Our own Fred Topel caught up with Tyrese Gibson at the San Diego Comic-Con. Gibson was busy peddling his new book Mayhem, here’s what Black Ty had to say to Crave Online.

Crave Online: You’ve got your own comic book here, right? 

Tyrese Gibson: Absolutely. Absolutely. I gotta show you all this comic book. My voice is gone because I was selling comic books yesterday for seven hours. Jim Lee was at out booth today. He’s doing the cover of issue number two for Mayhem. Todd MacFarlane and Robert Kirkman gave me the opportunity of a lifetime so Image comics is doing my book and it’s called Mayhem. We did around 20,000 presold so far for the first issue. It’s a very big deal. It all happened because I was at Comic Con last year for Death Race. Here I am this year to not just talk on panels about movies, but I’m actually a part of the culture now. 

Crave Online: Did they ask you to create it? 

Tyrese Gibson: No one asked me. My partners’ names are Mike Lee and Will Wilson and Tone Rodriguez has done all the art on it. We basically came up with a plan for a comic book. It’s called Mayhem. Robert Kirkman and Eric Stevenson came to my office. We pitched them on the concept. They bought it on the spot. I had a contract on my desk three years later and here we are. We’re slinging them things like hot cakes, baby. 

Crave Online: How was that experience? 

Tyrese Gibson: Listen, I’m going to tell you, there’s a very big difference. No disrespect to actors that come here to sell their movies only. It’s a very big difference being on a panel versus being out there with the people. Very, very big difference because what I’m witnessing is self-less passion. For me, I got a lot of fans and I love ‘em. I’ve been at it for 15 years doing some form of entertainment, but no one has ever shown up looking like Tyrese. No one has ever showed up with a Tyrese costume on, ‘I love you, man. I got my cheek bones up here. I got my teeth implanted just for you.’ No one has ever done it, but to see these comic book fans running around here dressed up as their favorite comic book characters, it’s a different kind of passion and I’ve never been exposed to it. For me, being down there with the people shaking their hands, they’re all fired up and excited. They didn’t see my movies. They’re just like, ‘Man, whatever you’re selling, we’re here to support.’ I was just telling Jim Lee this today because my experience as a comic book creator now has been a little different. I’m not bragging but it’s felt like I have all of the A list and legendary comic book creators and veterans of this world supporting me. Now I’m trying to tap into the actual fans. To have Avi Arad, Grant Morrison, Jim Lee, Todd MacFarlane, Robert Kirkman out saying all these amazing things about my comic book, now I just want the fans to believe in it as much as these legends. So it’s amazing to have this type of support because I’m just picking their brains, asking a million questions trying to figure out a way to have my book to be around for many different issues to come. I don’t want to be an entertainer jumping into this world that has three, four books and it just kind of fades out. So I’m that guy that’s having conversations with the guy from Aint It Cool News, like how can I take over your main page for two weeks before my issue #2 comes out so that the sales for issue #2 can be huge too. I’m in that space where I’m full on trying to really capitalize on that world.