Look! Up on the stage! It’s a radio play! It’s a comic book! It’s “The Intergalactic Nemesis!”

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2012/sep/20/241475/

The interactive graphic novel returns to the Lied Center Saturday. If you like science fiction, pulp-style action-adventure, comic books, or old-style radio plays, “Nemesis” has something worth your time. After all, what’s not to like about time-traveling librarians, sinister robots, and sludge monsters from outer space?

The show is the brainchild of Jason Neulander, who began it as a lark in 1996 as a radio drama. He and colleagues would perform it every chance they got in his native Austin, Texas. But when they were booked into a 2,400-seat auditorium, Neulander realized the space was too big for the show.

“That’s when it hit me,” he says.

“It” was the idea of projecting comic-book images onto a screen behind the actors to help tell the story.

“That gave the audience something to look at, and it filled up that empty space,” he says.

He sounds as giddy as a child who is able to ride a bike for the first time, and why not? “The Intergalactic Nemesis” is a unique form of entertainment. Three actors perform the voices of all the characters in the story. A foley artist provides sound effects, and a pianist plays a soundtrack all while comic-book-style images are projected onstage. It combines all the elements of radio dramas, comic books, and even the old silent movies with the live performance of the music.

“It’s the telling that makes it unique,” Neulander says. “I wanted to use new technology to evoke old forms.”

“New technology” is right. Before he could really create the show he wanted, Neulander was forced to buy a new computer capable of projecting “Nemesis’s” 1200+ images onstage in the proper sequence and speed.

The gamble paid off, though. With everything he needed in place, “The Intergalactic Nemesis” embarked on a world tour last year. It was successful enough to land Neulander an interview on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and an appearance on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhk5A6oAiSA

Now he’s back with a sequel. The original was dubbed “The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book 1: Target Earth.” Book 2 is called “Robot Rising” and features a more complex plot than its predecessor.

“There are four plots that are all braided together by the end of Act I,” he says. “Act II has a more standard narrative. Other than that, it’s what you would expect from a sequel – bigger, more complex story and new, darker characters.”

Getting that new story together, though, wasn’t much easier than the first. After writing a script, they performed several “rough cuts” in which they did readings for an audience and then solicited feedback.

“I think audience input is so important,” he says. “Audiences will tell you if something is working or if it isn’t.”

To pay the actors and technicians for these development rehearsals, Neulander used Kickstarter to finance his project.

Now “The Intergalactic Nemesis” is back on the road and stopping at the Lied Center once again.

“The Lied Center was one of our top-five venues last year,” he reports. “We absolutely loved Lawrence.”

The Lied has set up a full day of intergalactic events. At 3:00pm, the company will perform “Book 1: Target Earth” again. It’s 1933, and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Molly Sloan and her intrepid sidekick Timmy Mendez inadvertently discover a plot by insidious sludge monsters from the Planet Zygon to subjugate the Earth. To thwart it, they’ll need assistance from a time-traveling librarian, a robot planet, and other unlikely sources as they take the fight all the way to Planet Zygon. If you missed the show last year (or just want to see it again), this is the perfect opportunity to catch up.

At 7:30pm, the curtain goes up on “Book 2: Robot Rising.” Here, Molly Sloan must try to rescue a robot emissary, Timmy grapples with his newfound powers, and a Soviet spy hunts the good Dr. Webster.

In between, the Lied is offering an Out-of-this-World Feast, which features Deep-Space Dijon Pork, Molly Sloan’s Chicken, and desserts from the Planet Zygon (no word on what sludge monsters eat for dessert). Vegetarian options are available upon request. The cast and crew will be at the dinner, allowing participants to mingle with the creators and get behind-the-scenes information.

Each event requires a separate ticket, which are available by calling the box office at 785-864-2787 or online at lied.ku.edu.

“I created the show to push my inner-12-year-old button,” Neulander, who names “Star Wars” as his all-time favorite film, confesses. And he’s certain “The Intergalactic Nemesis” has something for everyone, no matter their age or familiarity with pulp fiction. “I believe we are hard-wired as a species to want stories about good vs. evil to escape reality.”

On Saturday at the Lied, the battle is rejoined.