The Broet Laureate Brian McGackin

“I’m such an ass/ I must admit/ I’d completely forgotten it/ Convenience stores don’t sell booze here/ Now how the hell will we get lit?”

Broetry promised to take me through the adventures of “Broet Laureate” Brian McGackin, from his high school graduation to his quarter-life crisis. And, dude– he went all the way, man. As a 20-something who is the same age as Brian, it was an enlightening and hilarious first-person peep hole look into the lives of my male friends and former flames over the past decade. And according to this collection, they are all quite the broets.

If you want to know what men think about in their 20s, I can summarize it up in, arguably, three words: “processed food” and “sex”– in no particular order. To bros and broettes alike, Broetry eloquently sheds light on those levels (and often hilarious, obvious lack of) and how they serve as the foundations of his experiences.

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This week in the Roundup we check in on the Dream Eater Saga in the pages of the Neverland one shot, celebrate the return of Magdalena to the comic racks and see how the Secret Avengers are doing at staying a secret.

Magdalena #7
By Ron Marz and Keu Cha

With Top Cow’s attention firmly on Artifacts and Witchblade, Magdalena has kind of slipped through the cracks. The book has been shipping late for a while now and most readers seemed to have forgotten about the title and the character, myself included. Thankfully, this month’s issue is a perfect way to get reacquainted with the Church’s main enforcer. (more…)

As everyone knows, we are in the middle of one of the worst recessions in history right now. Jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate and most businesses are trying to figure out how to cope. One of the few fields that has seen only a minor bump has been the video game industry. For the most part sales have remained strong and developers are still hiring game designers and artists to work on their next big project.

That is why it is so important (and cool) that Pennsylvania Senator Daylin Leach has introduced a video game tax credit bill in the Senate. If passed, it would create a 25% tax credit for video game companies that are based right here in PA and it would be an important first step toward bringing new jobs and video game developers to the city of Philadelphia. Plus it would be a great help to allow game existing studios already in Philly to expand and grow.

So how can you help this become a reality? First, spread the word. For this to work it has to go beyond just the geek culture and enter the mainstream. Second, contact the representative for your area and let them know you want this bill passed. You can find out how to accomplish this here.

This will go a long way toward making this a reality and making Philly the next “it” place to develop and create video games. Wouldn’t it be awesome to say that the next Halo or Gears of War was made right here in Philadelphia?

VGI Philadelphia
www.vgiphilly.com

Transformers: Dark of the Moon has Michael Bay returning to the roots of the franchise, telling a story that is equal parts conspiracy, giant robots and explosions… much like the first Transformers film. Needless to say, he has learned from the mistakes of Revenge of the Fallen and this new film while still a bit long for a Summer action flick, is a much more fine tuned machine that his previous endeavor.

Dark of the Moon starts by explaining the race to the moon was simply due to the US Government’s need to check out what appeared to be a crashed space ship on the lunar surface. This fact was hidden from the Autobots, who quickly venture up there to find not only the original Autobot leader but his invention, the Space Bridge; a device which can teleport matter. The weapon implications of such technology puts quite a scare into the humans, and of course the Decepticons happen to show up, to try to take over the world using said technology.

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Guest Post by Jess Wagner

The world of comics isn’t new to reinvention, or troubles for that matter. The industry is still going through hard times and many argue that comic industry, as we know it, is slowly dying off. You wouldn’t think so given how popular all of the Hollywood adaptations of beloved comic book characters have been but there’s still much doubt.

DC is throwing its hat into the proverbial ring and launching a new line of comics called DC Reboot. This line will feature all of the old DC characters but re-imagine and approached with a modern slant. (more…)

The Dude Hates Cancer is a local Philly event that lets you bowl, fight cancer, and quote your favorite bowling movie.

Started in 2006, this annual event was created by local resident Tim Maxwell in support of his parents, who were both diagnosed with leukemia.

So spare me your gutter mouth, grab your balls, and let’s go bowling! Teams of 6-10 will compete against each other with three hours of bowling, free shoe rental, free t-shirts for all participants, and free admission into Jackie Treehorn’s After-Party. The winning team will have their car set on fire and get into a fight in the parking lot with some nihilists. Make sure to register now, as there are only 39 teams and the time slots will fill up soon!

Money raised from the event will so to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Geeky sports fact: In bowling, there are 1024 possible pin combos after you throw your first ball.

The Dude Hates Cancer Bowling Tournament
Date: Saturday, August 27th, 2011
Time: 11:30am – 8:30pm

North Bowl Lounge N’ Lanes
909 North 2nd Street (19123)
www.northbowlphilly.com

Are you a zombie that wants to ride a roller coaster? The Philly Zombie Crawl peeps have teamed up with NJ Zombie Walk and NYC Zombie Crawl for the perfect event just for you. Behold, the first ever Zombie Invasion at Dorney Park.

Taking place August 18th, this event has some awesome perks, the first one being that tickets are only $25 for park admission to both Dorney Park and Wild Water Kingdom. Tickets are usually $44! Just use this link to get your discount ticket.

Dorney Park’s gates open at 10am, and as this is an all-ages event, why not take the day off and enjoy a full day at the park? Beginning at 5pm, the Zombie Base Camp will open inside the park grounds, offering make-up stations so you can zombify yourself… or hire one of the talented zombie make-up artists to get you ready. The park closes at 7pm to the human public, and at 8pm the undead invasion begins!

From 8pm until might zombies (and survivors) only will enjoy rides, live music, food specials, two Chickie and Pete’s beer gardens and more! An optional all-you-can-eat buffet dinner is also available.

All info is available at the Zombie Crawl’s official website. Get your ticket and get your dead on!

Zombie Invasion at Dorney Park
August 18th, 2011
phillyzombiecrawl.com/dorney_invasion_details.html