Client Creative Team of Ortega, Mesch, Eastman & Dorman Sells Out of Issue #1 of THE OTHER DEAD

Zombie Animals Devour The World: THE OTHER DEAD Is Sold Out at Diamond!

IDW Comic Book by Digger T Mesch, Joshua Ortega and Kevin Eastman Outperforms Expectations

PRLog (Press Release) – OCTOBER 2, 2013–LOS ANGELES, CA — Ice-cold zombies are still hot, especially in the animal kingdom, as evidenced by the sold-out, critically acclaimed comic, THE OTHER DEAD #1, by IDW. Fan demand for this zombie animal horror-fest is driving a second printing, with cover art and availability date to be determined.

“We’re thrilled and amazed by the outpouring of retailer, comics industry, and fan support for our first book,” said Joshua Ortega, the writer whose other credits include Gears of War and Necromancer, “and want to thank everyone for giving the book a shot. It’s definitely something different, and we’re glad its unique blend of horror and satire is really resonating with people!”“I couldn’t be happier,” said co-creator Digger T Mesch (Agent 88), “After two years of hard work, it’s great seeing the book out there, and so many people enjoying the first issue. Add all of the positive buzz on the Dave Dorman Obama cover and the Kevin Eastman variant, and man, this is just awesome.”

THE OTHER DEAD creative team will be appearing at New York Comic Con, Artists Alley, Tables Y1 and Y2 from October 10^th through 13^th, 2013. They will also participate in a panel, The Other Dead with Kevin Eastman: When Zombie Animals Attack, on Saturday, October 12 from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in Room 1A10. The panel includes Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Heavy Metal magazine), Joshua Ortega (Gears of War), Digger T Mesch (Agent 88) Qing Ping Mui, Blond, and Dave Dorman (Star Wars/Alien & Predator).

For more information, interview requests, or review copies, please contact publicist Denise Dorman at denise@writebrainmedia.com.

Media Contact:
Denise Dorman | WriteBrain Media
P: 630.845.4694 | E: denise@writebrainmedia.com
Twitter: @WriteBrain Media | Facebook.com/writebrainmedia

PRAISE for THE OTHER DEAD:

“Thick with blood and guts as it is with political and social commentary, The Other Dead heads in a new direction as it ties together human fear and frailty and its effect on the environment through the collective revolt of the world’s lesser-evolved creatures. The Other Dead is attempting something a lot of comics do not: re-think the zombie mythos. That alone is worth a mention.”–Fangoria

“A unique and creepy spin on the idea (that) makes this stand out from countless other zombie stories. (Digger’s) twist, as developed by Ortega, is a brilliantly simple one that shifts the zombie plague from humankind to our furry, feathered and four-legged friends. But the writers don’t bank on that…so they develop enough of a backstory to keep readers coming back for the second issue and beyond.”– Comic Book Resources

“The Other Dead is a fast-paced story that pulls you in from page one. Qing Ping Mui’s art is sharp…and everything is presented in brilliant detail. In a world of zombie overload, The Other Dead stands out from the crowd.” – Comic Book Therapy

“Ortega and Mesch wisely placed this animal reanimation within the context of the human experience separate from the reanimation…(and focus) on how the undead apocalypse would affect the living of this world that were left to pick up the apocalyptic pieces. If I haven’t entreated you with the story, perhaps I can entice you with the art, because it’s absolutely gorgeous…(and) the animals, both living and undead are gorgeously rendered.” – Ain’t It Cool News

“Joshua Ortega (Gears of War) does a bang up job with the story here…(and) it’s just as visually appealing as it is well written. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill zombie comic. It’s above and beyond anything else that’s out there. These animals are infinitely more dangerous after death than they were while alive. Stronger, faster, deadlier. There’s not much more to say except go get this series.”– Geeks of Doom

“Romero Dawn of the Dead-style political commentary…(and) given the high quality of the art and the fun-ness of this inaugural ish, I plan to stick around to see where Ortega and co. take this story.”– Bloody Popcorn

“A gritty tale drawn in every perfectly bloody detail by Qing Ping Mu. Yes, a storm is coming to Louisiana, but its bringing more than rain, this time, it’s bringing the undead.” – Fanboy Nation

Note: For all 26 THE OTHER DEAD reviews, please click here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4z9r64pw0dtm2ri/SlRoJtw4DC

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Hollywood’s Favorite Blacksmith Tony Swatton Starring in MAN AT ARMS Webisodes for Break Media

 Burbank, CA—February 8, 2013—Behind every movie sword and armored costume, there’s a burly Viking forging steel in an unlikely setting – The Sword and Stone weaponry boutique and blacksmith shop in Burbank. The master of ceremonies is Tony Swatton, whom Break Media wisely chose as the subject for their new Monday night webisode series, Man at Arms, which begins airing on Monday, February 11, 2013 on the new AWE ME YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/aweme (AWE is an acronym for Amaze, Wow, Educate).

Tony Swatton at his Burbank blacksmith and armor shop, Sword and Stone

Swatton, the artisan genius behind the beloved Capital One Viking costumes and props, the Pirates of the Caribbean swords, the Blade from the movie of the same title, and the prop creator behind many blockbuster films, loves to share his work with the fans. “For the first time, I’m publicly lifting the veil on the mystique of it all. Look forward to seeing a lot of blood, sweat, and heavy metal,” he promised.

“We’re thrilled to give viewers a backstage pass to Tony Swatton’s highly unusual world, and the inner sanctum of Sword and Stone. Not only is Tony great entertainment value, but his craftsmanship will feed the heart of every geek and

D-I-Yer watching Man at Arms,” said Mitch Rotter, Executive Vice President of Programming, Break Media.

Scheduling Will Be As Follows:

Monday, 2/11

Episode 1: Jamie Lannister’s Sword

Mondays, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4, 3/11, and 3/18:

Episodes 2-6: *Episode order TBD

• Oddjob’s Hat from James Bond
• Batman’s Batarang
• Rafael’s Weapon from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Pair of Sais
• He-Man Sword
• Adventure Time Sword

Swatton, who was named “Pirate of the Year” for Pirates magazine in 2010, is a renowned cosplay enthusiast and one of the fun-loving founders of the Norse Hollywood Dining Vikings, a Viking flash mob group who invade Ikeas for their Swedish meatballs, or play football games in Viking garb for charity. From his madcap Hollywood adventures to his death-defying blacksmithery, this series is truly unlike anything that’s ever been done on reality TV or webisodes.

About Sword and Stone

Founded in 1989 by master blacksmith Tony Swatton, Sword & Stone is located in Burbank, CA and has established itself as the trusted source for handcrafted, historically accurate pieces custom designed for the needs of creative directors. The shop specializes in custom-made arms, armor and props for TV, film and the serious collector. They are a full-service blacksmith shop creating only one-of-a-kind pieces—nothing at Sword & Stone is mass-produced.

About Break Media

Break Media is a leading creator, publisher, and distributor of digital entertainment content including video, editorial, and games.  The company’s properties include the largest humor site online, Break, as well as Made Man, Game Front,Holy Taco, Screen Junkies, Cage Potato, All Left Turns, Chickipedia, and Tu Vez.  The Break Media Creative Lab is an in-house production studio creating original videos that range from award-winning branded entertainment to celebrity-driven web shorts to viral one-offs. The Break Media Network represents hundreds of publishers as one of the largest video advertising networks online, reaching more than 200 million consumers each month.

– # # #  –

Media Contact:

Denise Dorman, Publicist

WriteBrain Media

O: 630.845.4694 | C: 630.215.5623

E: denise@writebrainmedia.com

Oy Vey! New Apple iPad App JUDOKU Teaches Users About Judaism

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, July 27, 2011–Oy vey! Move over, world of Sudoku apps targeting Jewish youth…there’s a new game in town! Okay, so maybe the Jewish Sudoku mobile gaming market isn’t huge, but it’s just grown by one. Today the Apple App Store published Judoku(TM), an educational Sudoku puzzle game aimed at educating Jews and Gentiles alike on the basics of Jewish culture.

Judoku (rhymes with Sudoku), developed by ACME Digital Laboratories LLC, is not your everyday Sudoku app. The iPad game, which sells for $1.99 on the Apple App Store, can be played as a traditional Sudoku game, with numbers 1 through 9 ordered across columns and rows, or by using Jewish symbols or the Hebrew alphabet in place of numbers. The game also includes humorous explanations of the Jewish components to further engage and educate players.

Judoku creator Andrew Charon, who was lead developer on the Webby Award-winning Yearbook Yourself app with its 450,000 visits, said “I’ve been creating educational games for companies like General Mills, Colle+McVoy, takemefishing.org and Blue Earth Interactive for many years, and most recently, I created a successful mobile app Sudoku game. My whole life people have asked me questions about Judaism, and then it occurred to me–here’s the opportunity to merge both into one fun user experience! I wanted a captivating tool I could use to teach my own children about Judaism. Learning the Torah was competing for their attention against Angry Birds and Justin Bieber Tweets. I figured if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! That, and frankly, I really just wanted to create something called Judoku,” he added.

According to Charon, whether or not Judoku will be released for devices, such as Apple’s iPhone and iPod, or for Android and Blackberry devices will depend on the demand for the game from users of those devices. “I’m eager to hear how people are using the game, what they’re finding useful, and just getting their overall feedback. I’m expecting a lot of questions — it’s sort of a Jewish thing.”

For more information on Judoku, please visit http://www.judoku.net or http://www.acmedigitallabs.com; for review copies of the game, please contact ACME public relations firm WriteBrain Media by phone at 630.215.5623 by email at denise@writebrainmedia.com or via Twitter.com/writebrainmedia.

ABOUT ACME DIGITAL LABORATORIES LLC (ACME)

ACME Digital Laboratories LLC (ACME), founded in Chicago in 1997 by Andrew Charon, is now a Minneapolis-based creative software development company specializing in web and mobile application development. Judoku(TM) is the latest app developed by ACME. Previous mobile applications include The Crazy Monster Matching Game (iPhone) and The Monster Madness Memory Game and Sudoku Mania (iPad).

ABOUT ANDREW CHARON

Andrew Charon, the Webby Award-winning lead developer of Yearbook Yourself, has been working professionally in web development, design, and marketing since 1996. The Rubik’s Cube may have been the impetus for his award-winning career. At age 11, Fargo, ND native Charon was featured on his local ABC-TV affiliate for solving the Rubik’s Cube in record-breaking time. Currently, Charon is a full-time contractor at General Mills with a focus on creative software development, user experience, design and interactive strategy. Previously, Charon was employed at Minneapolis-based agency Colle+McVoy as a Sr. Creative Developer. He was a significant part of the agency’s transformation from a traditional to a highly interactive-focused agency, and while there, lead many award-winning projects for clients such as Yahoo!, Johnson and Johnson, Taubman Malls, Manhattan Toys, Kiehls and Rhymsayers Entertainment. With an undergraduate degree in fine art, Charon is continuing his education at the University of St. Thomas masters program in Software Engineering and Information Systems. Charon enjoys spending time with his family, long bike rides, around Minneapolis, soccer and listening to and composing his own music. When he’s not developing games for his clients or his children, he’s…sigh…still developing games.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Denise Dorman | WriteBrain Media

P: 630.845.4694 | M: 630.215.5623 |E: denise@writebrainmedia.com

Twitter.com/WriteBrainMedia | Facebook.com/writebrainmedia

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Mashable names PSGive.org “Most Promising New Company”

Mashable names PSGive.org “Most Promising New Company”

PSGive selected over renowned sites Quora and Instagram for the win

Las Vegas, NV – January 7, 2011—PSGive.org is pleased to announce that they were presented with the Mashable Award for “Most Promising New Company.”  Their win was announced last night during the fourth annual Mashable Awards at a gala event kicking off the 2011 International CES® conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“It was an honor simply to be nominated in the company of such great organizations as Quora, Instagram, Badgeville, and Getaround,” noted Sean Steinmarc, co-founder.

The Mashable Awards recognize the year’s best of tech and the web, per votes by the Mashable community who cast more than 1.3 million votes in 25 categories. “The Mashable Community has really grown the Mashable Awards program over the past four years,” said Pete Cashmore Founder & CEO of Mashable.  “We are grateful to our readers who made this year’s program such a success.”

PSGive.org was born of two lifelong friends, Paul Feldman and Sean Steinmarc, who had spent six years supporting non-profits dedicated to curing diabetes, a disease with which Feldman was diagnosed at age 25.  While researching methods to increase support, they identified that the non-profit community’s limited resources made it difficult for many organizations, not just those focused on diabetes, to reach and engage a wider supporter base. From that revelation, Paul and Sean developed a solution to this problem: PSGive.org.

PSGive.org was founded in May of 2009 and launched in October 2010, attracting donors with online “events.” Each event is assigned to a single charity, where supporters compete online to win prizes like luxury trips, electronics and more. Most recently, donors won an iPad for $4.49, a Kindle for $14.48 and a Flip Ultra HD for $16.53. Revenue from the events is generated by participation, allowing for these item discounts. Other benefits to the site include the following:

PSGive.org is fun: Each charity is assigned an event, where supporters can compete online to win prizes like luxury trips, electronics and more.

PSGive.org is affordable: There is never a membership fee for charities or supporters. Virtually everyone can afford to participate; tokens start at just $0.50 each.

PSGive.org is social: Members earn free tokens by referring friends; the “Share Button” at the bottom of each charity page and its event pages helps broadcast the message on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere, further raising awareness.

PSGive.org is accessible: The site is accessible via smart phones such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Android.

“PSGive.org is engaging a myriad of new supporters to give small amounts rather than hunting that one lump sum from a wealthy philanthropist. This does a better job of raising awareness of the charities immediately, thus raising further revenue in the future,” Feldman explained.

For more information, please visit PSGive.org, watch the founders’ in a TV interview, visit our press room and visit the following pages:

● Twitter

● Facebook

● LinkedIn

About PSGive.org

Founded in 2010, PSGive.org is an online community specifically designed to increase awareness of and revenue for non-profit organizations. PSGive.org allows nonprofit supporters to compete for amazing deals in online events benefiting their causes.

Media Contacts:

Stephen Crane

stephen.crane@psgive.org

951.732.7010

Denise Dorman

denise.dorman@psgive.org

630.845.4694

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I’m NOT One of the Top 50 Mommy Bloggers…But Who’s Counting?!?

So today they announced the Top 50 Mommy Bloggers. Apparently I haven’t done enough drinking and bribing with the judges.  That’s okay. I appreciate all of you, my gentle snowflakes. Each and every one of you.

A little Facebook exchange today reminded me to share with you one of my favorite practical jokes. I executed this operation when I was first getting to know Dave’s family. I had just moved to Shalimar, Florida and it was right around the holidays. Dave’s brother Jeff, sister-in-law Vicky, niece Stephanie and nephew John came down to celebrate with us and Dave’s father, USAF Lieutenant Colonel Jack Dorman.  Dave’s niece Stephanie and I hit the mall for some Christmas shopping and happened upon one of my favorite practical joke prop stores of all time (cue up the choir of angels): Spencer’s Gifts.

While perusing Spencer’s, I discovered the most delicious x-rated fortune cookies. As luck would have it (no pun intended), the whole family was going to Dave’s favorite Chinese restaurant that very evening. Stephanie and I were just buzzing with anticipation.

We arrived at the Chinese restaurant and ever-so-casually pulled the server aside and asked her to serve our fortune cookies. I don’t know about your family, but our tradition is that everyone reads their fortune aloud at the end of the meal. Like many ugly Americans, when little ears aren’t present, we end the fortune with the words “in bed” or “between the sheets.” This particular night, we all held off on that tradition to be more appropriate in a public place.

I’d give anything to recall the entire fortune-reading-aloud segment, but all that I can really remember is Dave’s brother Jeff reading, “Tight butts drive me nuts…?!?” as he looked up quizzically with a half-smile on his face. Everyone raced to open their fortune cookies and read them. Dave got really pissed and declared to the server, “What kind of fortune cookies are you serving here?!?” and then he saw it: the tears of laughter rolling down mine and Stephanie’s faces. Once again, he was the victim of my horseplay.

If pranks don’t come naturally to you, I recommend that you, too, peruse Spencer’s Gifts. The props there are downright inspirational. And when you pull your prank, please share it with me here or email me at denise@writebrainmedia.com. I can always use a good laugh.