With the wide range of characters you would think it would be difficult to build each one their own personalities and roles but I find that each one gets more and more deveiled the more this series goes on. In a way it is a great tactic to keep a reader coming back, but at the same time it makes it feels as though you are reading chapters in a novel because how often do those end on a high note to keep you turning pages?! You would think that after nine issues of a cliffhanger or big reveal at the end of every issue the effect would be diminished, but it has now become the part I look forward to most. I find this story to be simply a fun thrill ride there’s action and adventure, discovery and a certain amount of horror and gore on some levels that make this a pretty all-around great read. I think I gushed enough over Matthew Roberts earlier so allow me to elaborate a little on my affinity for Chris Dingess’ work on this series.

We begin to see some more character development in Sacajawea and York as he attempts to keep watch over her. Meanwhile on land the crew are still managing to collect and send over samples of the wildlife to Lewis on the boat. Lewis appears to have come up with a plan to remove the threat, and bolster his credit with the crew, yet his attempts continue to fail. Lewis is on the boat, trying to find a way to remove the threat of the Ranidea, the large frog-like creature lurking below the water, and Clark is on land struggling to keep his men in line. In this latest issue we find our crew still in the same predicament as before half of the crew is stranded on land and the other half still stuck on the boat. If you’re not reading this book or even just buying it to flip through the pages for the art alone then you are doing yourself a disservice and missing out on witnessing the kind of magic that can happen when two great creators get together. I don’t believe a better pair of creators could have been placed together on this series. Roberts’ has taken Chris Dingess’ story and brought it to life flawlessly. Not only is the breadth of characters large but the creatures he designs – which in most cases is a new one every issue – are incredible, and they are like nothing you’ve ever seen before. I’ve said it before and it really must be said again, the visual story telling in this series is absolutely outstanding! Matthew Roberts’ ability to have a cast of so many characters and still give each it’s own personality and visual presence is a true testament to his craftsmanship.

Manifest Destiny #9 by Chris Dingess