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East Coast Rising, Volume 1
Archer is a scrappy thief in possession of a certain map heading southward on a small skiff over the Black Waters when he is ambushed by a group of rogue roughnecks (fronted by the mischievous Lee) riding giant man-eating turtles.
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 11, 2006
About the author
Becky Cloonan
526 books397 followersBecky Cloonan is an American comic book creator, known for work published by Tokyopop and Vertigo. In 2012 she became the first female artist to draw the main Batman title for DC Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 20, 2023
A surprisingly satisfying read, though it ends with a cliffhanger.
Comics about pirates are good, but this new concept by creator Becky Cloonan, of post-apocalyptic punk rock pirates is way better that than ordinary Blackbeard or Long John Silver. It fit the mood at the time I read it.
Imagine the United States East Coast overtaken by rising sea level with pirates roaming the newly created waterways. Like all pirate stories it has lost treasure at the heart of it.
Cloonan's art is gorgeously detailed and I’m glad they went without color which has a tendency to smudge the lines. This will fit in nicely with my manga collection.
Comics about pirates are good, but this new concept by creator Becky Cloonan, of post-apocalyptic punk rock pirates is way better that than ordinary Blackbeard or Long John Silver. It fit the mood at the time I read it.
Imagine the United States East Coast overtaken by rising sea level with pirates roaming the newly created waterways. Like all pirate stories it has lost treasure at the heart of it.
Cloonan's art is gorgeously detailed and I’m glad they went without color which has a tendency to smudge the lines. This will fit in nicely with my manga collection.
May 28, 2009
Good stuff - post-apocalyptic pirates in a sunken New Jersey. I like how there's not a lot of time wasted with backstory or stage setting - you drop in right in the middle of the action and it just goes from there. I'm sure some things would be revealed in future volumes, but really it's not necessary for the enjoyment of the story - no one is going to be reading just to find out what happened to make the world the way it is, they just want to see the good pirates beat the bad pirates.
Becky Cloonan's pretty good - I don't think I was giving her enough credit. I think I like the stuff she writes and draws more than the stuff she just draws, generally, and especially here. This was another victim of the TokyoPop purge, though, so Volume 2 will probably not see print anytime soon.
Becky Cloonan's pretty good - I don't think I was giving her enough credit. I think I like the stuff she writes and draws more than the stuff she just draws, generally, and especially here. This was another victim of the TokyoPop purge, though, so Volume 2 will probably not see print anytime soon.
November 22, 2021
The early and mid 2000's era of weirdly mediocre American manga is far behind us, but the broken remnants remain scattered in used bookstores and old libraries. No wonder Tokyopop went under all those years ago -- it seems like they just published literally everything they could get their hands on. That's not a great business model, and while I love that they took a chance on art, sometimes an amateur's ideas are not exactly up to snuff. This OEL Manga (call it what it is, man, it's just a comic) fits into that category, if you ask me.
East Coast Rising started off fine, but then devolved into choppy silliness. The first third had a decent hook, and quickly introduced its characters, but it lost momentum from there, but kept going for some reason... I can't fathom what the hell could possibly happen next, the story is truly a cracked skeleton of a plot and I just can't see much of substance taking place when it has such fucked pacing. It wasn't offensively bad, but I wouldn't read any more.
East Coast Rising started off fine, but then devolved into choppy silliness. The first third had a decent hook, and quickly introduced its characters, but it lost momentum from there, but kept going for some reason... I can't fathom what the hell could possibly happen next, the story is truly a cracked skeleton of a plot and I just can't see much of substance taking place when it has such fucked pacing. It wasn't offensively bad, but I wouldn't read any more.
March 22, 2018
After loving Becky's artwork on Demo and American Virgin, I wanted to check out her writing debut.
I wish I hadn't. It takes a rare comic to make me quit before I can even finish the first volume, a certain unredeemable quality of half-finished characters, semi-formed plot, and non-existent development - but Becky managed that with this volume.
Not only was the writing a letdown, but her art was as well. She always has a loose, ragged feel to her work, but it's found mostly in the characters and line work. Her layouts are always clear and precise, giving information clearly. But East Coast Rising is sloppy and hard to follow even in panel progressions - particularly during action sequences. The result is was a big disappointment.
I wish I hadn't. It takes a rare comic to make me quit before I can even finish the first volume, a certain unredeemable quality of half-finished characters, semi-formed plot, and non-existent development - but Becky managed that with this volume.
Not only was the writing a letdown, but her art was as well. She always has a loose, ragged feel to her work, but it's found mostly in the characters and line work. Her layouts are always clear and precise, giving information clearly. But East Coast Rising is sloppy and hard to follow even in panel progressions - particularly during action sequences. The result is was a big disappointment.
April 14, 2020
Some unclear storytelling slightly mars a compelling post-apocalyptic adventure with interesting characters. It's Pirates of Dark Water with NY hipster-punks and much better than that description suggests. It's a shame the story did not continue.
April 19, 2023
Read Harder 2023 - Task #18 ALT
[pegleg = prostetic, right?]
[pegleg = prostetic, right?]
May 13, 2008
Overall Rating: A
Synopsis: Becky Cloonan writes and draws East Coast Rising, a story about punk rock pirates in a world where New Jersey is submerged in water.
East Coast Rising is one of those books I have been meaning to pick up for awhile, but for one reason or another, I haven't gotten around to it. Fortunately, I finally picked up the first volume, and am glad I did. Becky Cloonan has created an alternate universe full of punk rock pirates (my favorite kind).
The series follows Archer, a young pirate whose ship is destroyed at the beginning of the first volume. He's rescued by Cannonball Joe, the Captain of La Revancha, and Archer soon joins the ship as a cabin boy. Along with Joe, the La Revancha is home to Deathsnake, a man who loves trouble, Deathsnake's adorable niece El, and Abby (she's crazy good at fishing).
The crew is in search of a legendary treasure, but they have a number of obstacles to overcome. Not least of which is Lee, the reckless and vicious captain of the Hoboken, whose crew runs most of New Jersey. Punk rock may be dead, but it's a pirate's life for me.
The first volume is charming and fun, and the second volume is scheduled to come out in October.
For more manga and anime reviews, please check out Hobotaku.
Synopsis: Becky Cloonan writes and draws East Coast Rising, a story about punk rock pirates in a world where New Jersey is submerged in water.
East Coast Rising is one of those books I have been meaning to pick up for awhile, but for one reason or another, I haven't gotten around to it. Fortunately, I finally picked up the first volume, and am glad I did. Becky Cloonan has created an alternate universe full of punk rock pirates (my favorite kind).
The series follows Archer, a young pirate whose ship is destroyed at the beginning of the first volume. He's rescued by Cannonball Joe, the Captain of La Revancha, and Archer soon joins the ship as a cabin boy. Along with Joe, the La Revancha is home to Deathsnake, a man who loves trouble, Deathsnake's adorable niece El, and Abby (she's crazy good at fishing).
The crew is in search of a legendary treasure, but they have a number of obstacles to overcome. Not least of which is Lee, the reckless and vicious captain of the Hoboken, whose crew runs most of New Jersey. Punk rock may be dead, but it's a pirate's life for me.
The first volume is charming and fun, and the second volume is scheduled to come out in October.
For more manga and anime reviews, please check out Hobotaku.
July 27, 2019
East Coast Rising holds a special place in my heart.
I followed its development on Becky's DeviantArt and blog and ordered it on Amazon the day it came out. My first edition copy is a treasured possession and, on the rare occasions I've misplaced it, has sent me into small panic attacks at the thought of losing it for good.
I was crushed when Volume 2 was cancelled, but happy to see her post some pages on her blog years later. Volume 1 leaves off on a cliff hanger that these pages expand upon, but the ultimate fate of the characters is unknown.
I'm an illustrator and this comic even prompted me to get involved in an ill-fated comics collaboration because of its nautical themes and how it brought pirate motifs into a modern day setting. To this day I roll around ECR-like ideas in my head because of the void it left in my soul.
I reread East Coast Rising every now and then and notice its flaws, but that's what makes it beautiful. The art isn't perfect. The character development isn't perfect. However, it is the first graphic novel of someone I watched grow to be extremely successful in the comics industry. It's a relic from the beginning of an artist-writer's journey that is emblematic of a feat I hope to accomplish one day.
Stay outta Jersey.
I followed its development on Becky's DeviantArt and blog and ordered it on Amazon the day it came out. My first edition copy is a treasured possession and, on the rare occasions I've misplaced it, has sent me into small panic attacks at the thought of losing it for good.
I was crushed when Volume 2 was cancelled, but happy to see her post some pages on her blog years later. Volume 1 leaves off on a cliff hanger that these pages expand upon, but the ultimate fate of the characters is unknown.
I'm an illustrator and this comic even prompted me to get involved in an ill-fated comics collaboration because of its nautical themes and how it brought pirate motifs into a modern day setting. To this day I roll around ECR-like ideas in my head because of the void it left in my soul.
I reread East Coast Rising every now and then and notice its flaws, but that's what makes it beautiful. The art isn't perfect. The character development isn't perfect. However, it is the first graphic novel of someone I watched grow to be extremely successful in the comics industry. It's a relic from the beginning of an artist-writer's journey that is emblematic of a feat I hope to accomplish one day.
Stay outta Jersey.
April 29, 2013
I like the idea: post-apocalypse, multi-racial, strong women characters, punk rock pirates in New Jersey/NYC waters, suitable for YA audience. I like that it's written & drawn by a woman. But the story's just not there. Then again, I have a hard time getting into the style of manga, and this is definitely heavily influenced. A good solid comic to give a kid who likes manga, but not enough there for adults.
September 29, 2020
This is merely an amuse bouche, setting up future stories likely never to come thanks to the manga implosion and Cloonan's other, higher profile gigs. I'd love to see this return without a lot of the manga tropes (dinner plate eyes, emoticons floating around characters' heads, etc). Cloonan presents an exciting world with expressive, interesting characters that seems a shame not to revisit.
June 15, 2007
Waterworld! Pirates, sea demons, monster turtles, treasure, tattoos, and New Jersey is still the same. Kind-of.
Recommended by a teen librarian at the downtown Seattle library, "East Coast Rising" is a fun read that I look forward to reading more of. Once they have more than one volume out.
Recommended by a teen librarian at the downtown Seattle library, "East Coast Rising" is a fun read that I look forward to reading more of. Once they have more than one volume out.
December 23, 2010
Beckly Cloonan, gah. She's a machine. My crush on her borders on embarrassing.
September 5, 2011
Well drawn, but a little confusing.
February 12, 2017
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews