Austin’s own “The Intergalactic Nemesis” made its triumphant debut Friday at the Long Center.

The live-action graphic novel, as it’s called, spent 14 years in development, yet audiences found it well worth the wait.

“Nemesis” follows Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Molly Sloan and her sidekick/research assistant Timmy Mendez in search of mad scientist/hypnotist Mysterion the Magnificent. Their journey soon takes them from Eastern Europe to Scotland to Tunisia and eventually the far reaches of time and space.

“The Intergalactic Nemesis” started as a live radio play in 1996 at a coffee shop in downtown Austin. Over the course of 14 years, it evolved from a radio play to a ground-breaking mixture of theater, comics, music, and sound effects, all performed live. Creator Jason Neulander described the work as a tribute to “1920s and 1930s radio dramas,” but despite its retro influences, “The Intergalactic Nemesis” is thoroughly modern in its mixed mediums.

Shana Merlin, who also voiced the Queen of Zygon, played Sloan. Christopher Gibson stole the show as Ben Wilcott, Mysterion the Magnificent and Jean-Pierre Desperoir. St. Edward’s alumnus Mical Trejo (Class of 1997) rounded out the cast as Timmy Mendez.

All the actors were required to voice multiple characters, sometimes leading to conversations with themselves in different voices for lengthy periods of time. Despite the great difficulty in a three-person cast voicing dozens of characters, the actors held their ground amiably, with only one or two audible (but understandable) flubs in the entire performance.

Foley (sound effects) artist Buzz Moran was a force of his own, constantly moving and playing with seemingly innocuous objects that created otherworldly sounds when amplified.

Graham Reynolds’ live accompaniment was a joy, with many characters receiving their own brief (and schmaltzy) leitmotifs.

Reynolds’ keyboard and organ score set the mood for each scene with some great 1950s B-movie horror riffs, building tension quickly before going hilariously over the top.

Tim Doyle’s comic book slides were appropriately old-fashioned, indebted to the Golden Age of Comics of the 1930s and 1940s.

The cast and crew bowed to a massive standing ovation during the end credits, as over a decade of work was well rewarded. “The Intergalactic Nemesis” may be a bit strange, but it’s also incredibly funny and entertaining. Although it does not perform often, make sure to see this quintessentially Austin work the next time it plays in town.