So the release of Tyrese Gibson's comic book, "Mayhem" has caused some serious mayhem; literally. Yesterday at Meltdown Comics on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, Tyrese showed up to perform and promote his latest project published by Image. The comic is supposedly modeled after an idea of his (which apparently he helped to write). The comic, which seems to have been relatively successful so far, had as of Tuesday sold 9,000 copies in it's pre-sale period. According to a press release, both Image comics and Tyrese himself are backing the comic book as much as they possibly can.
"The success of MAYHEM is a golden opportunity for all retailers to tap into this new influx of readers and in-store foot traffic that Tyres
brings with him,” Meltdown owner Gaston Dominguez said. “Tyrese is a 2.0 celebrity who is a marketing workhorse and whose brand spans across movies, music, and TV. Team MAYHEM are in it to win it! They are sincere and want to put out good products that cater to their fan base and beyond. Believe me when I tell you that if Tyrese Twitters your store name you will get calls and in-store orders.”
"Mayhem" by Todd McFarlane The idea that by giving Tyrese his own comic book would increase comic book readership seems like a stretch. While the book will be introduced to an audience that is unfamiliar with comics because of the popular star, it in no way ensures that sales will remain consistent and that the readers will want to continue buying into " Mayhem." After reading the comic I will say that I found myself somewhat unimpressed with the content. The art is somewhat weak and emotionless, with plenty of blood, guts and gore to entertain the casual reader.
"Mayhem" by Jim Lee While I am rather unsure of how involved Tyrese was in the development of the actual comic book, I must commend him for his promotional efforts. Over the last few weeks, Tyrese has hit Twitter, CNN, MTV and more promoting his latest project. His efforts were not in vain, as he managed to get both Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane to do their own renditions of the comic book character.
Overall I remain unimpressed by the shallow story line, weak characterization, cliche female character and less than impressive art work in this book, and I will not be picking up a second issue.
