Print this article E-mail this article More articles by this author

Related Sites: · Official Capt'n Eli Website · New York Comic Con Website

It's not uncommon for new creators to take their darlings to a major comic convention with the hope of sparking interest among comics fans. But Jay Piscopo, writer and artist behind the graphic novel series, The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli (Volumes 1 and 2) has gone all-out in his effort to promote this new series from fledgling publisher, Nemo Publishing. Capitalizing on the nostalgia of comics fans (where even the youngest feel an intimate connection with the Golden and Silver Age eras, despite never having been there), Piscopo has worked with Paul Clarke of EMCE Toys to release Commander X, an action figure in the classic Mego style.

For those unfamiliar with the Mego Corporation and their production line of action figures, one only has to Google up a few images (or check on eBay) to see the simplistic yet perfectly playable designs created for both DC and Marvel superhero characters. With plastic heads, hands and feet, flexible bodies, and removable cloth outfits and interchangable accessories, the Mego figures were ideal for imaginary adventures, much unlike the oversculpted and rigidly posed so-called action figures on toy shelves today.

Piscopo's entry is Commander X -- the man from the future, and a mysterious character who appears regularly in The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli. Packaged on a plastic bubble card with retro-style artwork, the 1950s Golden Age Commander X is the first in a line of variants that will feature the mysterious Commander in different genre-driven garb, akin to another re-dressable action figure from the past, Captain Action. The domino mask is molded to his features, and he comes with a plastic captain's hat, gun (which slips inside his removable belt), and knife (which tucks inside his removable boot).

"With the Mego style, it's not about detailing overkill," says EMCE's Clarke. "It's about a clean, simple look using primary colors. Jay understands that and designed a great retro look." (Clarke, also known as "Dr. Mego," will be participating in a panel discussion at the NYCC February 7, titled "Mego: Past, Present and Future," alongiside Mego Founder Marty Abrams, EMCE Toys' Joe Sena, and Diamond Toys' Chuck Terciera.)

When we first meet Commander X in the graphic novels, he's a mysterious submarine pilot, believed to be a descendent of Captain Nemo himself. And Capt'n Eli -- a young prodigy who's a combination of Tom Swift and Jonny Quest -- will later discover, as he pilots his own self-made sub through undersea worlds of alien races, the Commander's past is more mysterious than that, and his destiny is crucial to the fate of the world.

The Capt'n Eli graphic novels combine traditional penciling with CGI backgrounds, and tell a story that is wide in scope and simplistic in presentation. With his dog Barney (whom Eli has taught to tie knots) and his 200 year old parrot (who speaks 70 languages), Eli joins up with a group of undersea explorers called the SeaSearchers, and will run across a military squadron of Aquamarines who are developing a super-soldier android you'll meet later in the series. And then there are the many undersea friends and foes of various races that will keep the action hopping. Atlanteans? It's a big ocean out there, so you can expect a wide variety of civilizations.

Jay Piscopo has served as art director at Tom Snyder Productions and as an animator for ABC's Squigglevision. He also co-created, in partnership with Goodwill Industries, the world's first disabled superhero group, The Scrap City Pack Rats.

The New York Comic Con runs this week, February 6-8 2009. Piscopo and company can be found at Booth 1927.