THE RETURN OF ...


A MYSTERY ISLAND interview with the MOONSTONE BOOKS
new CAPTAIN ACTION comic book team:

FABIAN NICIEZA & MARK SPARACIO


Captain Action
Moonstone Books 2008
Publisher, Joe Gentile
moonstonebooks.com
Interview:
Fabian Nicieza, writer
Mark Sparacio, artist
by Bradley Mason Hamlin



Brad: Did either of you have or play with Captain Action as a child? I know Fabian was around …

Fabian: I certainly had them and most of the costumes, too. They were the best toys my brother and I had since we always thought we had ten toys in one. I wish I had kept my original figures, even though they were beat up pretty bad, and all the costumes.

Especially when I see the prices they go for now!

Mark: Unfortunately, I did not have any Captain Action-action figures when I was a kid, although I did have the comic books. Some of my older cousins had the action figures, so I’d swipe theirs when they weren’t looking and fight Dr. Evil on my own terms.

Brad: We can see from the promo covers that Action Boy might be back as well, but will Dr. Evil menace Captain Action once again—or did the knock off on the “Dr. Evil” name in Austin Powers forever diminish the use of that particular handle?

Fabian: Action Boy is not back, though he is acknowledged as part of the Captain Action history. There was a Dr. Evil in the Captain Action canon, and though he is not around in our present day storyline, he was a major part of CA's adventures in the past.



Brad: What? No Dr. Evil! Okay, we’ll try not to panic …

Mark: Who the hell is “Austin Powers”?! All kidding aside, Action Boy is not back, as Fabian has mentioned, but Fabian came up with a great way to advance the Captain Action universe using the old foundation for Captain Action and his identity changing capabilities and updating it. That’s what had me hooked. As for the return of Dr. Evil, obviously I’ll leave that up to Fabian ...

Brad: Who or what is Red Crawl?

Mark: The Red Crawl is a great new part of the new Captain Action universe that had me so intrigued when I first read Fabian’s script.

Fabian: An alien threat. I wanted to evoke a 50's era Communist and Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe to it.

Brad: Who do you see as your target audience for this comic book? It appears you would have two demographics, the crowd retro enough to remember the original Captain Action and the present comic book buying audience—always in need of interesting new material.

Mark: Hopefully, both demographic groups will give this book a chance. It has a lot of the original Captain Action feel, but Fabian in his script, has given it a fresh, modern approach. I hope that my art style matches and compliments what Fabian has successfully accomplished in his writing.

Fabian: I would love to see adults my age want to read it and share it with their sons or nephews. For that matter though, we have made the story easily accessible to anyone who likes superhero comics like Astro City or even Ultimates.



Brad: Mark, I can see by your cover that you aren’t afraid to update the Captain’s appearance. Will you be incorporating the original look as well? I have to say the Paul Gulacy cover pushes all the right nostalgic buttons for the retro crowd, [pictured above] but the new look is cool, too [pictured below]. If both could be incorporated, you might really have something new. I mean, the guy doesn’t just have to wear one costume right? In fact, he was known for wearing all sorts of costumes.



Mark: “… aren’t afraid to update the Captain’s appearance?!!” Well Brad, that’s the furthest thing from the truth! To say I was nervous is an understatement. Being a fan of Captain Action and a comic book fan in general, I am always a bit uneasy with changing the costume of any character, but with the help of Joe Ahearn, Ed Catto and Fabian, we designed a look that I think has some of the flavor of the old costume melded with some new touches. As far as putting the new Captain Action in the original costume, I will once again defer to Fabian and his upcoming scripts.

Brad: Speaking of the costumed identities—we know DC Comics, in their short lived Captain Action comic series [five issues, 1968] decided not to tangle with the licensing issue and dismissed Captain Action’s quick change capabilities.

Will we be seeing Captain Action as anyone else we might know?

Fabian: The quick change capabilities are an integral part of the character, as far as I'm concerned, so we made it an integral part of the story. So the answer is, "No, you won't be seeing CA change into anyone else YOU might know, but he'll be changing into lots of people HE knows ... and you'll get to know." :-)

Mark: Like Fabian just said, Captain Action’s success relies on his capabilities to switch identities. Fabian’s new Captain Action universe will have all sorts of new threats that Cap will have to deal with.

Brad: The press release mentions the A.C.T.I.O.N. Directorate. Is this Captain Action’s new super spy team acronym, like U.N.C.L.E.—and what does A.C.T.I.O.N. stand for?

Fabian: Yes. It's the Advanced Command for Telluric Interdiction Observation and Nullification Directorate. Admittedly, we're having a bit of fun with the entire acronym thing.

Brad: Wow, okay, we’ll have to refer back to this when necessary ...

Mark: I’m just glad that Fabian had to come up with the acronym for the A.C.T.I.O.N. Directorate and not me!

Brad: Will you guys have the honor of giving Captain Action a new name? DC Comics (Jim Shooter/Wally Wood) called the Captain: Professor Clive Arno ...

Fabian: No name for Cap planned right now.

Mark: I know my son, Justin, would love to have the new Captain Action be named ... Justin. What do you think Fabian?

Brad: Will Captain Action have a foxy female counterpart?

Fabian: There will be lots of foxy females, which will inevitably lead to trouble, as all foxy females do.

Mark: Hey, I love to draw and paint pretty females, whether they are super heroines, super villains or non-super powered women. And as Fabian pointed out, I’m sure there will be plenty of foxy females to get Captain Action in and out of trouble.

Brad: Mark, have you any cool spy/sci-fi vehicles cooked up to draw?

Mark: Actually, a few spy and sci-fi projects have been offered to me. I haven’t committed to anything yet, because details still have to be worked out.

Brad: Cool, actually I was thinking in terms of vehicles for Cap, but let’s let everybody read the comic and find out what moves Action along ...

We saw that CA Enterprises [captainactionnow.com] has Captain Action merchandise available at Café Press. I gotta have one of those coffee mugs! Any chance of a new line of action figure toys to tie-in with the comic? If so, you guys of course are going to have to come up with a super-spy sci-fi vehicle for the Captain to motorvate.

Fabian: Coffee mugs? There are coffee mugs? I damn well better be getting one of those babies! Joe ...

Mark: I don’t know about a new line of action figures, but I do hope that there is one and I am guessing I shouldn’t mention that I have a new Captain Action coffee mug ...

Brad: Anything else we need to know about the new Captain Action comic book?

Fabian: I am very confident that these adventures will be equally well-received by CA fans and those who know nothing of CA.

It has nostalgia built into it, but it is also has a lot of complexity, conflict, and drama--all that has everything to do with story and character as much as fond memories for a childhood favorite.

Mark: I agree with Fabian when he says that we are confident that Captain Action fans and those who are discovering Captain Action for the first time, will like what we are doing. Fabian’s back story, the new Captain Action universe, the new super villains and especially “Justin” the new Captain Action (ok, ok, I know I’m pushing my luck here), have great depth and are really well thought out. I am very excited to be part of this project and I hope that my excitement is reflected in my artwork. Thanks Brad, for giving us the opportunity to speak to your audience!

Brad: Thanks for stopping by the Island, amigos.

Bueno suerte!



"The Captain Action Interview!"
by Bradley Mason Hamlin copyright © 2008 by Mystery Island Publications.
Published 01.06.08. Captain Action logo above is the property of CA Enterprises. Comic book covers pictured above are the property of Moonstone Books. All rights reserved.

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