“It feels much more like work-for-hire than comics do,” Sale said of his work on “Heroes.” He said NBC had made sure to legally establish ownership of all his original work for the series, which is why he hasn’t sold any to fans.

Describing his creative process with long-time collaborator and “Heroes” producer Jeph Loeb – with whom he’s worked on “Superman: For All Seasons,” “Batman: The Long Halloween” and “Daredevil: Yellow,” among others-- Sale emphasized how often they speak when working on a project together, talking almost every day and giving feedback. “I prefer to work that way,” Sale said. “But at NBC, I only really talk to the prop master. It’s isolating, but not frustrating; it shows we have confidence in each other to do good work.”

The art of a hero
Artist is an integral part of show's success story

March 16, 2007
By George Haas
Most comic book artists would be happy to have several hundred thousand fans eyeing their work each month.

Tim Sale gets upwards of 14 million people checking out his illustrations - every week - on the hit NBC show "HEROES," which centers on a group of ordinary people with amazing abilities.

'HEROES'
When: 8 p.m. Mondays

Network: NBC

Sale's dynamic artwork is an essential part of the show (which returns with new episodes at 8 p.m. April 23 on NBC). His often giant-sized paintings are stand-ins for the work of Isaac Mendez, a painter and junkie (played by Santiago Cabrera) whose precognitive powers enable him to "paint" the future.

Sale also created the "9th Wonders" comic book that character Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) uses as a road map. Hiro, who has the power to teleport himself through time, obtained the comic from the future and follows the book's plot religiously.

Both the paintings and the comic help link the series' diverse characters, while teasing viewers with images of things to come, such as a nuclear blast in New York and a scene in which Hiro is shown fending off a dinosaur with a samurai sword.

The 50-year-old Sale is used to creating fantastic images.

His collected works include myriad superhero comics, including "Superman," "Spider-Man," "Daredevil" and "Catwoman." A "Batman" graphic novel he produced was the inspiration for the recent "Batman Begins" movie.

But nothing has been quite as fantastic, or as unexpected, as the success of "HEROES," which was the highest-rated new drama of the fall season.

"No one saw this coming," Sale said recently in a phone call from his art studio in southern California.

Sale said he was originally hired to draw a few illustrations to go along with a script creator Tim Kring was pitching to NBC.

Kring was friends with Jeph Loeb, a writer and producer whose credits include "Smallville" and "LOST." He serves as executive producer on "HEROES."

Loeb had also partnered with Sale for a number of comics and graphic novels and recommended the artist for the job, which was to create a handful of character drawings and action scenes.

"The character of Isaac was in there, but I don't think anybody, including Tim, quite expected the art to be as integral a part of the plot as it's become," Sale said.

For instance, one of the key elements of this fall's "save the cheerleader, save the world" story arc was a dramatic painting of a frightened high school cheerleader being chased by a shadowy figure.

What's really amazing is that Sale doesn't actually paint.

"I'm color blind," he said. "I can't paint."...

Sale recently spoke to Newsarama about his involvement with Heroes and his current work on DC?s Superman Confidential with writer Darwyn Cooke.

Newsarama: Staring with your Heroes work, how many pieces have you done so far?

Tim Sale: I?ve done maybe 20 paintings for the show and 30 comic book panels, not counting the comic that was given away as a promotion in San Diego. I should say right away, that the "paintings" are not actually paintings, they are wash drawings on comic book paper, about 11"x17", that are then colored by the amazing Dave Stewart on a computer, and then blown up and transferred to canvas -- except for the canvas part, just like Catwoman: When In Rome was produced.

NRAMA: What pieces have been the most challenging? Are there any you're particularly proud of or that you wish you could do differently?


TS: There are some that haven't been shown yet that I love, very moody, but so far the Train Wreck from the pilot, and the Shadow Chasing the Cheerleader are the one's that come to mind. Oddly enough, the painting that may have had the most airtime is my least favorite, the Peter Flying one.

NRAMA: How often are you called upon to produce a new painting, and how long does each painting take?

TS: I have had art in almost all of the episodes, sometimes many pieces, either comic panels or "paintings". The comic panels, the stuff Hiro looks at, are also colored by Dave, but they are done, one panel per page, but otherwise just like a regular comic would be. The deadlines are sometimes very tight, but everyone on the show now knows that my full time job is drawing for DC Comics, and that that must be my priority, so the maximum lead time I can have is best for everyone involved. Not always easy or possible on a weekly series, but that's the goal.

NRAMA: Would you ever see leaving comics and working in Hollywood with the clout you?re getting from Heroes?

TS: What's this clout you're talking about? (laughs). Show it to me! No, I'd never leave comics altogether, no. I love comics too much. And I would never want to only do one thing. That?s part of my personality, I move on. It?s why I can?t do a regular comic book series. I get bored. Who knows? Like I said, I had no idea I?d be working on TV at all a year ago. As long as that?s fun and interesting, I?ll be pursuing that. There may be a point when I?m doing something else for a while, but I imagine if that happens, I'll always want to come back to comics at some point. I just dig the medium too much.