But, first things first and that's getting away from that giant frog monster. Insignificant people die, and a couple of people seem to be making more of a contribution to the story and that's Hardy Miss Lebraun. There seems to be some sweet love in the future with those two. Or maybe it won't be so sweet for the young lady…
Back on the boat, Lewis decides to assign a name to this frog thing, “ranideaâ€, which seems to placate those on shore, at least having something to call it. Clark and his crew are on shore, and cannot get back to the boat, as proven beyond a doubt by the young man Corporal Shaw. In a less-than-efficient manner Shaw (bravely?) confirms the ranidea is still in the water between the shore and the stuck boat , and so they are forced to camp the night on the beach. With no way to join the two teams back together, they have to ride it out for a bit until they can come up with a solution to the ranidea issue before addressing the ship and the arch.
Per usual, the creative team pumped out another issue that is both visually and verbally satisfying. Dingess writes fluent dialogue and keeps things moving at a pace that doesn't get frantic, yet stays away from being tedious. The artwork of Matthew Roberts and the coloring by Owen Gieni has a more classic comic art feel, shying away from big single panel or double page single illustrations (which always seems to be little more than padding a story). Pages with multiple panels make for better reading, and a feeling of more value for your buck. Roberts' splash pages have panels overlaying the large image, which in the age of a 22-page book being filled with 3 or 4 of such splash pages (i.e The Walking Dead), that a welcome thing. The coloring stays clear of the intense computerized look but still maintains depth. Not that the books with intense color are a bad thing, but the look of Manifest Destiny takes a different path, keeping things vibrant but more realistic.
This comic continues to be one to look forward to month after month. There is always a great cliff-hanger at the end of the books, and this issue reveals yet again something horrific that the explorers will have to deal with.
