I've wanted to read EAST COAST RISING for years, since I saw some illustrations in Cloonan's portfolio. So I was very happy to hear that TOKYOPOP had picked up the title. It opens with a post-apocalyptic New Jersey, where the seas have risen, and the whole eastern seaboard has been flooded. Ships have become a way of life, where seachix roost in masts as the true chicken of the sea. And as there are merchants and treasure hunters roaming the waters, there are pirates. We soon meet our main character, Archer, who is hunted down by Lee, the pirate captain of the Hoboken, for a map that leads to Venti's Vault, a rumored treasure trove deep in the subway tunnels of submerged New York. Archer is saved by the crew of La Revancha, a speedy merchant/treasure hunter ship that has no love for Lee's gang. Once Archer trusts his newfound friends enough to share his secret, the crew sets sail for treacherous New Jersey, where Lee makes his lair, to get the map back and go find the treasure themselves. However, things are seldom as easy as they seem... especially in multi-volume manga.
As I said before, I'm a fan of Cloonan's artwork. That said, this is a few years old, and does not reflect many of her newer pieces in comics, namely DEMO and AMERICAN VIRGIN. The story is a little tricky, as we're tossed in the middle of a sea battle, but she provides some notes and a glossary of terms at the back of the book. If you enjoy pirates, post-apocalyptic worlds, and alternative American comics, you'll like EAST COAST RISING. I'm not shaky for the next volume, although this volume does end in a dramatic scene, but this is a good comic overall, especially for the younger teens who often get the short and boring end of the manga stick.
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