Dorothy's Journal

Who wants pie... and 80s video games?

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:45:28 GMT

Check This Out

INTELLIVISION SPECIAL COMIC-CON UPDATE JULY 23, 2008

Coming to COMIC-CON this week? Then be sure to stop by the NATIONAL CARTOONIST SOCIETY (NCS) booth (1307/1309) and meet Intellivision Productions President, Blue Sky Ranger KEITH ROBINSON!

Keith, who draws the weekly newspaper comic strip MAKING IT, will be autographing copies of his cartoon collections. He'll also be happy to sign any Intellivision memorabilia you bring by. Exclusively for Comic-Con, he'll be selling and signing a limited-edition reprint of his 1986 cartoon illustration used on the box of the Intellivision game THIN ICE!

And go by the ILLUSIVE ARTS booth (2109) to pick up a copy of the comic book SPARKS, written by Intellivision fan CHRIS FOLINO, writer/director of the movie GAMERS. The comic book features a full page ad for INTELLIVISION. After you get FOLINO to autograph the book, bring it on by the NCS booth and have Keith sign the ad!

Keith will be in the NCS booth Thursday through Sunday. Come on by!

VISIT INTELLIVISIONLIVES.COM FOR MORE DETAILS

Comic Con Fever - Catch It!

Seriously, you're all probably going to come down with something nasty. It's crowded.

Hello Handsome!

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:19:09 GMT

FROM THE ILLUSIVE DESK...

It’s a whizbang and a SPARK in San Diego this week, as we pull off the greatest Illusive Illusion of our careers!

Riddle me this, Dot-Fans: When is a Convention not a Convention?

When it’s San Diego Comic Con, cuz that place is a freakin’ zoo. Jiminy Criminy.

San Diego is also where we’ll be exhibiting once again this year. Yep, right there on the red carpet in the indy section, you’ll find the proud green Dorothy banner waving once again. Then again, you may not recognize us this time around. That is because we are Illusive! And we use the mighty power... of Illusion!

You must forgive me. It’s late, and we’ve all been watching Doug Henning far too much. Or was it David Copperfield? Maybe David Hasselhoff. I can never tell those guys apart. But the point is: Dorothy, Tony Loco and all your other favorite Illusive Art Entertainment creations will be proudly displayed and sold at Booth 2109, starting Wednesday, July 23 - Preview Night! But you might see some new faces wearing the hawks. I mean, hocking the wares.

We hardly ever wear hawks. Especially when we’re working.

Booth 2109! Where some of the faces you see will belong to our extra-special guests: Catastrophic Comics! William Katt (The Greatest American Hero) and other creators behind the thrilling SPARKS comic will be there with a multitude of comics and posters, plus a special ashcan of a new title they’re announcing. Ooohh....

You’ll also see Derek McCaw of Tony Loco fame with his Fanboy Planet podcast posse.

Derek might wear a hawk.

Or hock a watch. Sorry. I mean, he’ll be watching you like a hawk. To make sure you support quality comics. Because he loves you.

Who won’t you be seeing? Well, that’s a horse of a different color....

Certain legal concerns keep us from specifying what that color might be. But we can tell you that Dorothy writer Mark Masterson will be in West Virginia this weekend, wearing a tuxedo, and he’s very very sorry that he’s staying up late writing things like this when he’d much rather be writing more Dorothy or saying hello to you, his very favorite fan.

Other than that, you’ll have to discover for yourself! Get the juice! Drop on by! Booth 2109 is where the stars shine....

Evidence of Life

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:35:48 GMT

You must check it! Come see our beautiful thinking bucket!

(Scarecrow cosplay head courtesy award-winning 2D Costuming, display and shop courtesy Illusive Comics and Games. For more information on Dorothy, and what the hell's been going on and why do we keep posting these cryptic, infrequent, messages, watch this space.)

Our apologies to old Emerald City...

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:57:12 GMT

Sorry, Seattle, but our writer and Chief Communications Official, Mark Anthony Masterson (ideaspace) seems to have had him a heart-related incident involving the emergency room this past Wednesday. No joke. He's okay now, while several powerful new drugs attempt to shape-up his system, but he ain't no-how allowed to put himself in any stressful situations.

SO.... As Anna put it in her journal: "So...after a brief "Company Meeting" it was decided that ideaspace should not travel via plane, help carry heavy-ish boxes to and fro, and not spend 2 days working a middle-sized convention. And thus I ain't goin' neither.

Sorry all but we all likes him being alive-ish. Unless he's becoming a vampire and then it's ok to work towards being dead.

We'll make up for it by having a virtual convention, yeah! Or something."

Please, don't let that stop you from attending and enjoying The Emerald City Comic Con this weekend! Lots of talented people without dangerously high blood pressure will be there, like the guy who does Wondermark Lite, and all the other awesome-bo-bawesome folks they've got on their website. It's a great show, very art-friendly, very intimate.

If you see anyone we need to say hey to, say hey to 'em for us.

And we're working on the new projects, as well as explaining what the frak's happened the past eight months, just as soon as we stop having emergency-room related incidents because of them...

Much love to all the fans of Dot,
MAM

P.S. Watch out for LOLDots!

Dorothy has the Greatest Fans in The World

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:31:01 GMT

Seanan knows the Score.

And really, that's the best Wondercon report you're going to see. That's just how it is. Go Team Comics!

(Really, we can't thank our amazing fans enough. (I was going to say "fucking amazing" but this is a family forum) Cosplay, fansongs, flattering caricatures... this is heady stuff. Dorothy continues because people love her. Never forget that.)

The Blog that Oozes Oz

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:09:44 GMT

Hey kids! Wondercon Pics!

Watch this Space

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:25:18 GMT

Dude, we totally mean to post something here soon. Really. With info and everything.

* * *
Illusive is as Illusive does.

SWinkies

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:39:04 GMT

FROM THE ILLUSIVE DESK...

Wow, have we got news for you. I mean, we’ve made announcements before, and we’ve promoted conventions before, but this, this is seriously awesome stuff. If you’re a fan of Oz, and you’re a fan of comics (and if you’re not, why are you even reading this?), prepare to shiver with antici... pation.

And delight. Delight and anticipation.

Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Are you wearing your special shivering pants?

This Saturday, November 10th, in beautiful Dana Point, California, USA, the South Winkie Convention of the International Wizard of Oz Fan Club will host a live, in-person, appearance and presentation from legendary artist WILLIAM STOUT!

Dude! That guy is a legend! Check out his website. He’s brilliant! He worked with the Firesign Theater, he draws dinosaurs like whoa, he does these amazing flying monkeys in that, y’know, sort of Berni Wrightson/ House of Secrets style, plus he did design work on the “Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” thing. Not only that, he was the Production Designer on perhaps the greatest zombie film ever made, “Return of the Living Dead!”

So look, the South Winkie Con is a perfect chance to meet the man. He’s done amazing Oz work, incredible film stuff, and at any other appearance he’d be mobbed by crowds. The advantage of South Winkie is that it’s intimate - everyone will be up close and accessible in that marvelous Oz way.

Oh yeah, Illusive Arts will be there, too. You know our stuff. We’d like to see you if you happen to stop by.

*

The South Winkie Convention will be held from 10 AM to 5 PM at the Dana Point Community House. $15 for adults, $10 for children, includes meals. Reservations are due by November 6.

William Stout also worked on Pan’s Labyrinth. Man.

Illusive Arts Entertainment will be selling Dorothy merch, and hopes to keep the drool off our chin.

Anyone interested in taking one of our Illusive Staff out for lunch, dinner or drinks during the weekend should post here.

WeHo'd

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:54:27 GMT

How much do we suck about following up on telling you all about events we've attended? Yeah.

Well, this time, someone helped me with some of the work on this. Here is a blog entry about about me, with a photo of a nice sideglance from moi, and a with (from left to right) Mark Masterson, Mike Wellman, me, Oscar and Josh Dysart.

And the same blogger covered Mark as well. Isn't that nice?

We had a good time, even though it was much warmer than we expected. We ran into several old friends from Whittier College, which was wonderful. I saw a panel with Bill Willingham, James Jean and Matthew Sturges. Got their autographs and didn't gush. (I'm particularly proud of that point).

Um... yeah. What else? Can't recall. Mark can step in here and add stuff, if he is so inclined.

Store Opening Celebrated With Signings

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:02:44 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ILLUSIVE ARTS ENTERTAINMENT CREATIVE GENIUSES TO APPEAR AT GRAND OPENING OF NOTED COMICS SHOP

Santa Clara, CA (October 2007) -- Illusive Comics & Games, formerly known as Brian's Books, will host a grand opening celebration this Saturday, October 13, 2007, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. To kick off the festivities, they have invited Mark Anthony Masterson and Ray Boersig, both members of the avant-garde, ace production team of the innovative CGI-based comic book "Dorothy," to sign comics and tell stories all day long. You can find the shop at 2725 El Camino, Suite 105, or just follow the screams of delight.

But wait, there's more! Apparently the crack management team at Illusive Comics & Games pulled some strings so that even more amazing comic creators will be on hand for signings:

Josh Dysart (Swamp Thing, Violet Messiahs)
Rafael Navarro (Sonambulo, animator for The Batman and Scooby Doo cartoons)
Mike Wellman (Mac Afro, Start Trek The Manga)

While the store strives to serve South Bay comic fans just like predecessor Brian's Books, Illusive Arts Entertainment has world domination in mind.

“I want my store to be comic book fan and family friendly,” says co-owner Anna Warren Boersig. “But I want my publishing company to kick ass and take names. We're doing our best to build fan loyalty and create an army of art lovers who will stop at nothing to share our incredible storytelling with every corner of the earth.”

"Letting people meet our wonderful creators and gain insight into the madness of production is one link in the mighty chain," she added. "Plus, it's an excuse to party."

ABOUT ILLUSIVE ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

Illusive Arts Entertainment is a multimedia dream factory that absolutely can't say no beauty. Based in the Bay Area, they currently produce the critically acclaimed comics "Dorothy" and "Tony Loco."

For more information about Illusive Arts Entertainment, visit www.illusivearts.com.

ABOUT ILLUSIVE COMICS & GAMES

Illusive Comics & Games, located in Santa Clara, Calif., carries an extremely wide variety of independent and mainstream titles, with a large amount of back stock that includes golden and silver age comics. There is an art gallery, gaming area, and plenty of room for signings along side the toys, games and San Jose Sharks memorabilia.

Illusive Comics is the only female-owned comic shop in Santa Clara County. Despite the fact that Anna is an owner in both enterprises and they happen share the word "Illusive" in their names, and deal in the comic book industry, they are, in fact, completely separate businesses.

For more information about Illusive Comics & Games, visit www.illusivecomics.com.

Contact:

Anna Warren Boersig
Illusive Comics & Games
2725 El Camino Real, Suite 105
Santa Clara, CA 95051
408-985-7481

(naked photos of the comics and lunch are available upon request)

SiliCon Excellence

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 06:05:38 GMT

Fanniest Fans,

Unfortunately we are not exhibiting at SiliCon this year. However, our presence was strongly felt when two of our bestest fans and friends showed up with an Amazing surprise for us (fortunately, I was on hand to be exuberant about this):

My mouth hurts from grinning. I ran out of words of praise. Just F*cking Awesome.

WeHo Dares Wins

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:05:11 GMT

Hola, Fancy Faithful -

Just dropping a note to let you know the fun fab folks of Illusive (or at least Anna and Mark, a.k.a. The Expendables) will be exhibiting at yon West Hollywood Book Fair this weekend. It's a hoot.

It'll be especially hooty this year, as Mark (alleged writer) will be on stage and allowed to speak at the Indie Publisher panel! Those fools. At that hour of the morning Mark is still shaking off the effects of the Beastie Boy's 1986 album, Licensed to Ill. There's no telling what he might say. He might spill all the secrets of the Indie Secret Society! He might just pass out! There's no knowing unless you show up!

WEST HOLLYWOOD. THIS SUNDAY. LET THE GAMES BEGIN.

(Seriously, I'll dish on anything you want to know. If you bring me coffee, I'll probably be able to make it coherent. Just come on over. It'll be our secret. - Mark "Deep Throat" Masterson)

ComicConness

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:49:25 GMT

Herr Masterson has finally uploaded our ComicCon '07 photos. Please appreciate his commentary.

What have we been up to?

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:42:13 GMT

Yes, we've been quiet, but with fairly good reason. I realized that we've not kept you, our lovely fans and friends, entirely up-to-date with our goings on. Well, here's what has kept us busy.

Greg- recently moved into a home with air conditioning. Living in Tucson, this is like saying "Greg finally got water running in his house." Since he's a single Dad and works full time as an advertising graphic designer, this move has put a bit of a pinch in Dorothy #8. But, I can tell you that he has finished the storyboards and the photo shoot of Catie. Perhaps he'll post an image or two for you.

We've also found an amazing artist to do the cover for us. We all think you will love his work. We await what cool concepts he comes up with for the cover.

Mark- recently promoted to web designer for the Fullerton Public Library, he's turning their website awesomeness up to 11.

Ray- after shattering his heel on June 2, (yes, Shattered. A plate, 6 screws and some dead person bone required to put it back together. He's now Zombie-Boy) he has been working hard at mending himself. Ray is also do CG animation for a children's show pilot (not his concept, he's merely the hired artist). We'll tell you all about it if and when it gets picked up. He's also been busy doing a lot of the raising of his and Anna's teenage nephew.

Anna- went ~~more~~ insane in May and bought a comic book store. This month the next door tenant moved out, and the remodeling to expand the space is occupying most of her time these days. If you live in the Bay Area, stay in touch with that store's LJ to get details of the Grand Opening celebrations in October. If you are interested in getting booked for a signing, pop an email or drop a line here.

Through it all, we've kept up to date with notices of all other Oz spin-offs. Yes. No worries here. Haha. Nope.

Does that cover it all? I think so.

No more Engine?

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 06:16:19 GMT

A tad depressing bit of news about The Engine... we made some good connections through this site.

Interview of the Boys

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:42:37 GMT

Bored? Listen to an interview with Greg and Mark by Comic Talk Cafe.

Please note that their voices sound nothing like this in real life. Very odd.

Anna's Store

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:37:13 GMT

Hey Party People,

I finally set up an LJ for my Store. Come friend me if you live locally and want updates, live far away and would like to buy comics & stuff from me, or are merely curious about my store. illusivecomics is the name of the LJ.

Demographic.JPG

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:12:51 GMT

Demographic.JPG
Originally uploaded by Illusive Arts Entertainment

These Very Hot ladies each picked up a copy of Dorothy and were kind enough to put our "D" tattoos on their bosoms.

Anna did a happy dance.

This should be the main picture on our marketing materials, no?

A Nice Con Summary and Update

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:18:02 GMT

As you surely are aware, 2007 ComicCon is now over. Has been for 2 days, now, actually. Team Oz had a friggin fantastic week. Sales weren't up to par, but we heard that was common among fellow exhibitors. It seemed most conventioneers went to the Con for panels not shipping. But it's ok, we still made plenty of contacts and many new friends. Shall I list everyone we made new friends with? Do I remember them all? Do I need more sleep?

How shall I summarize the week for you? Long, fun, sleepless, drunken, tiring, hilarious. Mark decided that I had to finally work this convention in his style and not mine. My style, traditionally, has been to do the con, go to dinner with our friends and then go back to the hotel, do accounting and paperwork and get 7-8 hours of sleep. I would wake up exhausted, stressed and grumpy.

Mr. Masterson's con style is Oh-So-Different. One goes to the con, then dinner with friends, then begins the evening revelry at one shin-dig or another and finally ends up at the Hyatt (where, at some point, the entire comic and movie industry seems to end up at one of their 3 bars). Leave there around 2am, when the bars sadly close and then hang and talk with many of these people until 4 or so in the morning. Get entirely too little sleep, but wake up not grumpy (merely hungover/still a little drunk), not stressed and have an enjoyable day. Repeat this for 5 days and then feel as though death has warmed you over, just a tad, and you start hearing imaginary cell phones and the world seems to slow down a bit. This was great. I met tons of industry professionals I would otherwise be too busy to meet, or just not have a chance to have a drink with in the outside world.

A major highlight for me was seeing the Too Much Coffee Man Opera (if you are in the Portland area, you MUST check it out). It was brilliant and too damn funny. Greg got to see a screening of SuperBad and meet Seth Rogen. He was a super happy camper.

Le me now ramble through memories... I somehow gained bronchitis or something and with it a nice deep sexy voice and hacking cough. This meant that every time I laughed it was "sinister sounding." So I sinisterly laughed my way through the Con. Lack of sleep makes many things more funny than usual.

We developed a new evening cough syrup named Robiquila. You must be 21 to try it. I highly recommend it.

I made up with Brian Posehn after a year of boycotting him since he snubbed me a year ago. I didn't intend to make up, but an unnamed business partner of mine decided it was time to end the one-sided dispute. Brian was very kind and let me flatter him. "I haven't enjoyed being mad at you as I'm a huge fan" kind of things. He apologized profusely and blamed his actions on his shyness. I later beat my biz partner to death with his shoe for embarrasing me.

Had a great impromptu meeting with a movie production company at one of the parties. Couldn't recall their name the next day, but they were nice and had my card so they came by our booth. We shall see where that goes and keep you informed.

I found that being a Retailer and not just a Publisher was very advantageous at this Con. Retailers take me more seriously since I'm one of them now, and Publishers like me since I might carry their stuff. I try to only really talk to the people who have a completely kick ass product that I know I'll be ordering and just am briefly polite with the rest.

Now, I know we don't discuss Tin Man much here, but I should say again that we are aware of it's existence, we appreciate everyone's concern and we are "handling" the situation. As they had a heavy presence at the Con we received many questions and comments from concerned fans.

What else? I didn't go to a single Panel. Aside from not feeling like leaving the booth unless forced to, I just didn't want to fight the crows and deal with lines. Of course there were panels to go to that had no lines, but for those I wussed out and missed due to extreme fatigue. I'll go next year. Maybe.

Mark and Greg should each tell you their highlights now.

Upcoming events for our little company, by the way, are:

* West Hollywood Book Fair September 30. Mark will be there signing. I dunno if I'm going to be there.

* South Winkie Con in November. Again, Herr Writer Boy will attend. Since he lives 45 minutes away, it only makes sense to go.

I don't know about SiliCon. I think I confirmed, but have to check on that.

And other than that we are done for 2007. In 2008 we intend to hit:
* WonderCon Feb 22-24
* APE
* Possibly New York ComicCon April 18-20
* EmCity May 10-11
* Of course ComicCon July 23-27

And Winkie Con, SuperCon, and perhaps a Sac Con or 2. If you think there are others we should seriously consider, please let us know.

Ok, now it's time for me to leave LA and drive home. Thank god for the caffeine in Excedrin.

The Greg Deux

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 06:03:08 GMT

Greg's Pet Songs
Originally uploaded by Illusive Arts Entertainment

Greg's second album is a severe disappointment. He turns to Scientology, lured in by the Frazetta art in the booth. The FBI is seeking his assistance in an ongoing investigation.

The rest of the band ratted him out.

Blue Steel Mannino

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 05:57:13 GMT

Blue Steel Mannino
Originally uploaded by Illusive Arts Entertainment

After five minutes, Greg a"band"ons the group and goes solo! Citing creative differences, the rest of The BadAss-est agree that it's for the best. Mark weeps in his tent.

The BadAss-est

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 05:48:40 GMT

The BadAss-est
Originally uploaded by Illusive Arts Entertainment

What happens to an indie publisher after 5 solid days of Con?

They go metal. Look for our MySpace coming soon.

The Intern

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 05:34:30 GMT

The Intern
Originally uploaded by Illusive Arts Entertainment

Steve is the happy slave intern to Crazy Roz. She commanded him to kiss up to Anna, and he interpreted this to mean he should act lecherously. Anna, in turn, spanked Steve. He was happy.

SD Comic Con Set Up

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 06:13:29 GMT

SD Comic Con Set Up
Originally uploaded by Illusive Arts Entertainment

Anna and Mark on the first day. We drove down from L.A., unloaded the vehicle, set up the booth, built a new wall (with help from David Maxine and Shannon Wheeler), toddled around the Gas Lamp District in search of food and other necessities, then came back to yon hotel for swearing and internet connexion.

We Shirt On You All

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:40:27 GMT

While prepping for ComicCon, Monsieur Masterson came up with some fun new shirts. Check 'em out in their Cafe Press Store.

You tell us, which do you like best? Which do you think we should have on hand at the Con? We can put any of these sayings on any of the shirts, except the black ones.:

View Poll: Shirty Sayings