The Most Beloved Man on the Internet stumbles upon THE BOX. What is in THE BOX? Gold? Money? A lifetime supply of Chewy Bars? Find out!

Great news for you True Blood comic book fans out there! IDW and HBO have just announced that the True Blood comic book series will release an all-new story arc in February, 2011. After the record breaking sales of the first series, All Together Now, series creators are clearly looking to strike while the iron is hot.

Actor Michael McMillan, who plays the good Reverend Steve Newlin on the hit HBO series, will join popular writer Marc Andreyko for a six-issue arc set to hit sale racks on February 15.

Co-Writing the TRUE BLOOD comic is a dream come true both as a performer on the show and as longtime comic fan. It's a real privilege to build on the rapidly growing True Blood mythology, said McMillian.

Andreyko continues: Words can't express how excited I am to be writing this with Michael. We're doing our damndest to spin a tale that fans of the show, and comics readers, will drink up like blood!

As was the case with True Bloods first story arc, the second series will continue to expand the world of Bon Temps, Louisiana. The upcoming issues focus on baby vamp Jessica getting a hold of some contaminated bottles of Tru Blood and going completely crazy. Its up to Sookie, Bill, and the rest of the gang to get to the bottom of the mystery. No guarantees on Scooby-Doo making an appearance (unless you count Sam), but we can count on Hoyt, Terry, Arlene, and (of course) Steve Newlin to make their comic book debuts.

Artist Joe Corroney will join Andreyko and McMillan on the new arc, with the illustrious J. Scott Campbell providing covers.

Well, friends, weve arrived at my final Extract of the season, so let's mourn together. Please attempt to mask your joy that my weekly article about the goings on in Bon Temps, Louisiana will no longer be clotting up space on the site. For those few merry fangbangers who have followed the show along with me this past summer, Im sorry that we must part, but I look forward to our further adventures together next year. This story aint over yetnot by a long shot.
Season three opened up a lot of new territory for the show. In the long run, Sam Merlottes trite little plot involving his lost family, his delinquent younger sibling, and his nefarious past, turned out to be just the right thing to deepen the character into something more than the nice guy in plaid. Sookie and Bills annoying gooeyness finally wore off, and we were able to see them as individuals again, and not as the conjoined entity they had become after season one. Tara shivered and cried a lot, but her turn towards the anti-Vampire movement might be just the right thing for the often-misused character. The Big Bad was Russell Edgington, the best villain weve seen on the show so far, and his overarching madness and terrorism broadened the scope of the show to global proportions. We may never see his equal.

As Season 3 draws to a close, Id like to offer a salute to the greatest villain in True Blood history: Russell Edgington. I assume that Episode 11 will be the last time well have seen the Vampire King in all his campy splendor, as the character is just too God-awful-evil to live, so while the maniacal menace is still drawing breath, I offer him this meager article of tribute.

It wasnt clear until about half way through the season that Russell would be our main antagonist, but once he was in the spotlight, he stole the show. Played by the beloved (and Tony-award winning) stage actor Denis OHare, Russell chewed scenery with the pleasure and ease of the matinee idols of old.

Not only did Russell cut through the hopes and dreams of the AVL like a Ginsu knife, he also dispatched the Magister (a 1,200 year old monster who was previously the most frightening entity on the show), robbed Queen Sophie-Anne of her power, and gave Eric Northman a reason for doing something other than changing his hairdo or pining for Sookie Stackhouse.

The ever-expanding world of True Blood has become a particular nuisance to me this season. Im still enjoying it (obviously), but the size and scale of the show is becoming exhausting. Call me an old-fashioned horror fan, but when I watch my weekly show about vampires, I want to it to be about, you know, vampires. At my most accepting Im willing to welcome genre staples like werewolves or the occasional zombiebut thats a stretch.

Sure, Ive stayed with the show through Sam the shape-shifter, and Maryann the maenad, but Ive excused them for two reasons: First, at the time, I thought Sam was going to be only shape-shifter we were going to have to deal with on the show, and I accepted it as a uniqueness that supported his characters lonesome nature (boy was I wrong). And second, Maryann was the only maenad left in the entire world, and her endangered individuality became a point of fascination rather than contention. I was nave.

In just season three alone weve had to deal with all sorts of fantastical shlock: fairies, werewolves, more shifters, more telepaths, werepanthers, and now witches and wizards. For Bram Stokers sake, when does it all end?

The answer is it doesnt. The road the show is on now is a one that invites any creature of mythical, legendary, or fantastical origin into the vehicle. Moon roof open, windows down, enjoy the ride or leap to safety. Those are basically your only options. But, please, before you decide, look into the eyes of the werepanther above... What does she want you to do?*

Season three of True Blood showed its ugly side this past episode. I dont mean that it was particularly gruesome or gritty, or that we saw a new darkness present in our favorite kindhearted characters. I mean the episode was, with two notable exceptions, probably the worst episode of True Blood ever.

Of course Ill explain why it is I feel this way (below the spoiler bar, as always), but Id love to get a discussion going on what we think went wrong with this season. Here are a list of talking points Id like my (few) readers to discuss in our comments section:

THE TOP FIVE THINGS WRONG WITH SEASON THREE OF TRUE BLOOD:

5. Werewolves: I know I wasnt the only one excited by the prospect of our furry supernatural friends, the werewolves, at the outset of the season. That was until I found out how weak and subordinate a role they were going to play, and how abysmally stupid the entire lot of them would beexcept, of course, for Alcide, who isnt all that interesting himself. It only takes one vampire to demolish an infinite number of werewolves, so True Blood viewers have learned simply not to care when a pack of them arrives. Yawn.

4. Sam Merlotte: How the mighty hath fallen. Once one of the more interesting personalities in the series, Sam has been relegated to a boring and miserably isolated plotline involving his family and his younger brother, Tommy. While the role of the mentor is a natural one for the kindly shapeshifting barkeep to assume, theres still a lot more to Sam that he hadnt figured out yet, and Tommy is keeping him (and us) away from more interesting developments. What does Sam Merlotte want for himself? Thats what I want to know. The happiness of others has become his primary concern, and the rewards for his charitable nature have yet to present themselves.

We stand at a precipice, you and I, loyal Fangbangers.

We are, supposedly, one episode away from learning whatever it is that Sookie Stackhouse may actually be. This golden nugget of information has been buried like the remains of Jimmy Hoffa since the very first episode, and its discovery is imminent.

Like any good little internet troll, I did my homework and spoiled it for myself. It isnt pretty. And no, I wont tell you what it is. If you want to find out for yourself, its a mere Wikipedia search awaybut youve been warned.

I wish so much of True Bloods intrigue didnt hinge on this one moment of revelation, but lets face it: its going to make or break the series. I had hoped that Alan Ball would steer clear of some of Harris more kitschy creations and fancies, but it seems he intends to motor this ship right into the nonsensical iceberg of campland. Whether the show can stay afloat in spite of this mess, or will sink to the bottom of the ratings ocean remains to be seen

I cant even say for sure that Ill still be watching.

Whatever happened to Sam Merlotte? Its the question I keep asking myself as I return to Bon Temps each week, hoping that there will be some change in the restaurateurs laughably bad plotline. As if Sams luck wasnt crappy enough, even the shows writers seem to be against him. Whats a shape-shifter gotta do to get a break in this town?

In season one, Sam was one of the more likable mainstays: a good-hearted guy with a troubled past and a major crush on Sookie Stackhouse. He owned the only restaurant in town, dressed like an extra from the Dukes of Hazzard, and like everyone else on the show, he was hiding a secret (a fluffy, adorable secret). In Sookies eyes, he was major competition for newcomer Bill Compton, and the Bill/Sookie/Sam love triangle was enough to keep things interesting on the romantic front while the bodies were piling up all over town.

Fast forward to season two, and Sams relevance as a character slowly began to fade. He was still essential to the plotline, as Maryann had a particular distaste for the young barkeep, but his charm was wearing thin. Part of this was due to the fact that his secret was out, and his powers werent developing in an interesting way (to this date, he still hasnt turned into a tiger and mauled someone to deathcome on, Sam!). Part of this was also due to the fact that he was no longer a contender for Sookies affectionsand as were quickly learning in season three, if youre not in with Sookie, your plot doesnt seem to amount to a hill of losing scratch-off tickets.

True Blood fans have been split down the middle for weeks. Half of the loyal fan base (affectionately referred to as Fangbangers) regards season three as the strongest of the set. The other half (with no cutesy nickname as of right now) is firmly of the opinion that this season is the worst so far, and swear up and down that they will likely not be returning for a fourth go. Of course, there are a few folks in the middle, hanging on to the ropes and waiting to be dragged back inor tossed out of the ring for good. Dare I include myself in this category? Maybe. But not just yet.

So why all the hoopla? Its one of the most popular shows on television, and the highest rated HBO series since The Sopranosso why are so many of the people that spend sixty minutes every Sunday with their thoughts fixated on a fictional town in Louisiana so divided over whether or not its any good?

Its a great point worth discussing (and Id love to see a few comments from all my readersyes, both of you), but Id like to offer a theory. Theres no doubt that season one was the purest form of the entity that was and is True Blood. Our characters and set pieces were well-established, and the show developed a certain, very specific relationship with the audience. It was unique, bizarre, violent, sexual, and very different. Thats the key. You can tell because its in italics.

We need to talk.

Don't say that to me. When women say that everything goes black and I wake up surrounded by body parts.

I hate to be the one to say I told you so, but it wont prevent me from saying it anyway. Franklin Mott is the most unnerving, hideous, stomach-turning wretch of a character in the history of True Blood. To all the folks who wrote me saying that he was simply misunderstood, or hadnt developed into a proper love interest yet, congratulations. Youre all morons.

I was pelted with emails and Facebook messages (love those) saying that I was being unfair when I referred to him as ugly and gag-worthy, but I honestly cant think of a better way to describe him. Thats not to say I dont like the character. Funny, right? I actually love Franklin MottI think hes developing into something much more interesting than I thought he was going to be, which was just someone for Tara to crush on. As one of the Kings many pawns, hes proven himself as a talented spy, and an all-around sick, twisted bastard. Hes a hit! Frankly, in a cast of strange (but essentially good) characters, Franklin Mott is a breath of fresh (psychopathic) air.

But hes still creepy as Hell. And not just a funny-looking, misunderstood vampire.

And I told you so.

***SNAP INTO A SPOILER, OOH YEAH!!***