Last time around in Manifest Destiny, Lewis, Clark and friends had dealt with a minotaur buffalo creature, plant zombies, and a plant god. They didn’t cover those in the history books, now did they? What new surprises await them in this issue? Is it good?
Manifest Destiny #7 (Image Comics)
The Lewis and Clark expedition continues on its merry way, still pretty shocked and phased from everything that has happened to them. Shock and awe are two reactions sure to remain high on the list as more and more unusual things appear, like a gigantic ladybug, for instance. However, one of the survivors of La Charrette, Madame Boniface, has discovered the secret journal that Lewis and Clark have been keeping about their real mission…
I’m telling you guys, this ladybug would look awesome on the mantel back home.
When I first read this issue, I wasn’t exactly sure what to feel. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t excite me either. However, the more I thought about it and analyzed it, the more I realized it’s much better than I initially thought. This is a solid start for this new arc and is already showing improvement in an area that I really wanted to see improvement: the characters. We are starting to get some real good characterization and backstory for Lewis and Clark, especially during their secret meeting, and we may be witnessing the rise of a new character to “main character” status as well. I’m honestly excited and happy with this turn of events.
As for why this issue didn’t click right away: it was a bit uneventful in comparison to the past few issues. Not much went on outside of the character work and the neat ending — it was just quieter and slower in parts. It’s good for a story to slow down after all that intensity, but it normally doesn’t happen until a little bit later in the arc. Despite that, Chris Dingess’ writing is good here. The pacing is good, things are still very intriguing and exciting in terms of unpredictability, the dialogue and narration is fine (though that unneeded and outplace sexual humor still doesn’t fit the book at all), and again, the ending is really good and gets you pumped for the next issue. Not very eventful, but the writing is still solid through and through here.
Just a little awkward and out of place in this serious comic.
The artwork is great like usual, but that is to be expected. The characters look great, the layouts are very nice looking and easy to follow, mood and tension is captured well in various scenes, and the designs of the creatures are nice and detailed. My only gripe is that the artists (Matthew Roberts and Owen Gieni) weren’t given more action to further put their talents on display.
Is It Good?
Manifest Destiny #7 is a great return for the series, making improvements in areas that needed them. Story-wise, not much really happened and it wasn’t the most exciting start to a new story arc, but the writing and artwork remain very strong and can make up for that. Definitely worth your reading time and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us and the characters next.
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