MAN OF MYSTERY’

Mike Tyson’s empire expands with cartoon, ‘Superhuman,’ new book

M IKE Tyson says he initially had his doubts about “Mike Tyson Mysteries,” his Adult Swim series which recently returned for its third season.

“It’s a really interesting cartoon and I’m ecstatic about it,” he says. “I thought it would be a bad idea at first — it just seemed like a silly thing to do — but it’s [three times better than] what I thought.

“It took on a life of its own and it’s a good thing I did it.” The series is reminiscent of the original “Scooby

Doo,” with more of an edge, as an animated Tyson and his crew — adopted Korean daughter, Yung Hee (Rachel Ramras), a foul-mouthed pigeon (Norm Macdonald) and a drunken ghost named Marquess (Jim Rash) — catch bad guys while tooling around in a van.

“My kids don’t like it because they think it’s too much cursing,” he says, laughing, “but I watch it all the time.”

Tyson, who lives in Las Vegas, is keeping busy with several other upcoming projects. He’ll be a judge on the new Fox show “Superhuman,” premiering June 12 with host Kal Penn. On the competition series, ordinary people use their extraordinary skills — memory, hearing, taste, sight, etc. — to win a $50,000 grand prize. “I’m looking forward to that,” Tyson says. “It’s really interesting what these people can do. Some of them watch the same movie or the same program and they see something you can’t see. Another guy was a contortionist who stretched his body all around — it’s just incredible.”

Tyson has also co-written the book “Iron Ambition,” released Tuesday, about Cus D’Amato, his mentor, boxing trainer and surrogate father who passed away in 1985 at the age of 77.

“It’s about him, mostly, and about what I learned and what I experienced from being around him and hearing about his past,” he says.

He’s also got a few action movies set for upcoming release (which were filmed in Asia).

Tyson is, of course, a renowned lover of pigeons, witnessed not only by his character in “Mike Tyson Mysteries,” but by his former 2011 Animal Planet series, “Taking on Tyson.”

“I still have pigeons,” he says. “My friends race them in New Jersey.

“Here in Las Vegas, I keep them for peace of mind.”

“Mike Tyson Mysteries” 11:30 p.m. Sunday on Adult Swim