Return To The Corps Of Discovery In Manifest Destiny #37
by Tony Thornley
After over a year away, Skybound and Image Comics’ ultimate weird western returns with Manifest Destiny #37. Following Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, the crew was at their lowest when we last saw them. As spring breaks, what danger will the Corps face now?
Chris Dingess, Matthew Roberts, Owen Gieni, and Pat Brosseau reunite as the Corps face an interesting new enemy.
Spring breaks, and the Corps of Discovery is determined to put their allies’ mutiny and betrayal behind them. They embark back onto their mission, travelling through perils both mundane and fantastic. However, when they discover yet another arch, they’re not prepared for how different this encounter will be…
The first issue of each new arc of this series is somewhat formulaic, however Dingess uses the events of the last arc and how it affected its characters to keep the story fresh and engaging. Lewis’s journals are always a delight to read for the narration- especially with how Brosseau seemingly hand-letters them- and in this case the journal builds tension towards the inevitable threat they are headed towards. I really enjoy what the threat is when the Corps finally meets it- instead of a supernatural or demonic threat, this time it’s simply an animal (gigantic and grotesque, but an animal), or so it seems…
Roberts and Gieni’s work in their series is extremely underrated. The characters are full of personality, with so much relayed by just a glance between two people, or a glare into the horizon. Dingess relies on Roberts to tell so much story in these early issues of each arc, and it pays off. Gieni’s colors are full of earthy, natural tones which feels authentic, and aged, without using artificial tricks like sepia toned pages to accomplish his goals.
This series might be flying under your radar, but it’s worth checking out. It remains a razor sharp horror adventure and one of the most consistently good reads Image Comics and Skybound publishes.
Manifest Destiny #37 is available now from Image Comics/ Skybound Entertainment.
