• 09:36 @roblevin - don't worry about Bristol. Do what Schreck did a couple of years back - find a table in Ramada bar, camp there and wait. #
• 09:37 @roblevin - For they will ALL come to you... #
• 12:47 @warrenellis - God no. Not til tomorrow. Today everyone in Brit comics is going to @mckelvie's birthday party. :-) #
• 13:40 @antonyjohnston Damn - forgot you weren't going to be there. Was looking forwards to catching up over a beer. #
• 15:35 @warrenellis - He's scared of your beard. We have to pull him by the lead to get him near Gillen these days, too... #
• 15:45 @antonyjohnston - Deal. #
• 23:51 @roblevin - You in the land of milk and honey yet? #

• 10:36 @antonyjohnston I call that 'weekdays'... #
• 16:31 @templesmith - It'll be the sequel to BOXING HELENA all over again... #
• 16:35 @bremxjones - You not in London yet? I thought it was April? #
• 16:39 @kellysue - Scarily, the guy who writes on the wall is Andrew, an old chum of mine - and I believe I actually have him friended... *shudder* #
• 16:42 @Rantz1 Smoke the banana bread? #
• 17:28 @bremxjones - You at Bristol though, right? #
• 19:51 @warrenellis - YET. Live the dream, sir. #
• 00:01 @warrenellis - which bit in particular? #
• 00:01 @mckelvie Happy birfday mate. Sorry I can't make it tomorrow - see you at Bristol. #
• 00:04 @BarbieHead - Why do you make us envision Warren's magic penis? What have we done to you to deserve this? Okay, I know what I'VE done... #

Let's make it work for the powers of good with two requests - one for celebrity comic writing chum Neil Kleid aka rantcomics, and the other for celebrity comic writing chum Vito Delsante aka incogvito...

First, Neil Kleid...

"This month,  Paul Salvi and I present "Action, Ohio", a tale of heroes, villains, deception, murder and comic books,  at Zudacomics.com, DC comics' online webcomic competition. Each month, Zuda's editors select ten comics to compete against each other. Readers vote for their favorite, often going as far as to campaign and sing its praises and the comics which receives the most votes at the end of the month wins a DC Comics publishing contract to continue the story on the Zuda site for the rest of the year. The only way to see your favorite comic continue is to vote, the only way to vote is to head to http://www.zudacomics.com/node/438 and register.

ACTION, OHIO is the story of Detective Andrea Bruce, a Detroit policewoman who doesn't believe in heroes. But when a teenager dies stopping a fire with amazing abilities and the coroner suspects foul play, Andrea discovers a secret town of superheroes while tracking his killer. In the sixties, men responsible for the birth of Silver Age comic books found a town riddled with the fallout of the atomic age and invented fictional characters based on its residents to divert the world from their existence: If America thought super heroes were fictional beings, it wouldn't go looking for them.  Supported by an ageing group of heroes, Andrea tries to hide Action from the world but as a town founded on policies of non-involvement begins to crack and Andrea digs into the underbelly of a town that's imprisoned itself to save the world, she begins to wonder: if Action, Ohio is a town of comic book heroes, then where are the villains? Andrea, an outsider with no use for heroes, must choose between solving her case and opening a Pandora's Box of evil closed forty years ago, or putting aside her vendetta to ensure that the sleepy little town hiding from the citizens of the world doesn't reach out, ignite and destroy them.

How can you help?

1) Click over to http://www.zudacomics.com/node/438. Read. Register. Vote for ACTION, OHIO before May 30th. All it costs is a moment of
your time: http://www.zudacomics.com/node/438 - don't forget to send this link around to EVERYONE you know and urge them to do the same!

2) Head to the production blog at http://actionohio.blogspot.com or join www.myspace.com/actionohio where you can find early sketches, behind the scenes commentary and web banners, web flyers and promotional materials you can use in spreading the word.

3) Once you've voted, make us your favorite then leave a comment and let the team know what you thought!

You *do* have to be a registered Zuda user to vote, comment, and favorite (it's an easy process), so head on over today and put the democratic process to good use this month."

Secondly - Vito Delsante...

"On May 14, SUPERMAN #676 is released and it's my first and (for now) only Superman comic. But you can change that!

Pick up SUPERMAN #676 at your local comic shop on WEDNESDAY, MAY 14 and help to make a difference. If you're a comic creator, post about it on your blogs! If you're a comic book retailer, help a fellow retailer out and DON'T RETURN THE BOOK! If you're a comic fan, make a statement with your wallets! YOU can make a difference in the burgeoning career of an up-and-coming writer!

And if you're in the New York Area, stop by JIM HANLEY'S UNIVERSE on WEDNESDAY, MAY 14 to get your copy signed! And meet artists DEAN (Brawl/Billy Dogma) HASPIEL and MIKE (Annihilation: Conquest) LILLY and many more guests to be announced from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Jim Hanley's Universe is located at 4 West 33rd Street, opposite the Empire State Building. For directions and more info, call 212-268-7088."

And also...

"**UPDATE: 5/7/08 - If you live in the NY Area, this signing just got bigger. I'm not piggybacking on a huge signing that will see the first time visit of JOE KUBERT and PETE CARLSSON (Tor) & ADAM KUBERT (Action Comics)! This is HUGE! Please come and not only support, but meet the legend!"

Go make Daddy proud.

• 22:48 @joshfialkov - Does this mean that the beard is going? #
• 22:50 First day back writing and I've had to kill a cold with PHARMACUTICAL GOODNESS. Now feel ready to work and of course it's almost bed time... #
• 22:51 @joshfialkov - @roblevin makes EVERYONE's dreams come true. Whether they want them to or not. Some even pay him not to. He does it anyway... #
• 22:52 @roblevin - I'd like a Pony. In an Iron Man suit. A flying armoured Pony with LASER BEAMS. Yeah, that'd rock. #
• 22:54 @BarbieHead - The hell I did! You gave it to me! With girl guile and cunningness over the Interwub! Damn you! Take lemsip. Much better :-) #
• 22:55 @Emmavieceli - Yeah me too - although illness has made my five day three day week now a five day three day two day week... #
• 23:13 @BarbieHead - And thus you were doomed to illness and death without the pharmacutical goodness known as Lemsip... #
• 23:14 @joshfialkov - Write me a western. Oh, wait - you want payment? Restart Western Tales of Terror, slacker! #
• 23:37 @wilw - Great. Now @budgie is going to be unbearable this weekend at the Bristol Con... "You hate it? Well WILL WHEATON said it was cool..." #
• 23:44 @budgie - Thats because everyone loves you. Except him over there. No, not him, the other one. Yeah. HIM. HE fucking HATES you. #
• 23:48 The one thing I hate about writing Doctor Who: The Forgotten? writing the speech patterns of companions. They never sound like I remember... #
• 23:51 @budgie - Mate - I PAID him. #

• 10:16 @warrenellis - I expected so much of Portishead, and it just feels like they didn't care enough about my expectations. #
• 11:04 @mckelvie - YOU ARE THE FUTURE OF COMICS. Is this Gillen's piece with Dan in it? #
• 11:40 @mckelvie - Then I must go buy it so I can cut out your picture and frame it on my wall... #

• 10:05 Woke up early. Did work. Why? So I can have an extended IRON MAN lunch/movie visit. Huzzah! #
• 10:06 @mckelvie - They look niiiice. Dan and I hope the Hope Falls trade will be released sometime this decade. #
• 15:05 Iron Man - Oh dear God yes. Thank you Favreau you did not disappoint. And anyone who goes to see it? Watch PAST the final credits... #
• 19:48 @findmew - Did you stay til after the credits? That's where the extra scene is in the UK release... #
• 19:52 @findmew - That's terrible. I thought all cuts had it, unless they decided that the UK could just preview the finished release or something. #
• 19:59 @findmew - It is a burden to take upon these shoulders, but I accept this blame on behalf of projectionists everywhere. #
• 22:08 @Rantz1 - Admiral Ackbar says it better :-) #

• 12:00 @neilkleid - No you're not. Because you've gained more brand awareness. And that's never a bad thing. Unless it's built by touching midgets. #
• 14:11 @DavidGallaher - Huzzah for fanboys! #
• 14:33 @bremxjones - Isn't that one of the four signs of the apocalypse? #
• 18:33 How to fuck up steampunk goggles. 1) spend two days making them. 2) drop them on the floor while plasti-coating them. Gah. #
• 18:39 @templesmith - That's the problem. I returned to warn him/myself, and scared him/myself as I/he was spraying, causing him/me to drop it... #
• 18:52 @antonyjohnston - It's easy - write 'Panel 1 - Antony stands before an audience. ANTONY - (insert speech here)'... You'll be fine :-) #

• 17:12 @antonyjohnston - Kill them. Kill them ALL. #
• 17:50 I'm almost up to the curve. Might even be ahead by tomorrow. And then I get to play with new stuff, with Bevis and Kevin. that sounds wrong. #
• 17:52 @joshfialkov - as in the german singer, or Nico, the Iron Maiden drummer? Personally I'd pay to see Scarlet jamming with the Maiden... #
• 17:53 @mckelvie - didn't you get the memo? She was yours, but you weren't at the rendezvous. She's now gone off with some bloke called Gillen...? #
• 18:06 @mckelvie - I know, but Chicks dig big, fluffy beards. Look at Ellis. Or Moore. Or Grizzly Adams. Or Santa. Or God. SIDEBURNS DO NOT COUNT. #
• 18:07 @templesmith - Sure we do. We just need to make sure you're not going to be there too... #
• 18:08 @jamessime - trust me - you REALLY don't want my dreams at the moment... Although, your hair is already in the right position... #
• 18:12 @templesmith - You're welcome, templebot. #
• 18:37 @Shortpacked - have you been visiting Gramps recently? Or is that the problem? #

I'm off to a party on Friday where I need to dress as a hero. And, following belle_fille1982's photo shoot on Sunday, I've decided that I wanted it to be a Steampunk hero. Now, I know I don't have that much time to get ready, and to be honest it's not going to be the best costume ever - but I decided I really wanted to make a good pair of Steampunk goggles.

And so, after remembering someone doing something similar once, I got hold of some spray cans - silver, brown, black - and a pair of five quid gas welding goggles.

For those of you that don't know what these look like, they're the ones with clear glass, and a flip up/down dark sunglasses bit. They look like this.


That's with the flip up...


And that's with the flip down.

So the first thing I did was cover the lenses. The whole point of Steampunk goggles is still to look like goggles, so I decided I wanted the lenses clear and not painted over like some people's versions. So, I printed out a batch of 45mm circles and cut them out, placing them in each lens area, front and back. I knew that this probably wasn't the perfect solution, but hey, I'm experimenting.

So, with the covers on, it looks like this.



With these done, it was then a trip outside to spray - because this is going to be in several parts, today was a basic 'hold the part that doesn't get sprayed and spray the rest' part, and Craig will be happy to know that unlike last year's Golden Champagne Glass cock up where I left spray paint all over the patio? This was quick, paint free and painless to the surrounding area. Firstly, I sprayed the green a uniform black, so that the entire unit was one colour. Then, using a brown I covered the part I intended to paint, in a vague 'brush stroke' way of spraying. Then, with this done I went back to the black, overlaying the brown with a light smattering. And then I did the same with the brown. And then then the black. I didn't want to make a 'wood' effect as to be honest a pair of these in a steampunk setting would more likely be leather, so I wanted something just touching on that.

And, when I had finished, the goggles now look like this.





And here we break. as I need this to dry totally before I start the next part, the 'metalising' of the flip top and the lens rims. I think that will be tomorrow. And I'll do the 'rivets' too, then.

But all in all? Not a bad start, I reckon.

• 11:25 @ApproBAT - But once you learn the basics - it's BEAUTIFUL. #
• 17:27 @DavidGallaher - No, there was just smoke getting in your eyes... #
• 23:48 @antonyjohnston - Vodka. Lots of it. #
• 23:53 I have decided that I am going to be the next big thing. I just need to decide in what, exactly. I'm considering undertaking. Or lint. #

• 23:18 @DivaLea - Is this one of those 'walk a mile in someone elses shoes' kind of things? Because if so, it's a little odd... :-) #
• 08:55 My unspoken love for B Clay Moore at this week's 'He's Only A Writer'... tinyurl.com/52n3d2 #

• 13:30 @jamessime - YOU ARE MY HERO. #
• 21:05 Week's workload started. Unfortunately week ending. I see weekend becoming much smaller. With killer robots and ninjas and shit. #

I know I know, we let you down last week. But New York Comicon mixed with no wifi access that our laptop could get mixed with a dozen different problems left us in the air, and you bereft of your weekly dose of The Gloom.

But fear not, as we have a double sized extravaganza for you now! four whole pages of Gloom goodness just for you over at The Chemistry Set. Enjoy, and accept our most deepest apologies...