about the book
From the Diary of Captain Meriwether Lewis. 23 May 1804. Two days to La Charette. Mild current. Continuing to carry out the public aspect of our mission. Nothing unusual spotted.
In this alternate universe, Lewis and Clark are tasked by President Jefferson to do quite a bit more than just explore for a route to the Pacific Ocean through the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. Their true mission is to hunt out and eliminate all the monsters that stand in the way of the expansion of the United States—the nation’s true Manifest Destiny!
Monsters right here in America! The President says they are real, so Lewis is keeping two journals. His public account will go to Congress to document their “official mission”. This secret journal will inform President Jefferson on what they really find.
Leaving St. Louis Missouri, they and their battalion of military men and recruited convicts blaze a trail in the uncharted land. That’s right—convicts. They think they are getting a chance at a reprieve, but are really there for another reason. They are expendable and will never make it back to Missouri! And Sacagawea is not just a guide. She has talents and a half-breed baby that you’ll never read about in any history book!
Days, weeks, months pass…and with no sight of any type of monster, Lewis ponders the President’s sanity. Finally, they spot the most amazing thing—a huge, ancient arch, covered in moss and rune writings. But what they catch sight of next will knock your socks off—centaur-like creatures, half human, half bison!
The adventure begins…and it’s not gonna be pretty.
about the author
Chris Dingess is a television scriptwriter, story editor, executive consultant, and producer. His work is on the humorous sci-fi side. It includes Medium, Ed, Reaper, Eastwick, Chaos, and Being Human. He is currently the executive producer of the new Agent Carter television series.
Chris was born on February 17, 1974, in Alexandria, Virginia. While growing up in Accokeek, Maryland, his parents became the guardian of a kid who had a talent for sketching comic characters. Chris already had a thing for comics, so the kid’s influence really tweaked his interests. Chris was just as fascinated with the dark creepy tales as with the goofy stories.
Hanging out with friends one day, Chris went on a tirade on how current writers were ripping off historical accounts by just adding monsters. At the end of his rant, he said something like, “I could just add some monsters to the Lewis and Clark Expedition account” and Wham! It dawned on him that he could do just that! Already a success in his entertainment industry career, he started writing his first comic book series, Manifest Destiny, and it became a big success. So far he has done sixteen issues.
Chris found a creative challenge in merging the historical with the comic elements and still keeping it all current. To find inspiration for his monsters, he fell back on his memories of the Swamp Thing and Creepshow. Will Sasquatch show up in future novels? You’ll just have to read them to find out.
Sources:
Author profile : IMDB
Author interview : Flickering Myth
Author interview : The Frog Queen
Also by Chris Dingess:
Manifest Destiny : 2 : Amphibia & Insecta. Image Comics. 2015.
about the illustrator
Matthew Roberts is a newbie in the comic illustration industry, but so far, he has made an impressive start. He has worked on issues of the Walking Dead and Battle Pulp, but what is really getting people to sit up and take notice are his illustrations in the sixteen (so far) issues of the Manifest Destiny comic and the subsequent graphic novels.
Claiming not to be the quickest draw in the world, he says the on-going project is keeping him pretty busy. He started drawing Manifest Destiny in 2013, and he says plans for future issues are pretty exciting.
Matthew did a lot of research for the project, because he wanted the clothing, weapons, expedition equipment, and the look to be just right. His illustrations are vivid and action packed. Sometimes author Chris Dingess gives him pretty specific looks to go for, but other times Matthew is on his own. He has more than thirty characters to keep track of, so that presents a big challenge.
Of course the most fun are the monsters…and the flintlocks firing…and the autopsies…and kick-ass Sacajawea…and the really gross stuff that is coming soon. Really, it is going to be the most disgusting thing ever! Just something to look forward to!
Matthew lives and works in Rochester, New York.
Sources:
Illustrator website
Comic profile : Mental Floss
Illustrator interview : Creative Loafing
Also Illustrated by :
Manifest Destiny : 2 : Amphibia & Insecta by Chris Dingess. Image Comics. 2015.
read more!
Iron West by Doug TenNapel
Preston isn’t your typical outlaw. Though charming, he’s totally incompetent and avoids all forms of heroism. But when greedy miners uncover an army of metal men, Preston seeks help from an old shaman with a touch of magic and a Sasquatch sidekick. They have to evade a double-barreled bounty hunter and stop a giant demonic locomotive monster.
Manifest Destiny : 2 : Amphibia & Insecta by Chris Dingess.
Lewis and Clark continue their mission to find a route to the Pacific and secretly eliminate monsters for President Jefferson. Along with Sacagawea, the soldiers, and the recruited convicts, they are joined by the French survivors from La Charette. When their boat gets snagged on an underwater structure, they are stranded. Clark takes care of business on land while Lewis looks for a way to get the boat moving. But Clark doesn’t expect that his men will be attacked by a giant man-eating frog and huge blood-sucking mosquitoes!