Manifest Destiny, Vol. 8: Sacrificium & Reditus

Manifest Destiny #43-48

by Chris Dingess, Matthew Roberts (Artist), Owen Gieni (Artist)

In 1803, Lewis and Clark were commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the uncharted United States westward. Not to mention kill every damn creature in their path.

Now, the Pacific Coast is within sight, and their long and terrifying journey is almost over. There is just the matter of resolving their bargain with a demon ...

In 2013, Chris Dingess (Marvel's Agent Carter) and Matthew Roberts (Battle Pope) began their acclaimed historical adventure series... now, they begin their adventure, and may God save our souls.

Collects MANIFEST DESTINY #43-48.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2022

About the author

Chris Dingess is the writer and creator of Manifest Destiny published by the Skybound imprint of Image Comics. He also served as Executive Producer and writer for ABC's Agent Carter.

Reviews

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! After ten years this relatively short series wraps up. It's pretty obvious that at some point the creators realized that they needed to get to the final chapter ahead of plan... or this series would never get wrapped up.

I was hoping for more fun, horror adventures but I am glad we get an ending. It seems a tad rushed but everything got wrapped up in a relatively satisfactory manner.

The art, colors, lettering is all on point here.

Overall, I'm not sure how strongly I could recommend this series. Overall probably a 7/10 for the whole thing.

[Imogene · Rating 3 out of 5]

As bleak and depressing as imagined, yet I wonder if it would have been the same had it not been interrupted by the pandemic?

To the end there were still a couple of truly decent characters, enough to lessen the darkness of it

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manifest Destiny comes to an abrupt conclusion in this eighth volume, with our adventurers crossing the rest of the country in a few spare issues before finally confronting the demon on the Pacific shores. It feels a bit sped up after the seven previous volumes that were either deep dives into complex human relationships under harsh conditions or brutal man vs. monster battles. Or both!

At this point in the series, there are no heroes, which is somewhat refreshing. Who to root for as basically everyone is resigned to sacrificing Sacagawea's baby to the demon? Even the demon is pretty casual about the whole thing. Naturally, there are some twisty-twists right at the end and a few more characters get the hook. Still plenty of cannon fodder, even in the eighth volume of this long-running series.

I suppose I might have liked the conclusion better if I had read it directly after the seven preceding volumes. The year-long gap in my reading certainly did me no favors. But overall, it was kind of the only conclusion that could happen, so maybe that's fine? Still a monumental series that's well worth reading.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Chris Dingess brings the story home in this last volume! The sacrifice that has been alluded to the entire series is averted, and the final demon monster they face removes all the other deadly monsters that the Corps of Discovery encountered on their journey. They are finally able to journey back home safely, haunted by what they saw and did. The conclusion was sobering, as it was in real life, with poor Sacagawea and York getting the brunt of misfortune. That Lewis committed suicide a few years after returning, showed the toll the journey took on him. Make sure you read the notes at the end, with letters from Dingess, Roberts and the evocative colorist Owen Gieni. (On a side note- look up the meanings of all the book titles in this series- they are sly ways of hinting at what awaits you in the story!)

I struggled with this series at first, as I found the historical inaccuracies troubling, and I disliked how Sacagawea was sexualized. But I gave it another chance, and from volume two onward, I enjoyed the story (if not the pacing of the narrative). While the story arc might have started out as soldiers on a monster hunting expedition, it was Lewis & Clark, and many of their crew that turned out to be the monsters in how they acted and the choices they made. But to me, it was the art that truly made the series. Matthew Roberts did his research on the era and regions in which they are traveling through. His creatures rival Lovecraft’s with detail and imagination. From the minotaurs, plant zombies, Cthulhu-type frog creatures, Sasquatch, frightful birds and a ghostly conquistador- all were fantastic.

This was an intriguing series, and I am so glad it made it to the finish line. I assume that Dingess and Roberts had other commitments they needed to tend to pay the bills that delayed some of the later volumes, in addition to the Covid crisis. This passion project of theirs was worth the wait, and I will never look at an arch in the same way!

This review (plus V7) can be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2023/02/0...

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

The grand finale. The survivors reach the end of the journey and meet the demon who had seeded the North American wilderness with the unholy arches (good design and great colors; the artists outdid themselves with this final bit of otherworldliness).

To his credit, Dingess manages to keep a story constrained by historical facts from finishing predictably. Solid ending.

Plot points:
--The survivors of the boat explosion push west and resupply with Sacagawea's long lost brother.
--Clark and Lewis explain the true purpose of the mission to the surviving men and women, who grapple with the idea of sacrificing Sacagawea's baby--something of an expedition mascot--to the demon.
--At the journey's end, Maldonado the ghost conquistador appears to everyone and leads them to the final arch. The demon explains that it will depart this plane and take its monsters with it in exchange for the sacrifice of a warchild, a human born of warring factions.
--York grabs the baby and runs. He's shot in the back by the virulently racist Jensen, but Sacagawea saves him and recovers her child. York throws Jensen off a cliff. (Later, Clark helps York get home safely but reneges on his half-promises to grant York's freedom after the completion of the mission. Which is historically accurate, according to wikipedia.)
--Lewis and Sacagawea fight over who gets to kill the baby (I think whoever wields the dagger controls the outcome of the war). They accidentally kill Magdalene in the chaos. Collins, who conveniently revealed his own warchild status early in the volume, takes advantage of their distraction to stab himself in the heart, sending the demon and its minions back to hell but refusing to choose a victor in the continent-spanning conflict..
--Maldonado, the demon's conquistador servant, is incinerated. (Jensen later appears as the new Maldonado in the dreams of one Eero Saarinen, the IRL architect of the 1965-built St Louis arch.)
--Lewis and Clark return to public acclaim but Jefferson privately considers them failures. Lewis kills himself three years later.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. Most people get what they deserve. Some people get what the world gives them. And some people make me want to reach into the comic and strangle them. But overall, a satisfying yet unpredictable ending. Very glad I dug into this one.

[Valéria. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am honestly surprised how my love for Lewis and Clark went up and down as the series went, and even more how much hatred I felt towards them at the end of this journey.
Was I just blinded by awesome creatures and side quests, and couldn’t see that everybody in this story was actually an absolute prick? Might be.
But in the end - it all ended good, everybody got what they deserved.
8th book - 3,5/5
The whole series - 4/5

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4,3 of 5 for quite a decent finish of this long journey)
I won't comment on the details of the story's end, but it actually turned out pretty decent. I feared some big twists, unexpected revelations and unnecessary plot finish polishers. But there was little of it, and the end was quite civil - each thread got its expected knotting. I really liked how there was an extra "open end", which was more like a horror genre chilly bitter taste added to a somewhat happy ending, not an actual pitch to continuing.
Overall, Manifest Destiny is a great series. It has its ups and downs, but the story is quite fresh, the thrill is there the whole time, and it stays true to itself the whole time. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the art. I admit there were weaker moments, but the whole story has good momentum, which keeps you reading. In my opinion, it works best as a complete, read in your own tempo, rather than spread into bits over 10 years. So it was again worth the wait until it is somehow complete.

[Mike Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome series and a surprising ending. For all the wild Kaiju monsters in this series it reconverges with history (mostly)

[Nate Reitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This final volume sees the Corps of Discovery reduced to a mere handful. Seaman is still alive. The classic image of Sacagawea with Jean Baptist strapped to her back is prevalent in this volume. The crew continues to face difficulty and loses members to accidents and other creatures. Lewis becomes unhinged as they continue their journey. The creature they encountered in the mountains was like a rock xenomorph. Fricke being forced to sacrifice was terrible, but they have been driven to this point. There was a reunion between Sacagawea and her people was really touching and it was nice to read. There is a sense that the natives know what the Americans and Europeans intentions are just from observing them we are a destructive people. Cameahwait is the leader of his people he has no problem helping the corps because his sister is with them. The tension is building between everyone is building with everyone. Sacagawea and her brother disagree while Lewis and Clark disagree about how to proceed with the natives. Due to Russel and Randolf overhearing Lewis and Clark the captains are forced to share the mission with the men. Collins backstory is filled in some more and once this was revealed I knew how this story would end. Even though I knew the ending the tension was just increasing. There are several homages to classic works of literature in this like the Odyssey and the Divine Comedy. Burton, who was injured early in the series met one of the most heroic ends in this series as he takes on a familiar creature. The back and forth between York and Clark is interesting as you can see that even though Clark treated York as a soldier throughout this series and a trusted one at that he is still not an equal. Maldanado reveals himself to all the men and they aren’t phased by a ghost after all they have seen. Lewis and Clark disbanded the Corps of Discovery to make their own way back on their own. I didn’t like this, it didn’t make any logical sense unless it was done to save their lives, I feel they would have been more useful in the final confrontation. The only ones it saved were the token couple who will go off to survive even though they would be shunned by society. The final arch is finally reached by our heroes and as Navath makes his appearance Magdaline shoots him to no avail. Navath reveals himself to be a demon not a god as if there was any doubt in that and the idea of blood sacrifice to gods by superstitious people is nothing new to history. It’s just interesting that the American government would sanction such a thing. Lewis and Clark attempt to take Sacagawea’s child because he who plunges the knife into the sacrifice can make a wish and Sacagawea wants to protect her people or the native people of the wilderness and Lewis wants to secure the future of the nation. We have a fight between the three until they realize that York has scarpered with the child. Jensen stayed behind because he had unfinished business with York. While are heroes are searching for the child and Collins is having a conversation with Navath to fully understand why this sacrifice must happen. Jensen gets his comeuppance, Clark and York have a short conversation about losing one’s soul where Clark chooses to abandon the mission. All the while Lewis has tracked down Sacagawea and the war child. After a struggle Lewis shoots and Magdaline meets her end a short time later it starts to rain blood. The sacrifice has been completed and Collins took the sacrificial place instead of Jean Baptist. The ending of this series was bittersweet Lewis and Clark were publicly hailed as heroes, but their mission was viewed by the president as a failure. The demon left and took the monsters with him, but he said he would return. The final part that was touched on in this was the construction of the St. Louis Arch, all of this has happened before, and it will all happen again. While I really liked this series, I want to know the real story of the Corps of Discovery. I feel the strongest part of this series was in the first three volumes. Once the creators did the time jumps and glossed over several creatures to speed up the story, I felt certain things were missing. I would like to see this given prose novel treatment as trilogy where much of the story could be fleshed out more. If this were to be adapted for the screen a television show would be the best option for that. The artwork was, I thought one of the strong points of this series. I would recommend it especially if you like creature horror.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a long, COVID-related delay, writer Chris Dingess and artist Matthew Roberts wrap up "Manifest Destiny" with a compelling finale.

This comic has been of my favorite series in recent years. The concept--the Lewis and Clark expedition encounters murderous cryptids--is creative and well executed. Dingess doesn't shy away from the political implications of the expedition, either. As the title promises, he uses the adventure/journey to explore themes of empire and colonialism, including slavery, native dispossession and the cruelty of military discipline.

This final volume begins with the expedition in near tatters, moving on from another disastrous encounter toward their final destination, the Pacific. As only the expedition's leaders and their guide, Sacagawea, know, there's a secret motive behind their trip. They aim to sacrifice her child--a child born of conflict between two peoples--to appease the demon that has unleashed all the monsters they group has encountered in the west.

This is heavy stuff, and Dingess does a good job, as he has throughout the series, of presenting Lewis and Clark as torn by complex motivations. On one hand, as the heads of the "Corps of Discovery," the expedition's leaders are men of curiosity, amateur scientists driven to learn about the land they're traversing as well as its strange inhabitants. On the other, they're killers at the core, military men who have come up in an age of genocide and who won't let any moral qualms get in the way of their mission.

Sacagawea is less clearly rendered. Dingess establishes her as a "Mary Sue"--a strong, silent type, an expert guide, a near-supernatural warrior, etc. But this volume muddies how committed she is to the sacrifice at the journey's end. In some sections, she argues it's worth it to benefit her people. In others, she seems to think the sacrifice won't be necessary. In the end, she balks...understandably, but her motivations and actions are ultimately more confusing than compelling.

This final volume sees well-established characters vacillating on their choices in the service of drawing out an already leisurely plot. Dingess also returns to the historical record at the end of the story, which feels unsatisfying, partly because it's depressing and partly because it drops the fantastical nature of what passed in the series as a whole.

Roberts' art is strong here, as it has been throughout the run. He crafts some good monsters and renders action that's gory and disturbing without being lurid. His characters are distinctive, and he does a good job pacing a complicated (and talky) story.

While the series as a whole felt padded out in the last volumes, I thought it was a rewarding read, balancing strong action with complex characters and some dirty dealings to boot. It holds a unique place on the comics stands, and I would recommend checking it out.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was kind of a let down. I liked this series, it was disturbing and kind crazy, but this last issue was just a lot of talking and really obvious stuff. I could see the ending coming a mile away and the shock was just not there. To be sure I did like the wrap up and that it didn’t go on forever and the ending made some sense of stuff, but just not my favorite.

[Santosh Thapa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Rating: 9/10

Ending a long-running series is notoriously difficult. For every finale that lands with emotional resonance and thematic coherence, there are a dozen that fumble, rush, or betray the journey that came before. Manifest Destiny, Vol. 8: Sacrificium & Reditus is one of the rare successes. It is a conclusion that honors the series' core themes, delivers on long-simmering promises, and finds a surprising measure of grace amid the bloodshed.

The volume's greatest achievement is its refusal to offer easy redemption. The series has always been clear-eyed about the moral rot at the heart of manifest destiny, and the finale does not suddenly pretend that Lewis and Clark are heroes. They are men who have done terrible things—to the land, to its creatures, to the people they encountered, and to each other. Sacrificium & Reditus forces them to confront the ledger of their sins, and the resolution is less about absolution than about acceptance: of what they have done, of what they have lost, and of the slim, fragile possibility of doing something better with what remains. It is a surprisingly mature conclusion for a series that began with buffalotaurs and plant zombies, and it elevates the entire saga in retrospect.

Sacrificium & Reditus is a finale that understands the series it is concluding: its strengths (character, atmosphere, moral complexity), its weaknesses (occasional pacing issues, sidelined supporting players), and its essential argument about the relationship between exploration and violence. It does not pretend that the Corps of Discovery's journey was noble, nor does it pretend that the men who undertook it were monsters. It finds a third path: acknowledging the horror, mourning the cost, and still, somehow, affirming the possibility of change.

The finale is not merely good but great, a conclusion that elevates the entire series and leaves the reader with the rare satisfaction of a story fully, thoughtfully, and emotionally told. For readers who have followed Lewis and Clark from St. Louis to the Pacific, through buffalotaurs and plant zombies, through mutiny and winter and the slow erosion of hope, this volume is the payoff they have earned. It is bloody, bittersweet, and beautiful, afitting end to one of the most inventive and provocative comics of the past decade. The journey is over. The reckoning is complete. And the memory, like the scars the characters carry, remains.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

The dangers keep piling up, more men are lost, but the mission comes first. Never has their despair reached these levels. Even the normally optimistic Lewis blurts out that their lives don't matter any more. Only Sacagawea's baby is relevant now.

The group is nearly attacked by natives. They turn out to be led by Sacagawea's brother Cameahwait who welcomes all of them to his village. He even offers horses and supplies for their journey. Lewis and Clark's discussion about the mission raises questions among some of the mew. They now deserve to be told what the mission truly is - to sacrifice Jean Baptiste to Navath and thus empower themselves as rulers of this realm.

Lewis and Clark allow their men to go their own way, if they wish. The rest walk up to Navath's shrine. Sacagawea protects her child, but during her struggle with Lewis and Clark, York takes the baby away, hoping that the duo will realise they don't want to go ahead with the sacrifice. After some running around and dying, Lewis is the only one left who wants the sacrifice. Fortunately, one of his men, secretly a warchild just like Jean Baptiste, sacrifices himself while the others are away. He asks for nothing in return from Navath, so the demon leaves this world, as do the deadly creatures.

Lewis and Clark return home. Jefferson lables their mission a failure, but still showcases them as heroes for the people. Clark keeps York as a slave, though he promised to free him. Lewis returns to a life of debauchery, but eventually ends it with his own hand. Sacagawea raises her child is many places, never again able to call any of them home.

Many years later, a man has a dream. Navath has returned.

[Štěpán · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the end it was all about friendship. But actually it wasn't. The core of moral decision of what is good and what is not, if one is to sacrifice the child for the greater good is the main hook of the series. I was interested to see how it would end. And in the end, the choice that the other person sacrifices themselves feels cheap. I enjoyed the conclusion and ending of Clark and Lewis (even though the blonde guy did not change), and yet I feel unsatisfied by this.

The whole series could have been 4 volumes, with a strong beginning, middle and end, with better pacing and a stronger sense of urgency and without unnecessary repetition.

The ending with the demon felt...anticlimactic, with the added point that the conquistador, once revealed to everyone, he lost all influence and charm and the idea of this guide fell flat. But I guess that was the purpose.

Because it is a comicbook a big impact is done by the art. The art is awesome and spectacular. Especially creature designs, landscape shots and just normal animals are lovely to look at. But sometimes it was hard to recognize the faces and characters without distintive features (half face burned off, old guy with mustache etc.)

Overall, it is a good story, which tried to do so much but to me fell short of its own big ambitions.

Oh, and just the two gay dudes just walk out into the sunset... I don't know, it made me smile.

[Alex Sarll]

Digging further into Libby has been a godsend for wrapping up Image books where the fall of Comixology had left me stalled, and it's a particular relief here, where it has sometimes seemed as if Lewis and Clark would never make it from sea to shining sea. At the start, under Obama, the book could often feel like a romp, and while the theme was always going to entail some reckoning with America's original sins, I do wonder whether it would have ended up quite so deep in the darkness and the nation's demons without Trump - and then whether it was always going to have this volume's flicker of slightly implausible turning away from the worst of it all, or if that was all down to Biden. Either way, this was a worthy, if gruelling, conclusion, and it's good to see someone doing the Great American (graphic) Novel with monsters again, that approach having rather fallen away since Melville. The afterword gives the impression that Dingess is no more likely to attempt another big comics project than his protagonists were to do a victory lap on unicycles, but if I'm wrong about that, I'd happily take a look at whatever he were to do next.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

With only a handful of characters left (and not many surviving this book), the story of Lewis & Clark's journey finally reaches its end, with their true purpose being fully revealed, and all the doublecrosses and triplecrosses that have been building up finally playing out.
There's a bit of a cheap ploy pulled at the end, as a character's secret only revealed here has major consequences, and I don't think any of the characters are particularly happy with the way things play out. But that seems appropriate for the series, as does the way the survivors' stories are wrapped up in the epilogue. The art in the final volume stands up to its quality through the entire run.
Ultimately, the series never quite made good on its concept - while it did provide disturbing creatures and a logic behind them, but the final resolution doesn't seem to quite hold up to the standards of the story building up to it. But it was still worth reading.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Placeholder until they get vol 8 on here.
Decent end to the series after savagely shooting themselves in the foot with the left turn in vol. 4. I would've just taken a monster of the week(volume) type format. It tries way to hard to be dark and edgy to the point where it's way too over the top to take seriously. Somehow though they manage to at least finish the series with a semblance of logic of the (stupid)rules they set up. I also still stand by the idea they didn't research the York character until they were halfway into the story because he didn't make a showing until way too late. They do a decent turn with him, just decent. Sacagewa really gets thrown to the wolves here, There is no reason she needed to even consider doing the deed that was set up in relation to her real-world character, unlike Lewis and Clark's obvious flaws. It was way too much and just did not make sense for her.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manifest Destiny Vol.8 – Sacrificium & Reditus
Supernatural revisionist history. Monsters! Plenty of them entering this world via a series of archways.

#43 – “She was right. Before we could gain any measure of revenge for this atrocity .. we had to survive.”

#44 – “We still have time to muck this up and get slaughtered in front of their fire instead of our own.” – Clark

#45 – “It wasn’t the ideal time to break camp. But we had to put some distance between ourselves and those creatures that seemed to have stalked us for so long.”
Note: There was an error in one of the panels “But you are free [to] leave.”

#46 – “Have you truly thought about what it is you are doing?” – Magdalene. “It’s all I think about.” – Lewis

#47 – “It’s come down to the brutal reality of each person’s sense of honor, glory, integrity .. or not.”

#48 – “I know this sounds insane, but … it came from where all great ideas grab us. It came from my dreams.”
Cool climatic conclusion!

[Will Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I do love this series, the ending feels super rushed. I was thankful to have read this with all the issues out, but looking into it it seemed like there was an erratic release schedule (no doubt hampered by COVID) so it’s honestly a miracle that it even finished.

It’s far from bad, though. The ending does match up with the real-life history which is exactly as bleak as it should be. The tired, though true, “humans are the REAL monsters” motif that took up the back half of the series didn’t quite grab me as it’s been done so many times before. Image is certainly no stranger to this with a flagship like The Walking Dead.

The art is incredible, the writing is strong, and the whole thing feels so unique with its period setting and interesting creature designs. They did everything they could with its central gimmick and managed to land the plane - even if it was a bit bumpy on the way down.

I can’t recommend this enough!

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final volume of the supernatural Lewis and Clark saga. Since they no longer have the keelboat, this volume includes mountain climbing struggles as well as more encounters with the mysterious arches. Besides wanting to return from their expedition, the central conflict is the fulfillment of a 'prophecy' to sacrifice a war child to the demon with the intention that it's Sacagawea's sweet toddler, born on the trip. This conflict, because there are those who believe in fulfilling this sacrifice and those very much opposed to it, drives the story on. My rating is 4 stars because I thought this had a lot of punch and I especially liked it that York was featured in this volume. Still, it was a bit of a jumble at times that keeps me from rating as a 5.

[Sebastian M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fitting, long-awaited, end to this harrowing journey.
"Satisfying" feels like the wrong word to use to describe the conclusion to this specific series, yet here we are. Is every character's ending pleasant? No. Is every thread wrapped up? Sort of. Was there a point to it all? You'd have to check it out for yourself, though I promise the journey is well worth your time.
Roberts' artwork throughout the whole series also deserves commendation. Picturesque landscapes, weary travelers, and terrifying creatures are all exceptionally captured on every page.

Lastly, I have to add that the final page in this volume, of the whole series, is so fittingly terrifying.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good end to a terrific series that is only marred by the atrocious detail we learn about a long running character that means you know exactly what is going to happen at the end! Why this could not have been teased to us a volume or two before I do not know as that would have made readers, I think, go 'oh yes i forgot about that little bit of info that meant nothing to us back then!'
That said the whole series has been blessed with some good writing and some terrific art. I will miss this series

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The finale is here and it do go like I thought but it was still done really well. The voyage across the country effected the ones who survived in a major way. This book didn't have the giant boss battle I expected but it was nicely done. I was left depressed by this in a good way. Does that make sense. I really appreciated Sacagawea and her growth. I did want a little more action in this volume. The art by Matthew Roberts was quite enjoyable. Overall, a really nice finale in a super creative series.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had largely enjoyed this series, and it did mostly end well, but it also had a convenient plot twist towards the end. Yes, it completes the arc of showing how Lewis was pretty awful, Clarke was only a little better in some respects, but would this series really kill a baby to appease a demon? I think the only thing I could say for certain is this series absolutely would end with a lot of the characters dead and more than a few shown to be terrible people.

That said, I am curious about the real Lewis and Clark expedition right now.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's nice to get an ending, but everything felt really rushed and the story is a bit on the convoluted side as a result. Still, this has been one of my favorite series to this point and I'm glad to be able to come back to it again for one last hurrah. The art is a bit more developed this time around. Also, we finally learn the reason for all those arches and the nefarious plot at the root of the expedition. My only regret is that this couldn't have wrapped up a bit more cleanly (and clearly).

[Stanley Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-executed ending to this series. The last issue left us with quite a cliff-hanger, and this collected work takes us to a well-executed climax and denouement, with a twist ending that makes you think, "well, of course ...".

At first I thought this was just another weird "monster of the week" meets historical fiction (which is a fun, popcorn kind of read for me), but there is much more going on. Well done!

[Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of the series

Overall entertaining, although it lagged considerably in the middle, when there was a distinct lack of fun monsters. But as is usual in these sorts of stories, the monster was man all along. It's sort of amazing how close we got to some of the side characters, to the point that I lamented many of their passing.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the happiest of endings. I'm glad to have made it through the final leg of this sporadically entertaining journey, but this last volume wasn't stellar. A few interesting ideas and some good art. I'm not sure what I wanted to happen instead, but it didn't quite score the KO at the end.

[Alan George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going out West 8

Here we are at the end of the Great expedition. Sacrifices have been made lives have been lost but what is the cost of victory? I'll leave that up to you to figure out