Dudes Named Claude -- They all look alike.

After my insanely popular Doomed Pets post (har de har), I've decided to reprise the idea with a new True Blood-pop culture look-alike. Claude the Fairy is the cousin of Sookie Stackhouse and twin brother of fairy Claudine in the Southern Vampire Mysteries.

Here's the comic book version of Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake comics to give you a better visual. Sadly, Claude is introduced later in the novels, so we'll have wait until a few more seasons of True Blood are filmed before we see this hunky fairy in person (if the show's team even keeps him in).

Anyway, just for fun, here's a little character comparison for Claude and Jean-Claude:

Claude - he's a model and stripper/strip club owner fairy from Louisiana. Claude's described as extremely attractive, with long black hair, a killer bod and a rude, self-absorbed attitude. He's also gay, and is said to like a little facial stubble. He also loves to make money and knows how to separate a crowd of ladies from their dollars. Claude was also a the winner of a romance novel cover model contest.

This is a link to True Blood wiki users doing a little future character fantasy casting, something I always enjoy reading. Possible Claudes: Generation Kill's Rudy Reyes (A.K.A. Fruity Rudy, btw), Ian Somerhalder (Boone from Season 1 of Lost), Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, Milo Ventimiglia (of Heroes), Victor Webster (Charmed and Harper's Island) or Orlando Bloom. And the list goes on...

My pick? Most difficult because as I read, I don't picture someone who exists who looks similar, I start from scratch based on the descriptions given by the author. Maybe that's a writer's mindset. Anyway, out of those, I'd say Milo Ventimiglia is closest, with a darker-haired Ian Somerhalder coming a close second.

Jean-Claude - he's a vampire strip club owner and Master Vampire of St. Louis who feeds on sexual energy. He's famed for his long, curly dark hair and long eyelashes. Jean-Claude's a fan of the puffy shirt and his leather pants and boots. Although he is the lover of Anita Blake, he's diverse in his sexual appetites and has been long connected to his second-in-command, Asher. Jean-Claude is often described as every woman's fantasy and just plain beautiful.

Below is a little snippet of Laurell K. Hamilton talking a bit about Jean-Claude and the consummation of he and Anita's relationship.

Note: Semi-suggestive material discussed. Not for the Puritanical sort.

See any similarities there? I sure do. The character Claude was introduced after Laurell K. Hamilton's novels featured the tall, dark and fangy Jean-Claude. Is this a nod to another vampire novelist by Charlaine Harris? There's something wonderful about the idea of all the genre writers sticking together and enjoying one another's works.

It's like deciphering a secret code. Maybe these little similarities are meant to be found by a certain set of readers. I mean, look at the way Harris makes references to her Sookie Stackhouse short stories (formerly scattered in anthologies, will appear collected in A Touch of Dead this October, if I'm not mistaken). One that comes to mind is actually in Bite, a collection edited by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Many fans of the Southern Vampire Mysteries are also fans of the Anita Blake Series and there's no question why that's so. Both series touch on all the things we love about vampires and vampire-human relationships, and do so with dry wit and memorable, lovable characters.

So you be the judge on Claude and Jean-Claude, be they ab-tastic supernatural look-alikes or simply dudes with French names.

And just a special little note for all you Anita Blake fans: If you haven't heard IFC will be making an Anita Blake TV Movie for next Summer in 2010! Read more here from the IFC blog and here a Press Release from Laurell K. Hamilton's website.