WEIRD & WILD: 'True Blood' vampires ooze onto the web

True Blood is so much fun on the internet, who cares if it ever premieres on TV?

OK, I'm getting carried away there. HBO's new Grand Guignol vampire drama/comedy/character study is pretty tasty in hour episodic form, too, which viewers can see next week when the juicy action debuts Sunday, Sept. 7 at 9 p.m. Hot sex, blood-drinking, meaty romance -- what's not to love?

But why wait? HBO's viral promo campaign is already online. While not as lurid as the series itself -- you'll see! -- it's a hoot and a half of a teaser.

There's bloodcopy.com -- with its pseudo-news reports chronicling "the amazing days we live in as vampires attempt to integrate with humans." That introduces the core theme of HBO's moody Louisiana bayou saga: broody, hot and bothered 173-year-old vampire dude Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) trying to assimilate, perhaps personally, with mind-reading human waitress/loner Sookie Stackhouse (Oscar-winner Anna Paquin).

There's also trubeverage.com -- which "reminds vampires to drink responsibly" when it comes to that new synthetic blood that's freed them of their fury and allowed them to emerge above-ground, so to speak. To access the site's arch ads -- "This blood's for you" (!) -- you have to enter not your age but the date/century you were "turned" (as in: "into a vampire"). It's "all flavor, no bite." Nice. I'm partial to Type O myself.

And then there's lovebitten.net -- "the site created exclusively for vampires and the humans who love them. Hungry for love? Get a taste at lovebitten.net."

HBO's own True Blood series site hosts graphic novels with a definite blood-red tinge, along with the usual character descriptions, interviews, show trailers and behind-the-scenes videos. It's also got links to even more viral sites, like the American Vampire League ("Vampires were people, too").

They're all deliciously tongue-in-cheek, yet subtle, trusting viewers to get the wit without being hammered over the head. Or staked through the heart.

They speak accurately of this latest HBO offering from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball. The flamboyant action in True Blood may be truly over the top -- neither the violence nor the sex are for the faint of heart -- but the scripts' underlying character study resonates with full-blooded humanity.

Pun intended. But true, too.