Bombos vs. Everything Volume 1

Overall Rating: F
Synopsis: Created by Maximo V. Lorenzo, the series follows the titular Bombos, a paperboy who talks and fights too much. In the series, paperboys are a guild that involves a lot of strange challenges and fighting, and very little paper delivery. In the world of Bombos, there is only one goal, to get out of the backwater town he lives in, and move to the "totally awesome" city of Bokonon. To accomplish this goal, Bombos must win the mysterious (and somehow at the same time uninteresting) Qualifiers, overcome the bizarre challenges his editor-in-chief throws at him, defeat his annoying rival Veng, and dealing with his feelings for his friend Addy.

I like checking out American manga to see what's being done in that style these days, so I tried checking out Bombos vs. Everything. This book was a big disappointment for me. The art looked cool, and I was hoping for something in the vein of Scott Pilgrim or Black Metal, but the series is trying too hard. Maybe it will get more interesting in Volume 2 (apparently the series is a trilogy), but I can't recommend this one. If you're looking for good non-Japanese manga, pick up Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley, East Coast Rising by Becky Cloonan, Black Metal by Rick Spears and Chuck BB, or King City by Brandon Graham instead.

East Coast Rising Volume 1

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.