BECKY CLOONAN ON EAST COAST RISING

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

DEMO was just the warm-up.

In spring of 2006, Becky Cloonan hopes to make a tsunami-scale splash with East Coast Rising, an Original English Language (OEL) manga from TOKYOPOP.

“I remember thinking that I wanted to draw the most awesome comic ever,” Cloonan told Newsarama. “It’s evolved a lot over the past few years while I worked on DEMO [as] I didn’t have any time to really work on it but I kept a few sketchbooks where I’d jot down character sketches and ideas. A lot of my inspiration for this story is from my childhood. I used to be obsessed with dinosaurs and deep-sea fish and movies such as Jason and the Argonauts and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I wanted to draw an epic action/adventure that could be enjoyed by anyone.

In East Coast Rising, its high adventure on wicked high seas as Cannonball Joe and his crew of roughnecks embark on a quest for a relic that will change the fate of the world. On their journey, they battle with some of the toughest, dirtiest hooligans to ever sail the Hudson River, and face off against a colossal ancient sea creature known only as The Suffocating Death.

“And that’s only Book 1,” Cloonan, who just turned 25, said. “From Manhattan's lower east side to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean they test their strength and friendship to find the ultimate buried treasure.

“Our heroes sail on the faithful ship La Revancha, captained by the charismatic Cannonball Joe. His most trusted friends are Deathsnake and Abby, who are as different as night and day. The three of them are a shining beacon of hope in a sludge-covered world. Together with the rest of the crew they take on their sworn enemies, the Jersey pirates, who sail on the hybrid tank Hoboken and ride flesh eating turtles the size of a VW Bug. Fronted by the heinous Lee whose motto is “Kill Everyone, Loot and Plunder,” these scoundrels make the Russian from Rocky 4 look like a teddy bear.”

The creator recalled that she was approached by a TOKYOPOP editor last summer and was subsequently invited to pitch a book to them. “I had talked with some editors from TOKYOPOP earlier that year and my friend Melissa DeJesus was working with them as well, so that’s probably how they got my number. I figured it was too good an opportunity to pass up since TOKYOPOP is such a big force in the comic industry. They have been great to work with. I really couldn’t have found a better publisher!

“I want East Coast Rising to reach as many people as it can! I also want it to kick huge amounts of ass!”

Cloonan herself is a fan of manga (both the original Japanese creations and those created by domestic, manga-influenced creators). Some of her current favorites are “Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Brian O’mally, Wet Moon by Ross Campbell and definitely Teenagers from Mars by Rob G. and Rick Spears.

Like most creators, her inspirations come not only from the comics and manga that she’s read but from also other mediums as well. And fans of DEMO can attest to the fact that she can be innovative in her storytelling too. “There are things about each of these books that I admire but overall, I am more influenced by other mediums such as movies and music (although I constantly push myself to the levels of pacing and storytelling that Samura achieves in Blade of the Immortal! Oh My God! That man is a genius!). Anyway, old expressionist and noir films really gave me a flying spin-kick when I started to draw comics and music has always been a big part of my life. I try not to be influenced by too many comics so that I can try to keep my work as fresh as possible.”

Plans call for East Coast Rising to run for three volumes, the publisher’s standard approach for most of its new OEL graphic novels.



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[lolos]

pure awesomeness...
the creature is amazing. i wish she would consider makin a h.p.lovecraft comic. Becky has maaaaad tentacle skills

fo'sho!

HAIL AND KEEL!

[sojourner77]

I don't know that I can wait that long

I've had some of the smaple art available from Becky Cloonan's website http://estrigious.com/becky/ up on my screen saver, and their easily the ones that attract most "wow that's really cool, what IS that?" comments from workmates (even the comics-hostile ones).

I love Becky Cloonan's work. This plt sounds amazing. I can't wait to see more. CAN'T WAIT dammit.

[jacob_thm]

oh shi-!!!

[notmertz]

Great, great, great!

[BillReed]

See, now this is the kind of manga I could get into.

[Rick Spears]

This is the coolest comic thing ever!!! And Becky is the $HIT!

-Rick
www.giganticgraphicnovels.com

[JK Parkin]

Looks pretty sweet! Loved Demo, and I expect to love this.

What I'd really like to know is why Becky and Brian are scheduled to be at the Vertigo panels in San Diego ...

[jacob_thm]

Originally posted by JK Phoenix
What I'd really like to know is why Becky and Brian are scheduled to be at the Vertigo panels in San Diego ...

hehe.. ;x

[vanessa]

I love you Becky! <3