“The Mystery of the Sargasso Sea”

Wow! And I say again, Wow! Jay Piscopo’s follow-up to the first Capt’n Eli volume is just fantastic. Go out and buy this book.

You want more? How about:

• An underwater city being attacked by outcast mer-people.
• A superhero turned king who has to make the ultimate sacrifice.
• Palace intrigue.
• A spunky princess.
• A spunky boy genius.
• An honorable Mystery Man.
• An Admiral impatient to sink said Mystery Man forever.
• An army attacking on seahorses.
• And . . . giant underwater robots!

You need even more? How about:

• Mystery.
• Adventure.
• A well-developed mythology.
• Likable heroes.
• Hiss-able, smarmy villains.
• Amusing sidekicks.
• An epic science-fantasy storyline.
• Undersea battles.
• Assassins.
• Time travel.
• Gadgets galore.
• And . . . talking whales!

Still not convinced?

Will a beautiful blend of computer-generated and hand-drawn art interest you? What about:

• Brilliant, vibrant colors.
• Kirby-esque character designs.
• Clean, non-busy, but detail-filled panels.
• And easy-to-follow layouts.

Piscopo throws everything but the kitchen sink into his story, and he makes it all work. There’s never the feeling that any element has been added just for its “Oooooh cool!” factor. You know it’s all going to be integral to the plot. A perfect example is the history of Aquatica.

Early in the book, Commander X gives Capt’n Eli a complete history of the underwater city--from pre-history to the present. At first, a reader might wonder why Piscopo devoted so much time and space to this history lesson. Granted, Peter David took seven issues to tell Atlantis’s history over at DC, and Piscopo only takes twelve pages, but . . . why?

It’s interesting and beautifully illustrated, but, again . . . why?

Within a few pages, we see why.

Every beat of that history has a pay-off somewhere in the story. It either affects what’s going on or Eli affects it. (Time travel, remember?)

This history isn’t included to show how clever Piscopo is at making up mythology--though he is good at it--or to take up space because he couldn’t think of anything else to write about. It’s there because it’s important to the story.

Breakneck is the only word that can describe the pace of this volume. The momentum never flags--not even during the history lesson. Piscopo continually adds new elements, new characters, and new settings--yet, the story never feels rushed or confused. The large panels and basic layout make it easy for the reader to absorb everything that’s happening.

While the opening up of the story necessitates some characters taking a backseat--such as the Seasearchers team--new characters Princess Coral, Admiral McGraw, Lord Baal, and Garoo the Islander show a great deal of promise.

In 107 pages, Piscopo dramatically expands what was a pretty good storytelling engine to begin with. There’s a feeling that the adventures of Eli could go anywhere.

If you enjoy pulp fiction, science fiction, fantasy, or action-adventure, you really owe it to yourself to check out The Undersea Adventures of Capt’n Eli Volume Two.

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