So I finally made the leap. I’ve gone from mere comic collector and nerd to full on scary comic guy. I bought a piece of original art. Superman is so freaking awesome and I’ve really been digging the way Renato Guedes has been drawing him. So, I’m at the San Diego comic con working my tail off at the incredible IMPACT booth, and who is one aisle over? Renato Guedes with a portfolio full of original art for sale. Every time I make a bathroom run or sprint for a hotdog, there he is smiling and being super friendly and showing off crazy good art.

So, at first I’m strong. I buy just a limited cover issue and get him to sign it. Then day 2, I figure wow he’s got great deals on prints, I’ll just get one of those and satisfy the itch to buy that one-of-a-kind-only-one-ever-unique-page of Superman blowing up a planet. Day 3 and I’m spinelessly poorer and the proud owner of an original Guedes Superman page.

Original Art

Insider’s fact: The crowd reacting at the bottom is made up of the Renato and his friends.

So, it’s mounted framed and I couldn’t be happier. If you want to learn more about Superman, well wow i can’t believe you get internet access under that rock, but if you want to check out more of Renato’s stuff you can check out his Official Site or if your Portuguese isn’t up to snuff bounce over to Wikipedia for an overview. And if you’ve given up hope, go here to buy some phenomenal art.

Justin Combs

While trolling around on my favorite media site, gawker.com, I noticed an ad for a new series on HBO about vampires called True Blood. Since vampires are my all-time favorite type of monster, I just had to check out the web site. In addition to the usual stuff about the show like the cast, crew and basic plotline, was the addition of an online comic book, also named True Blood that sets up the show’s back story.

 If you visit the site, start with the comic then check out the faux special report, “Shedding Light on Vampires in America.” There are additional videos and websites to visit that are connected to the back story set up in the True Blood comic, all of which lure you into the world the True Blood TV series will launch on September 7. And I have to say the effect is decidedly delicious.

 Click here to read the comic and learn more about the True Blood series.

Tired of action-packed comic books about crime-fighting superheroes and sleuths? Then check out the new and exciting Google Chrome comic book!

Google, the masters of all things Internet, recently teamed up with comic artist, theorist and writer Scott McCloud to develop a comic book-styled press release for Google’s new open source browser, Google Chrome. The comic book and a beta version of Chrome for Microsoft Windows were released yesterday to generate interest and explain the new system. Mac and Linux versions are in the works.

Chrome’s release was originally scheduled for today, September 3rd, but McCloud’s comic was prematurely shipped to Europe and exposed on a German blog and other tech sites. Google now has the comic displayed on its own official site, blog and Google Books.

See what McCloud has to say on his own site about the making of the comic book.