TigerBlood

Nelson Wyatt of The Canadian Press Reports :

MONTREAL – Move over Superman, Batman and Spider-Man — there’s a new star heading to the comic book racks and he’s powered by Tiger Blood and Adonis DNA. It’s Charlie Sheen!

He’s not wearing a cape or cowl, but the self-described “Vatican warlock assassin” will star in “Infamous: Charlie Sheen,” a one-shot comic being written right now for publication by Bluewater Productions Inc. of Vancouver, Wa.

The 32-page comic looks not only at the recent spectacular outbursts of the now-fired star of the megahit TV sitcom “Two and a Half Men” and his bluster about wild, drug fuelled parties with porn stars but the events that led up to them.

Darren Davis, Bluewater’s president, says Sheen will be part of the publisher’s line of biographical books, which includes profiles of U.S. President Barack Obama and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Asked if he was worried about being called exploitive, Davis laughed and said, “Of course.”

“I’ve been called whore, bottom-feeder, I’ve been called everything. We did a Michael Jackson comic right when he died,” he noted, adding that was for the benefit of the fans.

“With this one, yeah, it’s a little different. You look at People Magazine, you look at Time, you look at all these magazines and they have him on the cover right now. Are they exploiting him? No, this is just a different type of biography that we do. It’s timely.”

He acknowledged he was surprised at the actor’s sometimes outlandish comments in a series of appearances on TV, the Internet, magazines, newspapers and Twitter.

“I was kind of shocked and it just keeps getting worse and worse,” Davis said in a telephone interview. “I feel bad for the guy.”

However, Davis added, he believes Sheen “kinda knows what he’s doing to a certain extent.”

Sheen was making $1.8 million per episode as the star of “Two and a Half Men,” portraying a character who was much like himself. He was fired after blasting producer Chuck Lorre in an interview and broadcaster CBS said it became concerned about his actions. The future of the show without Sheen is unknown.

Davis said the comic book, which will sell for $3.99 and is scheduled for summer release, is aimed at the 18-35 male demographic.

He said the company hasn’t been in touch with Sheen himself — “I think his line is full right now” — but Bluewater has donated to suggested charities when it has worked with celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Betty White in the past.

Writer Mark Shapiro said he’s a longtime fan of Sheen from when he was considered a serious actor with such films as “Platoon” and “Wall Street.”

While he said it would be great to focus on that, he’s got a short amount of space to go with what grabs the reader.

“We’re doing largely what’s hot now but people who think this is going to be totally exploitive are going to be in for a shock,” he said. “We’re basically very sympathetic for the problems he’s having.”

Asked whether the book will address drug and mental health issues, Shapiro said it will make reference to the fact that Sheen is having problems, but they’re problems anyone could have.

“It’s hard to get totally away from the fact that it’s going to appear to be a little on the exploitive side but I think we’re telling a legitimate story. This is the decline and fall of a very prominent actor who, for my money, has done some great roles over the years.”

Shapiro said he hopes the comic book gives people a different angle on the actor, who he said has mainly been in the public eye recently “kinda looking dazed and confused and a little crazed.”

The writer said maybe the book will even change some minds about Sheen, who he says now seems to be considered as a moron by some and a wily master manipulator by others.

Shapiro said he wishes Sheen well.

“The comic book is just another page in this long odyssey that has been picked up by television, the Internet and everything else,” he said.

“I hope people enjoy it. I hope they see something different in Charlie Sheen on a printed page as a comic book character portraying himself that will give them a different way of looking at him and his life and career.”