Manifest Destiny is a comic book that plays fast and loose with history, inserting mystery, fantasy, and--best of all--monsters into the real life story of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this version of history, Meriwether Lewis chronicles President Thomas Jefferson’s hidden objective for the Corps of Discovery: destroying monsters and making the territory safe.

Early in their journey, the Corps encounters a structure readers will recognize as the famous Gateway Arch of St. Louis. Here it’s a massive botanical structure which vexes the explorers and serves as a backdrop for their first encounter with the minotaur-like creatures which inhabit the land. These huge hybrid beasts are part horse, buffalo, and human, and are quickly dispatched by the ninja-like fury of Sacagawea. The danger grows as the explorers push deeper into the territory.

Add to this an intelligent fungus which turns people into chlorophyll-spouting zombies and one of the most celebrated episodes in American history becomes an Indiana Jones-style adventure. A case of wooden stakes in the ship’s cargo hold hints at things to come, making volume 2 of this series something to look forward to in 2015.