THE hit NBC drama "Heroes" has introduced characters with extraordinary abilities that have made the show the most popular new series of the season. But the real hero behind this incredibly creative and fresh drama is the show?s artist, Tim Sale.

Sale, 50, not only produces the giant paintings done by artist and ?precog? Isaac Mendez (played by Santiago Cabrera), he also creates the all-important ?9th Wonders!? comic book, also drawn by Mendez, that?s followed religiously by Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka).

The comic book is the show's bible and shows viewers - and the characters - where the plot is headed.

Sale's vibrantly colored art work makes "Heroes" a two-dimensional success story, feeding hungry fans clues each week. How Sale came to be the show's unlikely hero is fascinating. The 20-year industry veteran has worked for Marvel on The Hulk and Spider-Man. While with his present employer, DC Comics, he took on Catwoman and Superman, and was asked by "Heroes"creator Tim Kring to illustrate the pilot script. At the time, Sale had no idea how integral his artwork would end up being to the show's future. When "Heroes" was picked up by NBC, Sale was brought on as the show's "artistic consultant."

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Is it a raucous set, with all the young actors? Are you playing pranks on one another?

I was talking to Milo about this the other day. We're so - we have so much work to do that it's been a little bit - we're careful how much we fool around. The set is fun,

and I love the crew. When we're all together, we have the greatest time. Unfortunately, we're not together all that much, because of the way the scenes are written.

Where are you living these days?

I grew up in Rockland County. We just made the move to L.A., my parents and younger brother.

What's that like, going from East Coast to West?

I love the sun - that's the great thing about L.A. But what I miss the most about New York is having my friends so close, right down the street, and not miles and miles away.

Well, no doubt all those friends from home are pleased to see all the success you've had in TV, film ... and now music. I understand you've got a debut CD that drops in February.

I'm really looking forward to that. I've been singing since I was little. Did jingles and a lot of voice work when I was younger. It's been a long time in the making - I've been working on this album for a while.

What kind of music is it?

Well, I find it hard to categorize songs. It's a mixture - probably pop rock. I co-wrote all the songs. It's been a blast. I'm used to portraying people other than myself. Now it's ... it's like giving people a little taste of me.

?Homecoming? is an episode I directed. All in all, I?m pretty proud of the episode and the way it came out. It looks and feels the way I wanted it to, I?m happy with all the performances and the tone and pace of the show. As always, it starts with script? In this case, Adam Armus and Kay Foster wrote a great one.

Milo Ventimiglia really stepped up as the hero of the show. His performance gets better and better with each episode. Hayden is great as always? It always feels to me that, whoever she?s in a scene with, I believe in the authenticity of the relationship. Also, Jack Coleman continues to be awesome. In this one, we show (I believe) that he is, in fact, a worried father. Whatever his overall assignment is, he genuinely loves Claire. I wonder if his love for her will eventually bring him into conflict with whoever he works for? I also wonder if whoever he works for knows that Claire has powers? I know I work on the show, but I legitimately don?t know the answers to things like that and I speculate along with you.

Finally, this episode also fulfilled most of the paintings that were created in episode 4 and 5? i.e. the one that Peter and Isaac discuss in episode 5 that ?Tell a story like a comic book.? They are: frightened Claire close up, Cheerleader running up the stairs, Sylar standing over the dead body of the cheerleader, locker door being hurled telepathically at Peter, Hiro and Ando standing under a bloody Homecoming banner.

The paintings which Tim Sale creates for the show happen in two ways ? sometimes we film the event first and give Tim the frame we want to match to. Remember when Hiro and Ando stood under the rocket ship in Tokyo and looked at the exact same frame in the comic book. Well, we?d filmed the Hiro/Ando shot first and did the comic panel as an insert later. That way is way easier for all concerned.


But? the paintings in Isaac?s loft were a different story. Tim Kring and the writer?s gave Tim the idea of what they wanted and Tim painted the paintings in a vacuum, before we ever had sets or clear ideas of how we?d end up shooting the scenes.

Oka still might be toiling in relative obscurity had Heroes creator Tim Kring stuck to his original script draft for the show, which contained no trace of the character. But after Kring realized the dark story could use some levity and a character who would "embrace his power with enthusiasm," a Hiro was born.

Q: You're one of the few breakout stars of the new TV season. How is life different?

A: It's so surreal. I used to be able to go out for dinner and be completely alone. Now, not so much. I get asked by people to pose for photos a lot. I'm starting to feel like the big Goofy character in Disneyland.

Q: Speaking of goofy, there has been plenty of Internet chatter among women who think you're so adorable that they want to cuddle with you. What do you make of that?

A: Some friends recently sent me a post they found from a woman who was saying she wanted to make me her pet. She wrote that she wanted to "put me in a cage to keep and kiss me and love me."

Q: What was your reaction?

A: As long as she feeds me, I'm totally game.

Q: Why do you think people love Hiro so much?

A: I'm not sure, exactly. I know why I like him. He's basically a wide-eyed kid full of wonder. He's the kind of person so many of us want to be, but we lose much of that wonder as we grow up and grapple with societal pressures. Also, television is so full of dark, stern characters these days. I think the medium needs some more lightness and optimism.

Q: Do you relate to your character in any way?

A: Sure. We're both Japanese, of course. And we're both big manga and anim? enthusiasts. And I can relate to the fact that he's stuck in a corporate job and dreaming of being someone special, because I'm definitely living a dream right now.

Q: If you could time-travel in real life, where would you go?

A: I'd go back to my sophomore year in high school and tell myself to stay away from that certain girl. "Don't even think about asking her out ? because there's 10 years of therapy waiting for you right there."

Q: And what if you could teleport?

A: I'd use it every day to get around the horrendous L.A. freeway traffic.

Q: You worked on special effects for more than 30 films at ILM, where you still serve as a consultant. What are the highlights?

A: Probably my most memorable was that big wave that engulfed George Clooney and his boat in The Perfect Storm. Ten of us worked for over a month on that thing, and it turned out pretty cool. I was also proud of the asteroid explosion in Star Wars: Episode II, where Jango Fett is chasing Obi-Wan Kenobi. To see that on the big screen was just wild.