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Manifest Destiny: Amphibia & Insecta (DC Comics, 2007; #11, 12, 15-19)

  • Lewis, Clark, and crew continue their journey into the Louisiana Purchase; they don’t make it very far before their boat gets stuck.
  • And H.P. Lovecraft’s pet frog lurks in the waters around the ship, waiting for a tasty treat.
  • The portion of the crew that made it to shore also get to be tasty treats for giant mosquitos that fill their prey with baby mosquitos.
  • Problem-solving is this arc’s real treat—and it highlights the lifesaving properties of a good, infused rum.
  • I could do without yet another rapey plot twist that crops up here; too many trades I have read lately have had this problem, and it’s getting old.
  • So much of the book’s tension comes from Matthew Roberts and Owen Gieni’s work; they make the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed “Amphibia & Insecta”—probably more than Manifest Destiny’s first arc, in fact.  My only problem with it is its use of sexual assault to move the plot forward and its casting aside of the plot’s victim once her role as temptation was complete. 

Collected in

  • Manifest Destiny, Vol. 2: Amphibia & Insecta (#7-12)

Credits

Writer: Chris Dingess | Artist: Matthew Roberts | Colorist: Owen Gieni | Letterer: Pat Brousseau | Editor: Sean Mackiewicz

Young Avengers: Mic-Drop at the Edge of Time and Space (Marvel Comics, 2013; #11-15)

Booster Gold: Reality Lost (DC Comics, 2007; #11, 12, 15-19)