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2008 Comic Book News Archives

Jason with Tim Sale

September 3, 2008: "Hero"-ic Sale Flies in to Fan Expo

By Jason Marsh Larouche

Recently at the annual Fan Expo, hosted by Hobbystar at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Heroes artist Tim Sale entertained fans through autographs and sketches - that is, if you were one of ten ticket holders and had $105 dollars to burn.

But, trust me, even if you couldn't afford it, it was priceless watching him work.

Sale - who renders his characters in black, gray, and white on account of his color blindness - is one half of one of comicdom's greatest collaborations, with writer Jeph Loeb. Together, their body of work speaks for itself: Challengers of The Unknown, Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, and Superman: For All Seasons for DC Comics, and Marvel Comics' Spider-Man: Blue, Hulk: Gray, Daredevil: Yellow. And, of course, there is also their televised collaboration - Jeph is the producer while he's commission artist - on the runaway NBC drama, Heroes, as the hand behind prophetic paintings created by fictional artist Isaac Mendez.

Sale, whose influences include John Romita, John Buscema, and Gene Colan, describes his style, as a combination of "Independent comics, American superhero comics, [European] comics and American illustration." Further, he added that while growing up, his love of comic books gravitated towards Marvel Comics properties in the mid-sixties after a childhood following Archie Comics. That being the case, it is no coincidence that all of his retrospective "color" books with Jeph center around that point in these characters' lives. For example, in Blue, Loeb and Sale examine the fledgling romance between Peter Parker and his ill-fated love, Gwen Stacy, and tailor it around villains and storylines that occurred around that period in his life.

Tim Sale His first collaboration with Jeph Loeb was on the DC property Challengers of The Unknown. "I think we click so well because we became good friends and because we both were the same age. We both had the same sensibilities when it comes to comics even though we're two different people."

However, Jeph had nothing to do with Tim being tapped as being the artist behind the artist for Heroes. "I was actually on the show before Jeph, " he explains. "Jeph referred me to Tim Kring when he wanted illustrations for the pilot. But Jeph was not involved in the show until the first episode. So I worked on the pilot, and Jeph came on the show in Season One." Tapped for a third season of posthumous paintings from Isaac Mendez - who was murdered by the villain Sylar in the first season - Tim offers his thoughts on why the series clicks with the fans. "I think the show really works because it's really more of a show about characters than it is about powers and stuff like that. But I like the craft of it, how the pacing goes, how exciting the lines are, how thrilling that sort of thing is. Like any show, that matters a tremendous amount in an adventure show like this."

Fans can also find samples of Tim's work in this past summer's blockbuster, The Dark Knight, and predecessor Batman Begins. However, Sale modestly admits that "I think I see more of what Jeph did than what I did, but there are some images that are clearly influenced [from The Long Halloween]. I would've said Two-Face, very much so. But regardless they were great movies in their own right. And I'm just flattered that someone would want them."

Tim has also worked with The New Frontier scribe and artist Darwyn Cooke on the opening arc for the miniseries Superman Confidential, in which the design of Superman was deliberately altered from his beefy look in For All Seasons for personal reasons. "I just looked at a lot of his work, so Lois and Jimmy were very much influenced by him. And I wanted to do a really different style, making a really different look than the For All Seasons look, because I really wanted that to be special, when I worked with Jeph."

On drawing Superman in general, and distinguishing him from his alter-ego Clark Kent, Sale offers this insight. "For me, it was body language. It's one thing to put on glasses and slick your hair back, but for body language, it's his demeanor and facial expressions. I just used simple lines for his face and everything. For me it takes a lot more to say a lot more with very simple things."

Further, as to why the character still has such appeal for today's fans after 70 years since his inception, Sale believes that "it means a lot in history that he was the first guy, the first superhero, that sort of set the template for everyone else."

Aside from Season Three of Heroes, Tim is busy at work with Jeph yet again at Marvel for another "color" book entitled Captain America: White, chronicling the brotherhood of the Living Legend and sidekick Bucky Barnes in the days of World War II. As to what to expect, Tim grinned as he bluntly said, "World War II, man. A lot of explosions, tanks, and Nazis."

You can find his latest sketchbook - a double-sided wonder - at his appearances at your local comic conventions or you can try your luck on Ebay.

Not bad for a kid whose first real comic hero was red-haired and freckled.


2008 Comic News

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