Custom Manufacturing Industry podcast is an entrepreneurship and motivational podcast on all platforms, hosted by Aaron Clippinger. Being CEO of multiple companies including the signage industry and the software industry, Aaron has over 20 years of consulting and business management. His software has grown internationally and with over a billion dollars annually going through the software. Using his Accounting degree, Aaron will be talking about his organizational ways to get things done. Hi ...
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Content provided by Patrick Brower and CHALLENGERS Comics + Conversation. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Patrick Brower and CHALLENGERS Comics + Conversation or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
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<div class="span index">1</div> <span><a class="" data-remote="true" data-type="html" href="/series/the-head-start-embracing-the-journey">The Head Start: Embracing the Journey</a></span>
We’ve all had a moment where we arrived at the grocery store and can’t remember passing any of the stoplights along the way. We’re halfway down an aisle and scrambling to remember what we even needed. Our mind is in overdrive trying to sort through our ever-growing to-do list. We’ve been there when just making it through the next task is hard. But the normal stresses of life aren’t the only thing YOU have to deal with. Nora McInerny hosts The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, a new podcast from iHeartRadio and AbbVie, a space to share open and honest conversations acknowledging the struggles we all face, while leaning into the hope and optimism we all share. We’ll hear from doctors, experts, and everyday people who will be sharing their experiences, migraine coping strategies, and major wins, all while building a community of support around an invisible disease that makes every day uncertain: Chronic Migraine. Click here for Product Information, including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide, or visit https://bit.ly/3BlbaHG
APOLOGIZING FOR THINGS NOT OUR FAULT
Manage episode 474333515 series 1026487
Content provided by Patrick Brower and CHALLENGERS Comics + Conversation. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Patrick Brower and CHALLENGERS Comics + Conversation or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
APOLOGIZING FOR THINGS NOT OUR FAULT•Trying to buy a Will Ospreay print by Rob Schamberger. •MORE problems with Lunar shipments! •MORE problems with Diamond shipments! •2 annoying online transactions (one eBay, one Challengers). •Alliance Entertainment enters into an agreement to purchase Diamond Comic Distributors! What do we know about Alliance? •We’re 17!! This episode is dedicated to the 22% of small businesses that make it to 17 years.
---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #730
Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com
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Manage episode 474333515 series 1026487
Content provided by Patrick Brower and CHALLENGERS Comics + Conversation. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Patrick Brower and CHALLENGERS Comics + Conversation or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
APOLOGIZING FOR THINGS NOT OUR FAULT•Trying to buy a Will Ospreay print by Rob Schamberger. •MORE problems with Lunar shipments! •MORE problems with Diamond shipments! •2 annoying online transactions (one eBay, one Challengers). •Alliance Entertainment enters into an agreement to purchase Diamond Comic Distributors! What do we know about Alliance? •We’re 17!! This episode is dedicated to the 22% of small businesses that make it to 17 years.
---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #730
Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com
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Contest of Challengers
A CODEFIED STRUCTURE•Paper vs PDF •Using physical catalogs when ordering. •Receiving stock from Scholastic. •Comics talked about in this episode: GHOST PEPPER #1 SIXTH GUN ROAD TO THE SIXTH #0 OUT OF ALCATRAZ #3 ROBIN & BATMAN JASON TODD #1 JL VS GODZILLA VS KONG II #1 GODDAMN TRAGEDY #1 MOMMY BLOG This episode is dedicated to Dal’s mom’s 80th birthday! ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #737 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Sebastian Bach, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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NOT A PATH TO FOLLOW•Website tweaks and notifications. •Searching PRH for “I Am a Hero.” •Details of our Career Day at a local elementary school. •Free Comic Book Day wrap-up. •The Chillin’ Like a Villain Art Show opening! •Comic talked about in this episode: EXQUISITE CORPSES #1 This episode is dedicated to the darker seid of love. ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #736 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Sebastian Bach, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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A WEEK IN THE DAY•No more “Charles” at the bank! •Forgetting subscribers’ names. •A mystery box of comics from Lunar! •MORE shortages from Lunar this week!! •Thanks, Patrons! •The FCBD Comic Shop Crawl. •Career Day! •Diamond has finally been sold! Probably. This episode is dedicated to teachers and their infinite patience. ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #735 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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Contest of Challengers
THIS IS DUMB, JUST, PERIOD.•Free Comic Book Day week prep. •Upcoming events! •Now that BOOM! Is distributed by Penguin Random House… •New Comic Book Day constant shipping woes. •Every month keeps getting bigger for Godzilla! •Scholastic, one more publisher Diamond has just stopped supplying. •Comics talked about in this episode: SUPERGIRL #1 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN INCURSION #1 This episode is dedicated to both Michael B. Jordans. ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #734 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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IS THIS WHAT RESPECT FEELS LIKE?•Dal already has thoughts for next year’s C2E2! •It’s our C2E2 2025 recap episode! It was a pretty great show and got us more excited to be doing what we do. •Who we met/talked to! •Dal’s Dan Mora story! •Patrick’s first-ever CGC grading experience. •Diamond Comic Distributors has an official, legal buyer. •Our cloudy front window. This episode is dedicated to Hiroshi Tanahashi’s last match in the United States. ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #733 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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1 ABSOLUTE UNITS OF DESTRUCTION (with MORGAN PERRY) 1:24:19
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedABSOLUTE UNITS OF DESTRUCTION•Patrick is joined by MORGAN PERRY, Marketing Manager at Square Enix, Inc. •Square Enix has a new program for comic shops, Comic Partner, and Morgan is here to tell us about it! •Getting manga into the hands of manga fans new and old! •Upcoming manga series you cannot miss! •Morgan’s email: mperry@us.square-enix.com (for retailers who want to join Comic Partner and/or just learn more about Square Enix) •Morgan’s previous CoC appearance: https://challengers.libsyn.com/i-literally-do-not-live-in-a-world-without-comics This episode is dedicated to the Square Enix Comic Partner program. ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound?Contest of Challengers #732Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill)Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol (with an assist from Google Translate)Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon HamptonPhoto of Morgan and Patrick (outside of Club Lago): Patrick---------- Challengers Comics + Conversation1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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1 IT’S NOT LIKE YOU’RE CONFUSING THE CHILDREN 1:00:27
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIT’S NOT LIKE YOU’RE CONFUSING THE CHILDREN•Tariffs in comics. •Dal’s take on Lost Fantasy #1. •Cover designs. •The closure of ThingsFromAnotherWorld .com. •Thanks, Patrons! •Publishers missing from Diamond. •Updating Sidekicks! This episode is dedicated to IKEA Kallax shelving. ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #731 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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APOLOGIZING FOR THINGS NOT OUR FAULT•Trying to buy a Will Ospreay print by Rob Schamberger. •MORE problems with Lunar shipments! •MORE problems with Diamond shipments! •2 annoying online transactions (one eBay, one Challengers). •Alliance Entertainment enters into an agreement to purchase Diamond Comic Distributors! What do we know about Alliance? •We’re 17!! This episode is dedicated to the 22% of small businesses that make it to 17 years. ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #730 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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RELIABLY FRUSTRATING•Next week is maybe the biggest New Release week we’ve ever had, in both quantity and dollar amount. •Lunar shortages! •Quantity limits. •Lunar growing pains. •Marvel’s “new” ideas. •The return of Adventure Time comics. •The soap opera that is Void Rivals. •Comics talked about in this episode: ABSOLUTE FLASH #2 DARK REGARDS #1 PLAGUE HOUSE #1 BATTLE BEAST #1, #2 RESURRECTION MAN QUANTUM KARMA #1, #2, #2 This episode is dedicated to Kazuchika Okada’s 1-year Continental Championship title reign. ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #729 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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1 I’M SURE YOU’RE GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS 1:06:47
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedI’M SURE YOU’RE GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS •The next few weeks of New Releases are MASSIVE. •What we’re looking forward to at C2E2. •Gabi Mendez signing recap! •An upcoming art show. •Comics talked about in this episode: FIRE AND ICE WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER #1 HARLEY QUIN FARTACULAR SILENT BUTT DEADLY #1 This episode is dedicated to meals with good friends.---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #728 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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THE BULLSEYE OF BULLSEYES •Godzilla vs Chicago, one week later. •New Dark Horse graphic novels immediately unavailable. •Andrea Bell signing recap! •”Reducing complexity.” •Diamond bankruptcy notices. •DTC podcast invite. •Comic talked about in this episode: ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #1 ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1 FREE PLANET #1 ASSORTEED CRISIS EVENTS #1 This episode is dedicated to being Satanized.---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #727 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
VALIDABLE •ComicsPRO Annual Meeting part 2! •Batman H2SH. Pronounced “huh-toosh” •Back to ComicsPRO news! •GODZILLA! •Dal vs the MCU. •Comic talked about in this episode: BATMAN #157 This episode is dedicated to Michelle Trachtenburg. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #726 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
ALL BUSINESS •This IS a business podcast, after all. •It’s Tax Time (never to be confused with “Toni Time”)! •Paying vendors. •ComicsPRO news (of which there is little when we recorded). •Comic talked about in this episode: ABSOLUTE FLASH #1 This episode is dedicated to all the hard workers of the ComicsPRO Annual Conference. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #725 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
SALE APPARENT •Distribution shipping schedules. •How did the 2025 “I Love You But I’ve Chosen Comics” sale do for us? •Shopify user permissions. •BONUS: Dal’s favorite local chicken take-out restaurants. This episode is dedicated to chicken, in all its delicious, edible forms. ---------- This episode was NOT edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #724 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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1 INTRODUCING UNCERTANTY TO THE PROCESS 1:03:38
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedINTRODUCING UNCERTANTY TO THE PROCESS •Sacrificers #13 shortage and what Lunar did about it. •Upcoming bookmark! •More publishers abandoning Diamond. •DSTLRY’s digital collectibles. •A new/current Shopify headache. •Comics talked about in this episode: I WAS A FASHION SCHOOL SERIAL KILLER #1 LOST FANTASY #1, #2, #3 WE’RE TAKING EVERYONE DOWN WITH US #1 This episode is dedicated to diversity. And we’ll celebrate it forever. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #723 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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THE KYLE-VERSE with KYLE HIGGINS •It’s an extra-special, extra-long episode featuring KYLE HIGGINS (and Andrew Challenger)!! •Image’s MASSIVE-VERSE is a universe within itself featuring Radiant Black, Rogue Sun, Super-Massive, Inferno Girl Red, No/One, and more, and Kyle tells us ALL about it! •RADIANT BLACK #31 is the prefect jumping on point and is available to order from Challengers (or any local comic shop) RIGHT NOW! •Did you know Kyle blew Challengers up in the pages of Nightwing? And he ALMOST did it again during Radiant Black’s ‘Catalyst War’! What did we ever do to YOU, Kyle?!? (Don’t answer that). •It’s a double-length interview and you’re getting it almost a week early (just to make sure you have enough time to add Radiant Black #31 and Rogue Sun #25 to your subscriptions! (CoC Episode #723 will out on its regularly scheduled release date of Feb 10th) This episode is dedicated to John Sykes. Long may he shred in eternity. Say “Hi” to Phil for me! ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #722 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
NO SAFETY NET •How much does our Sale T-Shirt cost? •Small week of releases for the week of our Sale. •One World Under Doom vs X-Manhunt. •Patrick is a "Top 30 Women to Look Out For in 2025" candidate! •What does Diamond’s Chapter 11 filing mean for Challengers? •A last second BOOM! Announcement!•Comics talked about in this episode: BUG WARS #1, #2 FREE FOR ALL #1 MINE IS A LONG, LONESOME GRAVE #1 This episode is dedicated to the Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #721 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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CONCIERGE SERVICE •Shopify God Mode. •Inventory reconciliation. •Lucky Devils signing (and 2 upcoming signings). •Ratioed bookplates. •Chicago Box Co price increase. •Decreasing Image discounts. •Cleanvoice results from last week. •Comics talked about in this episode: OUT OF ALCATRAZ #1, #2 GODZILLA HEIST #1 ZATANNA #1 ASSORTED CRISIS EVENTS #1 This episode is dedicated to the birthdays of Karen Davison, Jamie Lamb, and Maria Palmer. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #720 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
COMMUNITY INREACH•NOT recorded in a car! •Community outreach and fan base cultivation. •Store eras. 5, maybe? •Challengers adages.•Comic talked about in this episode: ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM #1 This episode is dedicated to big red “Record” and “Stop” buttons that are too easy to press by accident. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #719 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
MINUS FIVE •No more subscription discount! •The Amalgam allocation. •2024 Sales info! •Our Best Sellers of 2024. •The Saga subscriber epidemic.•Thanks, Patrons! This episode is dedicated to The Big Fat Quiz. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #718 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Daimon Hampton ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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Contest of Challengers
YOU ARE A FIXTURE •New Release List nonsense. •Your gifts to us. •December sales, thus far. •POP vinyl ordering. •Barnes & Noble’s impact.•Lucky Devils #1 signing event! •We’re just normal men. •’Twas the Night Before… This episode is dedicated to 1 year without my Dad. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #717 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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Contest of Challengers
POKING AROUND THE BACK END •Christmas sales daze. •Knocking on the doorway of delinquency. •Financial mishmash. •Poking around the back end. •The same update on Diamond Comic Distributors.•Dal’s New Release videos. •I didn’t take notes for this section.•Upcoming financial changes. This episode is dedicated to Irish Christmas trees of the North. ---------- This episode was edited and transcribed by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #716 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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Contest of Challengers
THE ONGOING SAGA•An update on Diamond Comic Distributors.•(Lack of) SAGA for 2024. •Firing subscribers.•Loyality/Points programs.•Holiday restock. This episode is dedicated to the song “On The Loose” by SAGA. ---------- Contest of Challengers #715 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
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Contest of Challengers
WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON?•Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld.•A week without Diamond. •Thanks, Patrons!•Ireland. •Spoiler. Not as in we can’t tell you, as in the Go-Bot. This episode is dedicated to Guinness. ---------- Contest of Challengers #714 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol “Dal” Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue (Trent’s Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Arune Singh ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com…
KEEPING IT MIDWESTPatrick is out of the country! Dal is stuck doing all the work! So that means... Guest Hosts!! •Who are this episode’s guest hosts?•How did they discover Challengers? •What are things like where they’re at?•In front of the divider aka pull bag (bag?) discussion. •Comics they love.•Comic talked about: THE SEASONS #1•How to be a good shopper Thanks for listening! Keep Reading Comics! This episode is dedicated to 8-hour international flights.…
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Contest of Challengers
INTERNET FAMOUS •No more Samsung Podcasts. •Toy shopping around town. •Your children’s names. •The Feral World Tour event. •Holiday recommendations!•Comic talked about in this episode: NEW GODS #1 This episode is dedicated to Dal’s birthday. Contest of Challengers #712
OPTIMISM?? •The B.O.I. Report. •Dated periodicals. •Optimism? From US?? •Dividers. •DOOM! This episode is dedicated to how unsettling Chris Evans looks with normal proportions. Contest of Challengers #711
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Contest of Challengers
BLOOD IN THE TITLE •Controlling your reactions. •This week’s New Release videos. •DC’s initial wave of Absolute #1’s are all out. •Comic book elections. •BOOM! (and Oni) press releases for the week. •Comparing another shop’s invoice (again). This episode is dedicated to Florence Pugh. Contest of Challengers #710…
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Contest of Challengers
FEEDING FRENZY •The long reach of Absolute Batman #1. •New website single-issue buying limits (and why). •LUCKY DEVILS #1 (by Ryan Browne and Charles Soule) is a really fun new comic!! •Thanks, Patrons! •The ongoing struggle for Pre-Orders. •The Fan Confidence Rating (via Prana DMS and Manage Comics). •Publisher Zoom meetings for retailers. This episode is dedicated to Halloween candy. Contest of Challengers #709…
THEMATIC HEFT •Graphic Novels based off of bands. •Out-of-print graphic novels. •X-Books sales check-in! •Collector mentality. •How the Day of the Dead Gil Signing went. •Daimond warehouse reduction. •Diamond replenishment shipping. •Marvel FOC’s thru January 2025. •Comics talked about in this episode: CALAVERA P.I. #1 DUST TO DUST #1This episode is dedicated to Chris McCausland’s amazing Strictly performances, thus far. Contest of Challengers #708…
MEGAFORCE •Absolute Batman #1 is a HUGE, thikk-thighed hit! •It’s all about the BOOM (Tube)! •Aimee Garcia and AJ Mendez are coming (or, were here, by the time you hear this)! •Something about wrestling fans… •Thank you, Samantha/Welcome back, Donovan. •NYCC announcements (as of Thursday). •Comic talked about in this episode: GI JOE #1This episode is dedicated to Tod Howarth’s hand-written lyrics from 1995’s Silhouette album. Contest of Challengers #707…
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Contest of Challengers
CHANGING THE CALCULUS•A broken frame. •Dal’s Manage Comics Vision Board (TM). •Website search bars. •Dal is unqualified to sell comics. •Comic shop theft. •The high rent of modern retail. •Super-fun upcoming events! •Our preferable comic book publishing format? This episode is dedicated to Mike Norton’s first Richie Kotzen concert. Contest of Challengers #706…
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Contest of Challengers
WE JUST DO WHAT WE DO •September 2024 sales. •The difference between different distributors’ invoicing. •Stocky importing (and what is Stocky). •Burnt out on too many comics. •Hand-selling is getting harder. •Thanks, Patrons! •The new lights are all installed! Contest of Challengers #705 This episode is dedicated to Patrick’s brother George and his brand new high-tech robotic knee.…
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Contest of Challengers
LET THERE BE LIGHT •Online credit/Pokemon kids. •We have (many but not all) new lights! •How was Batman Day 2014? •Dal talks about the Chicago White Sox a little bit more than Patrick wants him to. •No change in our weekly delivery date woes.•Comics talked about in this episode: ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1 DAY OF THE DEAD GIRL #1 TITANS #16 DETECTIVE COMICS #1090 NIGHTWING #119 SUPERMAN #19 FLASH #14This episode brought to you by Richie Kotzen’s NOMAD and dedicated to the memory of Longboi, Britain’s (former) tallest duck. Contest of Challengers #704…
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Contest of Challengers
CLIFFORD T. JUMPER •Patrick is (was) on WGN Spotlight Chicago. •Breaking our Manga section into Genres. •Another week of Lunar woes.•Comics talked about in this episode: BATMAN & ROBIN YEAR ONE #1 BLACK CANARY BEST OF THE BEST #1 GODZILLA MONSTERPIECE THEATRE #1 Contest of Challengers #703
FUNGIBLE •Surge pricing. •Non-consecutive artists. •Good relationships with your USPS/UPS/FED EX delivery people. •Printer delays. •September sales slump. •The $2 Million copy of Fantastic Four #1.•Comics talked about in this episode: ABSOLUTE POWER #4 DC ALL IN ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 Contest of Challengers #702…
DAL CHOSE IT •No cookies?!? •Updating the public. •A lunar eclipse. •The McDonalds bonus play. Contest of Challengers #701
34>700 •Episode 700 coincides with Patrick’s 34th Comic Retail Anniversary! •No, our Challengers Choice counter dump does not hold free comics. •A deep dive into the emails we send every month. •Book market shipment packing has not gotten any better. •Thanks, Patrons!•DC Comics’ new Compact Comics standing display. •Losing a mail order subscriber. Contest of Challengers #700…
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Contest of Challengers
“HEL-LO. DAN-YELL?” •Consulting? •Retailers talk, but do they listen? •Advice on opening a comic shop. •Unpopular opinion time! •Cover design fun! •Power Fantasy #1 is STILL so good! •DC’s Compact Comics commercial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yklMO_mPRoI •Apple wants our Patreon money! Contest of Challengers #699…
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Contest of Challengers
THE BREAK-UP SONG •Little Golden Books. •3 new DC titles for November. •Checking in on From The Ashes sales. •Marvel Unlimited. •So many Batmans. •The Challengers Book Club. •Comic talked about in this episode: THE MOON IS FOLLOWING US #1 Contest of Challengers #698
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Contest of Challengers
PROMOTIONAL MUSCLE •Sponsors! •Inventory needs to be synched.•A Manage Comics correction.•So many new #1 issues per week.•Promotional muscle.•Snap-It’s! Contest of Challengers #697
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Contest of Challengers
IT’S NOT IN MY DNA •July 2024 sales vs July 2023 sales. •The worst team in baseball.•Comparing our ordering vs another store.•Foil cover pricing.•Comics talked about in this episode: ZERO HOUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #1 AUTUMN KINGDOM #1 JENNY SPARKS #1 STANDSTILL #1 DC VS VAMPIRES WORLD WAR V #1 Contest of Challengers #696…
CONNECTIONSorry, but this episode was recorded in the car. It’s been a busy week and there was no other time to get together and do it. It’s also a little shorter than usual, so that’s strike 2. But we do manage to talk about some industry news (Marvel ramping up their QR page usage), some SDCC stories, and run down the full slate of DC Comics creator changes starting in October. Contest of Challengers #695…
COIL VOLTAGE •Zdarsky Comic News •Powerpuff Girls #1 is so much fun! •Giveaways being given to the right people. •ALL IN and Absolute DC.•A last-second security alarm call! Contest of Challengers #694
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Contest of Challengers
FOR STABILITY REASONS •How the video game Zenless Zone Zero is like working in a comic shop.•BIG Manage Comics update! •Gettin’ them ducts cleaned!•DSTLRY leaves Lunar for Diamond!•We actually like Lunar as a comic distribution company.•Penguin Random House buys BOOM! Studios!•When publishers reuse terminology, such as “absolute” or “ultimate”. Contest of Challengers #693…
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Contest of Challengers
IT’S NOT AN ERA •Challengers Shelf Sponsorship is live! https://challengerscomics.com/products/shelf-sponsorship •The Future of The X-Men starts Now!•Thanks, Patrons!•Comics talked about in this episode: X-MEN #1 POWER FANTASY #1, #2 NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA #1 RED BEFORE BLACK #1 KILL ALL IMMORTALS #1, #2 Contest of Challengers #692…
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Contest of Challengers
IT’S JUST NOISE •The new weekly delivery schedule for new comics. •Marvel’s stealth release of Moon Knight Fist of Khonshu #0. •DC’s confidence in Absolute Power #2? •Notable, non-product specific challenges. •Shopify’s 150+ updates.•Diamond’s new Fandomworld. •Our products in someone else’s (non-comic) shop Contest of Challengers #691…
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Contest of Challengers
“SOMETHING SPECIAL IS COMING” •July 3rd is going to be a very small week of new comics. •Tipping. •Marvel has quietly ended/is ending several series. •Strange Tales Marvel Legends. •SAGA, now in a smaller collection format. •Frustrations when ordering from incomplete solicitations. •Upcoming comics for September. •Other media writers writing comics. •Comics talked about in this episode: SOMETHING CRAWLED OUT #1 Contest of Challengers #690…
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Contest of Challengers
TO FACILITATE BEAUTIFICATION •Advance PDF’s from BOOM! Studios and Image. •Shelf Sponsorship—more details! •Website Changes? Dark Mode! •Cute Animal Videos •Rifters #1!•Manga Contest of Challengers #689
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Contest of Challengers
“SUPERHERO BURGER” •CRIME! Crime? •Spam. •No single issues; the future? •Sponsorships!! •Maybe there’s something to that burger idea…? •Comics talked about in this episode: TMNT #1 SCARLETT #2 Contest of Challengers #688
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Contest of Challengers
OBFUSCATING THE DETAILS •4 years ago today… •The bad and good of retail, both in one day! •Identity thieved! •Thanks, Patrons! •Taskmaster! •Marvel’s bizarre FOC maneuvers. •July is HUGE for New #1’s! •Red Band books are (unfortunately) the future. •Lack of interest in Blood Hunt/Absolute Power, even tho we’re happy with them. Contest of Challengers #687…
DUST BITERS •Item Scraping solicitors. •”New Series” Flyer for Sidekicks and Manga. •The difficulties of ordering new manga. •Adjusting our Manage Comics Bookmark. •The 1982 DC Comics Style Guide. •The saga of Black River’s new floor. •Comic talked about in this episode: SCARLETT #1 Contest of Challengers #686…
FOLD-ER •Welcome to Contest of Challengers with Charles and Dale! •Archiving comics on our website. •UPS shipments. •Card game ordering, and lack thereof. •(More) New X-Titles! •Comics talked about in this episode: LAWFUL #1 GROMMETS #1 PROFANE #1 Contest of Challengers #685
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Contest of Challengers
GETTING A HANDLE ON FCBD •What happened to our front door handle? •Smoke N Snack’s front window nightmare. •How was Free Comic Book Day? Contest of Challengers #684
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Contest of Challengers
INTELLECTUALLY? •Bad customer service. •Gotta get them Back Issues! •Setting up for FCBD. •Thanks, Patrons! •Our C2E2 experiences. Contest of Challengers #683
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Contest of Challengers
THE FUTURE OF COMIC BOOK RETAIL LIVE from Conference Room S403 at McCormick Place, it’s the C2E2 panel discussion, THE FUTURE OF COMICS RETAIL with Patrick, W. Dal, Katie Pryde (Books With Pictures, Portland), and Dimitrios Fragiskatos (Anyone Comics/Everyone Comics, NY). The sound quality is a little iffy on this one due to recording in such a large room, but we’ve adjusted it some to make it a little more listener-friendly. But Patrick and Katie were much closer to the recording device than Dal and Dimitrios were. We talk about: •Building your shop on your specific passions. •Using the book industry as a retail guide. •What to immediately change in the next year to increase sales. •Lots more! What you missed (before the recording started): Patrick pretending to be James Tynion IV for the first 5 minutes of the panel. It’s okay though, because afterwards, James actually signed off on the impersonation. •Comics talked about in this episode: SPECTREGRAPH #1…
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Contest of Challengers
I’M NOT EVERYBODY •Dented packaging. •Charging delinquent subscribers interest…? •DC’s 5-book release week. •FCBD output. •California’s Earth-2 is closing, and their reasons make perfect sense. •Results of the ComicsPRO Retailer Survey. •Patrick read a ton of advance PDF’s (and most of the books already came out). •Comics talked about in this episode: CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON LIVES #1, #2 WHITE BOAT #1 AIN’T NO GRAVE #1 CROCODILE BLACK #1 HELLVERINE #1 Contest of Challengers #681…
BLACK TIE •The Future Of Comic Book Retail •Apparently we are not a “Legacy” shop. •”Marcus” and his comic book. And a black tie. •People keep asking to have signings at Challengers. •3 new X-Titles and X-Men ’92 vs X-Men ’97. •Waaayyy too much television digression. Sorry. •Lunar’s waxy new cardboard inserts. •Diamond shipping changes. Contest of Challengers #680…
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Contest of Challengers
ENTHUSIASM OVER KNOWLEDGE •A very full inbox. •Leaving tasks for the other person. •Upcoming Events with: Brian Azzarello, Stephanie Phillips, Sarah Becan, Sage Coffey, Bianca Xunise (and more!)! •Publisher price changes are always a surprise. •Misplaced retailer concerns. •Prioritizing sales over tasks. •Us, as customers at other shops. •Our dentists. •”Butcher, Baby” by The Divorce Gun. Contest of Challengers #679…
IN SEQUENCE •We have now officially been open for 16 years! Yow! •Keeping the “local” in local events. •C2E2 is fast approaching. •Wanting to refresh every aspect of the shop. •Some of the many books being published in June. •Thanks, Patrons! •Taskmaster Contest of Challengers #678
XVI •Sixteen years in the same building but with many different building owners/managers. •Hmmm, can Patrick get Kip Winger to come out for our 17th Anniversary next year…? •Looking back at the comic shops of Chicago over the past 16 years. •Dal likes to refresh our website captions regularly. •The end of our reward program. •Uncanny X-Men #130 cover posters! •IG video responses. Contest of Challengers #677…
X-CHANGES •Sorry, we don't price-match with Amazon, because we don't have a market cap of $1,820,000,000,000. •Single issue sales attrition as evidenced on the sales floor. •The future of the X-Men comic universe has been revealed! •A massive Diamond shipping rebate. •”Minor shelf wear” •New Publisher returnability options. •Comics talked about in this episode: TRANSFORMERS #7 UNCANNY VALLEY #1 SILICON BANDITS #1 Contest of Challengers #676…
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Contest of Challengers
CALL AN AMBULANCE •The many, many ways comic shops can sort comics for their subscribers. •How we think distributors ship their books, geographically. •”You called?” •Patrick broke his 3rd exercise bike. •”Can you call me an ambulance?” •Comics talked about in this episode: SPECTREGRAPH #1 DUDLEY DATSON AND THE FOREVER MACHINE #1 MONSTERS ARE MY BUSINESS #1 Contest of Challengers #675…
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Contest of Challengers
INCENTIVE TO BUY •The fresh scent of Challengers. •February sales are a Challengers record (not a good record). •Refreshing our Reward program. •Thanks, Patrons! •Cancelling wrestling action figures from Diamond. •Pre-order amounts. •DC’s Absolute Power event grows. •Comic talked about in this episode: FERAL #1 Contest of Challengers #674…
FLAT-RATE •Diamond announces new Flat-Rate shipping pricing. •The ComicsPRO Annual Meeting is happening right now! And we are not there. •DC announcements: Wednesday is officially New Comic Day starting in July. A new line of Themed trade paperback collections. Absolute Power is the big summer crossover, by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. •Marvel officially announces a new Ultimates team comic by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri. •Batman/Dylan Dog is a very good comic and you should be excited for it. •Ryan North writes really good comics!! •Those DC/Marvel Omnibi are now available to pre-order on our website! DC Versus Marvel DC Marvel Amalgam Contest of Challengers #673…
MUCHA LUCHA •Sidekicks is fun! •Sale shirts, redux. •Comic sales in Vegas. •Pop-Ups.•Madame Web. •Shopify tax forms. •The cost of window prints. •DC/Marvel Crossover omnibus editions! •Salt Shed’s Fret12 with Ready For Death! Watch It Here!! Contest of Challengers #672
FIT TO PRINT •Thank you for sharing any of our posts and for liking what we do! •How is our 25% Off Sale doing…? •It’s a Brand-New Dal!! •Lack of Channel 4 advertising revenue. •What is Tik-Tok for, really? •You can’t subscribe to books like it’s the 90’s anymore. •Not prioritizing money. •Sale shirt controversy! •”Dal Reads You to Sleep” Coming Soon!! •Comic talked about in this episode: THE DISPLACED #1 (again) IF YOU FIND THIS I’M ALREADY DEAD #1 THE CABINET #1 U & I #1 Contest of Challengers #671…
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Contest of Challengers
IN-SALE STORES •Final Order Cutoff emails. •A Man with a Hat. •SALE!!! •No Wednesday holds. •January’s final sales numbers. •Thanks, Patrons! •Credit card processing fees. •Comic talked about in this episode: MAN’S BEST ASHCAN Contest of Challengers #670
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Contest of Challengers
FEELING THE IMPACT •Low January sales. •The future of vaulting subscriber credit cards. •Ghost Machine -Publisher support -Issue readability •No retailer support for Returnability. •Shopify/Google email compliance. •Spotify/Patreon RSS feed confusion. •Two new events -Spawn #350 RE: Spawn Podcast Day -Dick Tracy #1 Release Day Double Signing •Comic talked about in this episode: THE DISPLACED #1 LITTLE BLACK BOOK #1 TMNT (New Series) Contest of Challengers #669…
DEAD POWER •Dead Strange •Chainsaw Man’s Power •Neca product returns. •No bags (this is in my notes but as I’m typing this, I have no memory of what it means, yet we only recorded 2 hours ago). •An almost Scott Kurtz signing. •And the t-shirt artist is… Gustavo Duarte! •Our Top Selling Graphic Novels of 2023 (and Publishers) Contest of Challengers #668…
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Contest of Challengers
YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED •Patrick’s experience as a retail customer. •2023 number fun!! Now in percentages! •Positive consumer financial positivity (via AP and Axios). •Turning lemonade into lemons, featuring Ultimate Spider-Man #1! •A new home for our Incentive/Ratio Variants! •A very specific rule for earning the 2024 “I Love You But I’ve Chosen Comics” Sale t-shirt. Contest of Challengers #667…
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Contest of Challengers
ECONOMIC-CABAL •Oooohhhhh! Episode 666! Sooo spooookyyyyy!! •Stacked deliveries really suck! •More complaining about how Diamond ships out product. •Product Costs vs. Operational Costs •Kamen Rider toys vs AEW action figures. •60,000 copies of Heartstopper Vol.5. •Marvel Hallmark ornaments. •Help us help you (read the emails we send!). Contest of Challengers #666…
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Contest of Challengers
A BURDEN TO SURVIVORS •Arielle Free is in Chicago and Patrick had no idea (non-comics). •Remembering the contributions of George Brower III (Patrick's Dad) to the early days of Challengers. •We got our WTBW bookplates!! •DC as a company = Villains. DC as a publisher = Heros. •Other shops Instagram pages. •FRAN’s KITCHEN! •Lunar shipping costs vs Diamond shipping costs. •Paring down the $#!t you own (and why Dal will be a posthumous burden). Contest of Challengers #665…
20 = 1 •Happy Christmas! •Nick Piterra’s AX-WIELDER JON is here! •December’s messed-up New Release lists. •WHERE THE BODY WAS bookplate update. •Diamond’s retailer calendar for 2024. •DC’s Batman “Returnability.” •Are you excited for Image’s GHOST MACHINE? •Opening some presents! Contest of Challengers #664…
THE PIPELINE •New Marvel Legends for early 2024. •Hasbro is feeling the same issues as the comics industry. •Advent calendars. •LUCY KNISLEY is coming back to Challengers and we’re working with BFF Bikes for that event! •WHERE THE BODY WAS week 1 sales. •Subscribers not managing their Manage Comics accounts. •How the comics industry is like a spider plant AND like an action figure of Marvel's Evertt Ross. Contest of Challengers #663…
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Contest of Challengers
FALLING OVER ON THE SLOPES•So many semi cab horns! •Less of a Palace than you’d hope. •Share the GOOD, not just the bad. •PINE AND MERRIMAC #1 is SO GOOD!! •A disturbing lacy of Body bookplates. •If only new comic shipments came on the same day each week. •An electronic Gift Card is just as good as a physical Gift Card. •Data Nerd Dal loves the CovrPrice ‘Reflective’ feature. Contest of Challengers #662…
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Contest of Challengers
I GUESS YOU COULD ALSO JUST KILL ME •Comic shops undergoing changes. •The reality of store events. •Event Spaces •No more Back Issues? •Thanks, Patrons! •Mile High’s Chuck Rozanski responds to Phil Boyle. Dal responds to them both. •Comics discussed in this episode: If You Find This I’m Already Dead #1 Action Comics #1061 Avengers Twilight #1 Duke #1 The One Hand #1/The Six Fingers #1 Contest of Challengers #661 https://icv2.com/articles/talk-back/view/55717/chuck-rozanski-mile-high-comics-can-comics-be-saved https://www.comicsbeat.com/anyone-comics-is-closing-and-reopening-around-the-corner/…
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Contest of Challengers
HOW MUCH MORE ROPE? •Post-Thanksgiving retail sales. •Retailers talking about the Biz. •A new 1-star review. •All we’re really asking is for you to pay for the books you asked us to buy for you. Contest of Challengers #660
TOON IN WITH US •What we sell vs what we buy as consumers. •Vintage shops vs not. •Wouldn’t it be fun to sell comic book trading cards again? •Our adventure on Toon In With Me. •Broken web links. •The free comic books for 2024’s Free Comic Book Day. Contest of Challengers #659
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Contest of Challengers
COME BACK! GET EXCITED! •The Marvels was pretty fun! •Some comics are just bad. •LOTS of retailer chatter this week about the state of comics. •What big names can revitalize the Big 2 publishers? •Imagine trying to run a shop today with only cycle sheets and no subscription management system. •What does the future of the shop’s interior look like? Contest of Challengers #658…
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Contest of Challengers
A LITTLE LESS HAPPY •Reading publisher previews on Box.com. •Most comic retailers have been at this a long time. •Thanks, Patrons! •The What and Whys of Draft Orders (as promised!!). •Comics talked about in this episode: Crave Titans: Beast World Batman Santa Claus Silent Knight•We’re having a Back Issue Sale in late November! Contest of Challengers #657…
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Contest of Challengers
STOP GIGGLING LIKE A CHILD •Wimpy Kid thief. •Health insurance premiums. •What’s up with Blue’s old location? •Marvel barcode placement. •SO MANY PRH emails. •How we would format cover descriptions for invoices. •Comics talked about in this episode: Masterpiece #1 Somna #1 Batman Off World #1 Lotus Land #1 Animal Pound #1 Captain Marvel #1 Contest of Challengers #656 Smash-and-grab burglars plow vehicles into River North boutiques https://cwbchicago.com/2023/10/chicago-river-north-smash-and-grab-burglary-sneaker-boutique-little-black-dress-news.html Car con Carne (Candy Corn Carne) https://carconcarne.com/2023/10/23/a-visit-to-13th-floor-haunted-house-with-patrick-brower-of-challengers-comics-episode-897/…
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Contest of Challengers
NO MORE SACRED COWS •It’s true; we’ll eat ALL the cows. •This episode is kind of a stark look at the industry from a sales perspective, but also from other sides. •It’s a lot of, ‘how things have changed.’ •It’s not dark, but it sure ain’t bright. •It’s just what you expect from CoC, we guess? •We sadly can’t be your everything. •Especially if your ‘everything’ includes many single issue comics. •Comics talked about in this episode: White Widow #1 The Deviant #1 Universal Monsters Dracula #1 Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #1 Contest of Challengers #655…
UNDERSERVED •We’re back! For this week, anyway. •Wizards of the Coast product will no longer be available from Penguin Random House. •The dwindling sales footprint of Magic the Gathering. •Dark Tower buys G-Mart’s stores! •Thanks, Patrons! •How our subscriptions work (for any new subscribers). •Brian Posehn came to Challengers! •Daniel Warren Johnson and the appeal of Transformers. •Comics talked about in this episode: Nights #1 (and #2 and #3) Contest of Challengers #654…
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Contest of Challengers
1 THE ONE LINE PITCH with HOLLY AITCHISON 1:54:09
1:54:09 Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked1:54:09
Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedTHE ONE LINE PITCH with HOLLY AITCHISON Patrick is joined by longtime Challengers supporter, Patron and friend, HUMANOIDS Director of Sales HOLLY AITCHISON! It’s a conversation that could have lasted forever about all things comics, publishing and retail (but it’s mainly about Morgan and Esther)! Holly illustration by Katie Longua https://www.klongua.com/ Contest of Challengers #653…
SHELVADOR •The Plight of the 1950s Crosley Shelvador Automatic Refrigerator. •Calling Peoples Gas, AGAIN. •Breaking up longer episodes. •Receiving graphic novels packed standing on their spines. •Breaking down our first Lunar invoice containing Image books. •Listen to all these amazing events coming up!! •The Ultimate Guide to Comic Books! •Comics talked about in this episode: Wonder Woman #1 & #2 The Flash #1 Urban Legendz Contest of Challengers #652…
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Contest of Challengers
NO MORE EASY ANSWERS •Unboxing original Becca Hillburn art! •The 3 ways orders are placed for the product we sell: 1. Initial Orders (including New To Order and Order Increases) 2. Final Order Cutoffs 3. Reorders •We’re changing how we order! •We’re also making a change in how we source our comic supplies. •Check out the Evie and the Helsings Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevebryant/evie-and-the-helsings-12/ Contest of Challengers #651…
COMING SOON •The current run of Amazing Spider-Man •The JOY Reward Program experience •Draft orders •Sending invoices •We do not want to check your bag •Small Press submissions •Covers Contest of Challengers #650
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Contest of Challengers
14 YEARS LATER •The current (meteorological) climate of business. •14 years of Contest of Challengers! What is wrong with us?? •All of the paying jobs we’ve held in life. •Thanks, Patrons! •2 Manage Comics topics discussed Mail-order subscribers not being able to pay invoices Previously purchased subscriber books reappearing in their cart •Atom Eve •Dear Comic Creators, always include a PDF of your book in emails to retailers. Thank you. •Comics talked about in this episode: Rumpus Room #1 The Madness #1 Superman Annual 2023 The Penguin #1 Batman Gargoyle of Gotham #1 Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 Contest of Challengers #649…
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Contest of Challengers
NEGATIVE DIFFERENTIAL RESISTANCE •Our UPS driver’s thoughts on how the comics are boxed, guest-starring Jeanna Challenger. •The saga of our light fixtures. •Pitching upcoming comics on this podcast before FOC’s. •The continual quest for returnability. •Our differing philosophies regarding our weekly New Comics Instagram pitch videos. Contest of Challengers #648…
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Contest of Challengers
THAT’S THE EXCLUSIVE PART •RDJ AI •It’s SDCC week! We know the official name is Comic Con International San Diego, but SDCC gets to the point quicker. •Ryan Browne is signing at Challengers in 2 days!! •The amount of solicitation emails and phone calls is completely out of hand. Go Huskies! •Omnibussing •DC’s offerings for October 2023. •New Marvel books, also for October 2023. Contest of Challengers #647…
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Contest of Challengers
“OH, THE CHEAP STUFF” •No, we don’t sell Mylar; we only sell “the cheap stuff.” •"Shops Discuss the Often Difficult Year So Far in Comics Retail" ( READ IT HERE ) •Yes, Black Lives Still Matter. •The Department of Truth team takes on Universal Monsters’ DRACULA. •Will THE MIDNITE SHOW be our new The Sixth Gun?? •Pre-Paid Pre-Orders. •Comics talked about in this episode: Children of the Vault #1 Harley Quinn Black White Redder #1 Hawkgirl #1 Contest of Challengers #646…
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Contest of Challengers
LEGS OF ANY KIND •Office jobs. •The Toys That Made Us. •The mid-year check-in with David Harper for SKTCHD.com. •Inconsistent publisher invoicing. •OF THUNDER & LIGHTNING from Silver Sprocket looks great! •The first week of KNIGHT TERRORS (pronounced ‘KUH-nite tuh-TER-errs”) sales. •Comic talked about in this episode: Of Thunder & Lightning Ribbon Queen #2 Contest of Challengers #645…
A TWO-HANDER •Hasbro invoicing. •Our Jeff & Tillie signing. •An AEW Fight Forever interlude. •The Devil’s Cut email. •Insignia covers. •The latest T ilting at Windmills column by Brian Hibbs. •Comic talked about in this episode: The Devil’s Cut Swan Songs #1, #3 Plot Holes #1 Knight Terrors #1, KT First Blood Superman Last Days of Lex Luthor #1 Sacrificers #1, #2, #3 Contest of Challengers #644…
BECAUSE, COMICS It’s a special off-site episode, recorded at Club Lago in Chicago’s River North neighborhood!* Thrill to the sounds of an active Italian eatery as we have a scintillating conversation with the man who came all the way from Canada to taste some Chicken Marsala, Manage Comics’ BRIAN GARSIDE!! You’ve heard us talk about Manage Comics a whole lot the past year and a half, now hear about it from the man who built it!! *not the first episode to be recorded here, nor the last, I’m sure. Contest of Challengers #643…
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Contest of Challengers
FIREJET AND JUMPCLIFFER •Why publishers decide to do second printings (possibly). •Robert Kirkman’s fun publishing ideas. •John Romita Sr and the definitive Spider-Man artists. •Kelly Thompson!! •Avengers Inc. •What is a Green Tea Shot? •Comic talked about in this episode: Void Rivals #1 Contest of Challengers #642…
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Contest of Challengers
WE CAN KEEP YOUR SECRETS •A change in Reward tiers. •Void Rivals #1 •What’s the #1 thing retailers want? •Kelly Thompson!! •Transformer questions. •Diamond shipping fees… •Comics talked about in this episode: Sins of the Salton Sea #2, #3 Ribbon Queen #1 Contest of Challengers #641
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Contest of Challengers
HISTORICALLY, NOT CURRENTLY •Business Is. •Dal on collecting. •So many super-hero popcorn tins… •The end of Moon Knight and a new start for Captain America. •Saga sales numbers. •Eisner award drama. •Comics talked about in this episode: Barnstormers #1 Fishflies #1 (again) The Cull #1 (again) In Hell We Fight #1 (again) Wonder Woman #800 Creed #1 Contest of Challengers #640…
TO THE MOON •When Dal gets angry… •Is Marvel raising cover prices? •Image Comics leaves Diamond Comic Distributors. •Comics talked about in this episode: The Hunger and The Dusk #1 & #2 The Schlub #1 Fishflies #1 The Cull #1 Klik Klik Boom #1 Contest of Challengers #639
FOILED! •Marvel Legends Puffadder build-a-figure. •Interacting with our customer-facing tablet. •The Great British Bump Off #2 misprint resolution, thanks to Dark Horse’s Amy Huey. •Recent ways Diamond has actually helped us. •A disastrous trucking accident delays Marvel and PRH books for Diamond customers. •Restocking reorders! Pins! Posters! Supplies! Andy Bell! Rachel Bard? •SOME of the many things Patrick hates from the July Marvel Previews catalog! Contest of Challengers #638…
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Contest of Challengers
MAKING IT FUN FOR EVERYONE •A Kyle Starts kidnapping, including a phone call to Melbourne. •Free Comic Book Day 2023 recap, including the live AAW Wrestling show we took Kyle, Steph and Gabo to. •No Green Lantern rings for GL #1! •CTA Bus ticketing nonsense. •We never add un-asked-for books to subscriber pulls lists without sending an email first. •Our new Rewards Program offers MORE than what the pre-order discount did. •Comics discussed in this episode: Flash #800 The Nasty #3 In Hell We Fight #1 Parasocial GN Contest of Challengers #637…
ARTSPOSITION •Patrick is joined by the next generation of comic book fan, Jess and Allie! Two people new to Challengers and recent to comics, but enthusiastic and ready to read! Their journey has only begun... Contest of Challengers #636
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Contest of Challengers
THE CHOICE TO DISENGAGE •Breaking IDW corporate news! •The layout of Previews magazine. •Thanks, Patrons! •Sub services (I don’t actually know what that means, but it was in my notes…) •Challengers Prime. •Customer View and our new register tablet. •Comics talked about in this episode: Titans #1 Cyborg #1 Dark Spaces Good Deeds #1 Antarctica #1-#3 Contest of Challengers #635…
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Contest of Challengers
IT’S EASIER THAN IT FEELS •We’re sad and tired. •Our plans for this year’s Free Comic Book Day! •It’s easier than it feels. •W0RLDTR33 #1. •The Pre-Order discount is going away as of May 1st. In its place is a NEW Loyalty/Rewards program! Contest of Challengers #634
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Contest of Challengers
NOT PERFECT = A LOT OF GARBAGE •SO many Point Of Sale choice available for comic shops! •Expanded hours! •Our subscriber discount is becoming something else… •Our Friday Morning Emails. •Free Comic Book Day with KYLE STARKS and STEPHANIE MIDED! •Patrick does not like when comics arrive shrink-wrapped in bundles. •UPS was so late today!! •Dal is not excited for DC’s 2-month NIGHT TERRORS event. •Pre-order TITANS #1!! •Comics discussed in this episode: GREEN LANTERN #1 BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #1 Contest of Challengers #633…
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Contest of Challengers
PUBLISHER SUPPORT •Is “graphic novel” the right word for what we sell? •Night Farters. •Patrick is okay again. •Dungeons and Dragons. •Our 15th Anniversary Party was a swell time! •Our (separate) C2E2 adventures. •2023 sales-to-date (spoiler: not good). •Oversaturation! •DANGER! And Other Unknown Risks. •Thanks, Patrons! Contest of Challengers #632…
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Contest of Challengers
SWEET CONSTANCY •Challengers is 15!! •The Post-Covid Correction Period. •A deliberate lack of Back Issues. •The X-Men Timeline. •We DON’T Like Ike! •2 new Bios for Patrick! Contest of Challengers #631
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Contest of Challengers
CT-HEY! DON’T PARK THERE! •Cars engulfed by flame. •Positive Shopify changes. •New Sign Holders (that no one will notice, but that’s the point). •Shelf rearranging and a much larger 25% OFF section! •When the CTA parked on the sidewalk, blocking our front door. •Smart Filer and Search. •Shopify item importing slow down. •Here are the comics we are excited about from this episode: W0RLDTR33 GREAT BRITISH BUMP-OFF (again!!) TITANS WONDER WOMAN UNSTOPPABLE DOOM PATROL THE NASTY PEACEMAKER TRIES HARD!! Contest of Challengers #630…
LACK OF MOMENTUM •A Challengers business fact: If a comic sells very well for us, it is usually ignored by the mainstream. •John Allison is very smart. •The missing “A” cover of Invincible Iron Man #4. •Checking-in PRH replacement books. •Patrick is on Episode 825 of Car Con Carne ( https://carconcarne.com/2023/03/14/challengers-comics-celebrates-15th-anniversary-at-club-lago-episode-825/ ) plus other interviews. •Manage Comics has 2 really great changes this week that make life easier! Thanks, Brian (and team!)! •Spay Illinois ( https://www.spayillinois.org/ ) •There’s are the comics we are excited about from this episode: WHERE MONSTERS LIE #4, GREAT BRITISH BUMP-OFF #1, BATMAN ONE BAD DAY RA’S AL GHUL, HAIRBALL #1, NIGHTWING #105. Contest of Challengers #629…
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Contest of Challengers
1 YOU’RE THE WORST PART OF COMIC COLLECTING 1:07:09
1:07:09 Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked1:07:09
Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedYOU’RE THE WORST PART OF COMIC COLLECTING •Really good comics: INDIGO CHILDREN; NO/ONE and (hopefully) PARASOCIAL. •All the Variant Covers for March 15th. Also, the last time we complain about variant covers on this podcast. •Chargeback BS from a Pumpkin-Headed D!p$#!t with no shame. •The Fables Wellness Chart. •The sewer pipe in our trash room is possessed. •Patrick in Publishers Weekly (and on Car Con Carne)! •RJ City has some new names for Dal (RJ City does not appear on this podcast)! Contest of Challengers #628…
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Contest of Challengers
2 BUGS MAKE A RIGHT •Removing an item from the Shopify register during the payment phase. •Extra-large transactions cause large bugs. •Guns! •The X-23 Deadly Regenesis solicitation is a large paragraph of nothing. •2 Kickstarter campaigns of note (yes, we can be bought)! •Fast food apps. •Funko woes. •Upcoming books of note: Neighbors #1 (BOOM!), Indigo Children #1 (Image), Rock Gods of Memphis, Tennessee (Dark Horse). •Patrons! •Lonesome Hunters signed bookplates! Contest of Challengers #627…
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Contest of Challengers
IN YOUR MIND CALENDARNo time for notes—we’re already late! Contest of Challengers #626
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Contest of Challengers
SOMEWHERE BTW SKEPTICAL & AMBIVALENT •”You look like you work in a comic shop!” •3 Shopify support tickets at one time. •What Shopify considers a “discount”. •”The trick was… sort of pedantic.” •UPS BS •Our website is now a webstore. •Sale aftermath. •Marvel releases for May 2023. •Challengers’ social media audit. Contest of Challengers #625…
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Contest of Challengers
1 SCREAMING INTO THE DARK with TIM SEELEY 1:39:01
1:39:01 Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked1:39:01
Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedSCREAMING INTO THE DARK with TIM SEELEY • It's a full-on comic industry takedown with Tim Seeley! Join 2 grizzled comic industry veterans as they talk about the state of things today while remembering all the wonderful nonsense they’ve been a part of these past 21 years. •Why are we doing this if it benefits no one? •The death of experience. •Screaming into the dark. •Too early or too dumb. Colt Noble TV commercial: https://vimeo.com/8249958 LOCAL MAN #1 is out Febryary 22nd!! Contest of Challengers #624…
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Contest of Challengers
WE’RE NOT GETTING IN YOUR WAY •A Mystery Project is coming together… •Working with Creators on store projects. •It’s SALE time!!!!!! •Manage Comics, ever improving. •Thanks, Patrons! •The WINGER Analogy. •Placing Final Orders during the Holidays causes problems in February. •Weekly comic book release schedules are horribly unbalanced. •Net Pricing is NOT Retail Pricing! •Lunar vs Diamond when it comes to Overages. Contest of Challengers #623…
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Contest of Challengers
HUMMUS YOUR TIME •When T-Shirts went mainstream. •Our self-made day-to-day accountant. •”All Ego” Ethan Page vs Karate Man. •The confusion behind the collected release of Wonder Woman Historia The Amazons. •Pre-Ordering thru our vendors. •We do not ship internationally. •Last-minute event changes. •PR companies wanting events at the shop that we don’t think will work for them. •Finding new artists (@jettilalewis) is always exciting! •TITANS by Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott is going to be huge for us!! Contest of Challengers #622…
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Contest of Challengers
ABDICATION OF VALUES •Would you want text messages from Challengers? How much contact is too much? •Finding a good Filtering/Sorting tool for our new website. •Building ‘Collections’ for the new site. •comiXology no more! It’s so weird to have been a store for the entirety of their digital comics platform. •Ordering DC Comics during the Dawn of DC. •The Great British Bump Off! •Prices for Bags and Boards are rising again. •There are still too many covers per issue per week. •Problems with this week’s Instagram video. •Buy EVERYTHING Kyle Starks creates!! •Stephanie Phillips will be signing on Wednesday, January 25th!! Contest of Challengers #621…
PIG 8008 •Comics and Comics Retail is like a broken exercise bike. •Patrick was on Off Panel with David Harper! It was… dark…? •UPS deliveries, all day, every day! •Are you caught up with all your comics? •A ¢hange for $aga. •Why customers can’t pre-order ratio variants from Challengers. •Helping creators help retailers. Contest of Challengers #620…
ISBN13+5 •New Challengers Website—Coming Soon! Like, after the Sale, soon. •Commerce-focused •Advanced filtering/searching! •How many Holiday cards did not get picked up in December? •Searching “Marvel TP” in inventory is like just searching for “a”. •Dal’s dream version of Manage Comics. •Aside from this one, Patrick recorded 2 other podcasts this week! That guy LOVES hearing himself talk!! Contest of Challengers #619…
5/90/2/2/2 •Instagram videos vs Instagram reels. •2022, a full year without ComicSuite. •Entering 2023 WITH Manage Comics. •Thanks, Patrons! •Answering questions for a Sorbonne Nouvelle University student. •Mission Statement (which should have been at the start of this episode)! •What we’re looking forward to in the 1st quarter of 2023! •So many events already planned! Contest of Challengers #618…
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Contest of Challengers
WEIRDO HEADWINDS •March solicitations from DC and Marvel. But mainly DC. •What the cold has done to the store and Patrick’s car. •Next week is HUGE, but not as huge as we originally thought… •Will Final Order Cutoffs ever get easier/quicker to do? •Fun with the shop printer. •Santa came to Challengers! •The aftershocks of Aftershock. •Rumiko Takahashi. •When promotions don’t land. Contest of Challengers #617…
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Contest of Challengers
THE HAMMOCK GETS DEEPER •Holiday sales have yet to really be a thing. Thanks, crappy weather!! •IT TOOK LUKE is on a bunch of 2022 “Best Of” lists! •There’s no news at the end of the year. •Boxing up out Variant Covers. •Too much off-the-sales-floor overstock!! •Manga volume sales are hot or cold, rarely warm. •Taking the wheels off the Drama shelves. •”Christmas x3” by The Divorce Gun!! (You've been warned...) Contest of Challengers #616…
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Contest of Challengers
IT’S NOT SLAPDASH •Address-ing the situation. •DC 1st Issue Special vs Marvel Premiere. •Dal has read Batman/Spawn for you! But not TO you. •Kyle Starks is on a roll! • AI art in place of human artist art. •Doctor Strange returns. •Starting over at #1. •Stella Challenger probably has more books on her Pull List than you do. Contest of Challengers #615…
CARDED •A podcast by any other name… •The 2022 Challengers Holiday cards are in! •Clearing out lapsed subscription dividers. •The publishing imbalance of a 5-Wednesday month. •When Stocky reporting goes wrong. •Haphazard discounts with Shopify and the Manage Comics Order Helper Tile. •Dal’s 2 biggest retail holiday pet peeves. No, Patrick is not 1 of them. •Marvel’s Voices Family SNIKT! Contest of Challengers #614…
OUT BY WEEK 1 •Recorded on Black Friday! •Decorating for Christmas. •Just what are Variant Covers (by Chip Zdarsky via his Substack). •Laying out the New Releases each week. •Eminem’s exclusive Spider-Man cover. •WHERE MONSTERS LIE by Kyle Starks and Piotr Kowalski is highly recommended! •Wait, did someone say KYLE STARKS?!? •Gift ideas from Challengers! Contest of Challengers #613…
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Contest of Challengers
BEFORE THE DAWN •Too many Spawn variant covers. •The “DAWN of DC.” •Refunding website orders. •The Manage Comics Order Helper Tile is LIVE! •Initial order fun. •AMC (the channel) Comics. •Bad Egg Comics. •Ultimate Fallout #4 cover scam? Contest of Challengers #612
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Contest of Challengers
OH YES, COMICS •Our visit to the EXCELSIOR! Art Show opening! •Why it’s harder to recognize new subscribers. •James Acaster! What? This is a comic podcast and he’s a comic! •We just saw Black Panther Wakanda Forever and really liked it! •Why Shopify keeps pushing back the approval of the Manage Comics Order Helper Tile. •Dealing win non-subscriber special order requests. •Which graphic novels look to be this year’s best Holiday gifts? •Happy 10 ½ Anniversary to Aw Yeah Comics in beautiful downtown Skokie! Guest-starring store manager Joe Crohn! *Art Baltazar is not on this podcast despite being in the episode photo* Contest of Challengers #611…
WE HUNGER •Will Morris starts us off! Thanks, Will!! •Image has several upcoming books we are REALLY looking forward to. •Batman/Spawn is coming! It’s after Final Order Cutoff, but its Final Order Cutoff period was only 3 days. •Final Order Cutoff windows are getting longer AND shorter! •DC has just announced 10 DC/Spawn covers and half of them FOC this weekend! •Galactus hungers… Contest of Challengers #610…
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Contest of Challengers
•Welcome to the brand new Challengers Podcastitorium! •Diamond Replenishment shipments. •Reminiscing over ChallengeJR’s (ChallengeJuniors). •ALL AGAINST ALL #1 is really good! •Diamond Best Practice Awards. •January solicitations. •”What a shithole!” Contest of Challengers #609
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Contest of Challengers
THE CONVERSATIONALIST •It's an all Pizza-and-Beer episode! So, of course that means no Dal. •Hailey is back! https://instagram.com/chicomic_girl/ •Fancy, wooden comic book storage boxes! •Tattoos! •The ideal comic book shop! •Actual social media experts working with comic shops. https://romanyhouseboxes.com/ 10% Off Promo Code: CHICOMICGIRL Kaye Publicity Retailer Rx: https://kayepublicity.com/retailers/ Contest of Challengers #608…
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Contest of Challengers
BOOBIE-ROCKETS, AWAY! It’s a 3-man announce team this week as Patrick and Dal visit one of their all-time favorite comic creators (and human beings)! WHO is it? WHAT do they talk about? WHY are they there? 1. You’ll find out a few minutes in. 2. Lots of stuff! Mazinger Z (or, as it was called in the US, Tranzor Z), baseball, NYCC, and a whole lot about their current, mega-successful, one of the year’s best, comic series! 3. Football, actually. 4. There was no fourth question. Contest of Challengers #607…
MAIN COVER B •Plugged ears make recording an audio project so fun! •Just announced Batman Spawn covers. •Shopify missteps: Active vs Draft •Being ghosted by new Subscribers. •Curating in reverse. •An update about GIANT DAYS on Kickstarter. •Dan and Jason were the best! •Marketing to the Sidekicks crowd. Contest of Challengers #606…
VIRTUE & VICE •Surprise! Now we’re BOTH sick! •Sep 2022 sales are down from both Aug 2022 and Sep 2021. Sigh. •HEART EYES #2 is excellent! •Why do 2nd issue sales fall so far from #1’s? Like, 80% far. •Getting our Holiday plans underway (we started weeks ago). •GIANT DAYS on Kickstarter. •The legend that is Carlos Pacheco. •Marvel Legends news from Hasbro Pulse. •Thanks, Patrons! Contest of Challengers #605…
NOTHING SPECIAL •Dal returns! Sorry? •Challengers is/has “nothing special.” •Dal visited Fantom Comics in DC! •Dark Horse is leaving Diamond! •DUCKS by Kate Beaton! •Batman Day 2022 is history. •Library wreaths. •MJ loves Batman/Spawn?? •More covers now than ever before! Contest of Challengers #604
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Contest of Challengers
Patrick is joined by @chicomic_girl, Hailey Dezort! Hailey is a wonderfully excited comic fan who has an unparalleled enthusiasm and a penchant for sharing her comic book love via Instagram/YouTube/Livestreams/Podcasts. Her fandom is infectious, and this conversation only scratches the surface of her knowledge and dedication to this amazing artform we all love. After listening to Hailey talk about comics, you’ll love them even more. Plus, you know, Patrick is there, too. Follow Hailey: https://www.instagram.com/chicomic_girl/ https://linktr.ee/chicomicgirl Contest of Challengers #603…
WIL MOSS Patrick is joined by Marvel Editor WIL MOSS! They talk about Wil becoming a comics fan, going to college in Chicago and his journey to comic book editing super-stardom! It’s a fun conversation with 2 people on different sides of the comic book industry united by the love of comics!! Comics are the best and Wil is/was Editor for some of THE BEST comics (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, anyone?)!! Contest of Challengers #602…
FULL CIRCLE •It’s AEW All Out weekend in Chicago, so we start with some rasslin’ talk. Sorry. Not a lot, though. •DC Comics are now available from a second distributor! •In this post-covid retail landscape, prices keep going up! Including: Magic Cards, Backer Boards and POP Vinyls. •Ordering from Southern Hobby. •Fantastic Four Full Circle. •Thanks, Patrons! Contest of Challengers #601…
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Contest of Challengers
ADDITIVE TO THE PROCESS•The 4th Invincible Compendium! •Why DON’T we buy dirty coins and sports photos? •”I had to ask!” No, you did not. •New Marvel Legends packaging. •We do not ship storage boxes. •Recommending new series. •ALZ5K 2022. •Politics in-store. •How great is Rachel Bard?? •32 Years!! Contest of Challengers #600!!…
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Contest of Challengers
TERRIBLE LONG-TERM STRATEGY •Tom Palmer R.I.P. •Visiting the Bill Sienkiewicz art exhibit in Libertyville. •New difficulties getting into our own store! •The November 2022 solicits are… plentiful… •Visiting 2 other comic shops. •The tragic end to our safety pin banner. •X-Terminators #1 = Fun! •Trying to keep up with new subscribers/subscriptions. Contest of Challengers #599…
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Contest of Challengers
MANUFACTUTRED COLLECTIBLES •The audio quality of last episode. •This week’s Manage Comics Thoughtstream. •Hachette credit hold. •Tom Brevoort’s Substack is pretty fun. •99¢ BACK ISSUE SALE! •Freebies vs Collectibles. Contest of Challengers #598
ACTIVATION! •Patrick, Dal and MJ talk about C2E2 in a car with shitty audio. It was a 20-minute conversation in which 10 minutes were completely unlistenable. We have GOT to turn off the phone Bluetooth before we record in the car. Sorry. Bad parts are edited out of the official release, but left in for the Patreon Raw Audio release. •The Art Institute lions have a dark history with Patrick’s feet. •Lunar Landing! •A “C” mask at Disney (thanks, Suzie!!). •The first in a series of IG videos for the new releases. •Whatnot, and how we don’t understand it. •Thanks, Patrons!…
YA(wn) •SILVERLINE is out now! •We are years late in making a Young Adult section. •Manga is a Medium, not a Genre. Except, it is a Genre. •The eventual return of a Discount Graphic Novel section. •We wish we were better at promoting the comics we enjoy reading. All of them. •Manage Comics 2.0 functionality we’re looking forward to. •Next week is our Wes Craig singing, a Lunar Distribution seminar and C2E2! Contest of Challengers #596…
ALL THE COOKIES •Late deliveries. •Fun toys. •Special guests (in the store, not on this episode). •SDCC comic announcements (so far). •BOOM! Studios Kickstarters. •Other stuff, we promise. Contest of Challengers #595
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Contest of Challengers
SITUATIONS ARE FLUID •Friday’s (not at all heavy) rain causes more grief. •Another SQUARE outage. •We hope this podcast (as a whole, not just this episode) is informative yet also entertaining. •The recovery of Patrick’s comics… •More comics industry theft (but not at Challengers) •We’ll work with anyone if it’s good promotion for us. Contest of Challengers #594…
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Contest of Challengers
YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THE ENDING! •Another AT&T story! Who could have seen this coming? •Where has Dal been?!? •A shattered window and alarms going off in the middle of the night! •A JENNY FRISON signing with a violent outburst! •A Dal HUEL interlude. •An ending we never saw coming!! Contest of Challengers #593…
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Contest of Challengers
AN ORGANIC VALUE All these topics are discussed in this episode, BUT in a different order than they are listed here! Why? Because I wrote my notes BEFORE we recorded, because I am a G-D professional!! •Thief? •Great news for the creators of EIGHT BILLION GENIES! •June sales (-30 on Wednesday). •It’s two weeks after Patrick’s comics were stolen, and he has an update from the detective on the case. •Answering questions for David Harper. •Patrons! •(Many) New bookmarks! Contest of Challengers #592…
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Contest of Challengers
OH YEAH, THAT’S A THING •Burritooooo! •The new DC and Marvel catalogs are (kind of) out, for product shipping in September. •License shifting between publishers. •It’s one week after Patrick’s comics being stolen. •IDW Originals: Dark Spaces Wildfire #1. •Shifting special order item codes between ‘New to Order’ and Shipping make it almost impossible to get people their orders. •We’re so excited for you to finally get to read Chip Zdarsky’s PUBLIC DOMAIN. •Dal has very good things to say about the huge Marvel crossover A.X.E. Judgment Day #1. •”Hey dipshit, don’t be a dipshit.” Contest of Challengers #591…
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Contest of Challengers
The meat of this episode is a harrowing tale of the worst thing that can happen to a lifetime comic book collector. And then, Patrick visited a trio of comic shops in Asheville, NC over the past weekend. Sadly, there were no T-Rex’s. Contest of Challengers #590
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Contest of Challengers
SOMEWHERE WITH A T-REX This one’s a mystery! Who’s on it? What do they talk about? WHO KNOWS?!? Okay, we know that it’s Dal and MJ, and they’re probably talking about store stuff and distributors and comics and what not. But actual specifics? Well, neither of them write these previews, and I haven’t listened to their episode, so let’s all be surprised together! Contest of Challengers #589…
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Contest of Challengers
CR-APP-TACULAR •Not Free Shipping!! •The recipient files the claim. •Shopify app update chaos. •We’re not wearing masks anymore (for now). •Donating to Little Libraries. http://littlefreelibrary.org •Tim Seeley’s just-announced new Dark Horse comic THE ROADIE looks fun! •Adding to a ‘complete’ summer crossover checklist after-the-fact. •Working with Image for our exclusive cover wasn’t as straightforward as we’d have liked. Contest of Challengers #588…
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Contest of Challengers
•Friday customer interactions. •How’s the Sale going? •INVOICING! And why we hate it. •A Manage Comics feature Dal would literally give a tooth for. •In interesting Sales Tax find. •Advance previews! Radiant Red (again), World’s Finest and West of Sundown. •DC’s upcoming crossovers and why we cringe at the very idea of them. Contest of Challengers #572…
SNOW PROTOCOL •Fun with Facsimile Editions. •Questionable Creators vs the Characters they create. •Snow Protocol!! •Santa Clauses •Creating new items in Shopify vs ComicSuite. •Some minor Manage Comics quirks for the week. •Thanks, Patrons! •Patrick has no idea what Star Wars Crimson Reign is about. •Issue #1 of the upcoming Batman Killing Time mini-series is real good! •Looking at all the Substack comics that dropped this week. Contest of Challengers #571…
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Contest of Challengers
Contest of Challengers #570 FRUGAL + VICIOUS = FRICIOUS •Compendiums vs Trades, as more publishers are going for the larger collections. •The comic shop mainstay that is MAUS. •A brief interlude about Joe Lycett. •What non-superhero trades will we always keep in-stock? •Publishers, it’s okay to let properties die. •Dal’s amazing Shopify hack! •The ease of using Manage Comics as a consumer. •Hand-adding existing subscribers to a new/companion title is not a quick task.…
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Contest of Challengers
TREADING WATER •The story of an Avengers Endgame Iron Man Pop Vinyl online order. •Local Pick-Up is NOT Free Shipping. •The attempted installation of fiberoptic internet. •Shopify is changing how we pay them. •The Herculean task of January Initial Orders. •SAGA is back!!!! •A look back to our retailing philosophy of 2012. •Dal has read PDF’s of the up coming Image titles: LITTLE MONSTERS, GHOST CAGE, STEP BY BLOODY STEP, and RADIANT RED.…
LADDER UP! •We have a new ladder and Patrick is very excited for it. •Why one fan does not like the current Buffy comics. •Getting next week’s Marvel Comics on Friday rather than Monday. •How to ring up subscriber purchases when Manage Comics goes down. •Another Amazing Spider-Man #1 is coming. •DC disappoints with their limiting availability of fun covers. •At this point I kind of stopped taking notes, but there’s plenty more stuff. •We totally forgot we were going to talk about the 2021 best sellers. Whoops. •You can also catch Patrick on this week's OFF PANEL podcast with David Harper!…
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Contest of Challengers
NOT MORE DIFFICULT; WORSE (this episode's title is not in reference to Manage Comics) •We’re in our new Studiotorium (TM & © 2022 Challengers Inc) •Checking in with Andrew •How to do an exchange in Shopify •Thor #20. Ha ha. •Thank you, Bad Idea, and no thank you. •Manage Comics from the User side. •How many subscribers didn’t come in at all in December? Next Week: The Best-Sellers of 2021!…
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Contest of Challengers
WE DID NOT STEAL YOUR PHONE •I promise you; we did not steal your phone. •Which of next week’s books have we read? “We” being Dal, as Patrick is so far behind. •This was the week we switched to Manage Comics, so there’s LOTS of Manage Comics talk! •Immortal Hulk vol. 10 collection misprint. •This is a timeline, not ‘greater than’ symbols: ComicSuite/RMS>RMH/Pullbox>Shopify/Octopus>Manage Comics/Stocky/Shopify •We’re really on board with Manage Comics and it’s better for all of us. •Thanks, Patrons! Next Week: The other half of Manage Comics! The user interface!…
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Contest of Challengers
A “Good Problem” is Still a Problem •Early solicits for April that we can’t do anything with yet. •Comic news websites. •Too much talk about Doctor Who. •We still don’t “get” social media. •Looking ahead to 2022. •Holiday decorations after Christmas. •Manage Comics Is. •Movie talk! Sorry. But there are no spoilers. Thanks to Markisan Naso (“By The Horns”, “Voracious”) for this episode’s segment breaks.…
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Contest of Challengers
•Retail at Christmas. •Somewhere in the episode will be the yearly playing of Stan Lee’s “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” and a new Holiday song from The Divorce Gun! •Random shipments all throughout the week make it hard to plan your day. •SO MANY boxes (inside of boxes), as well as bubble wrap. •Reporting damages via Hachette’s new online portal. •Christmas traditions. •Are you ready? It’s just about Manage Comics time!! •New and exciting issues with Diamond’s POS system. Visitors in town for C2E2.…
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Contest of Challengers
The Time Dilation of C2E2 •Checking in with Jeanna! •C2E2 2021 •C2E2 Pandemic protocol •Consignment woes •What we bought at C2E2 •Checking in with Molly Jane
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Contest of Challengers
Finalizing Code •It’s a Blind Bag, uh, unbagging! And there’s an advent calendar! •The Manage Comics functionality we’re hoping for. •A NEW (recurring??) segment! •Letter carrier blues. •The good and bad and egregious packing of comic book shipments. •Product condition salability in the bookstore market. •Making sense of alternate vendor billing statements. •The surprise roadblock of PRH’s ‘first of the month’ invoicing. Treat yourself: https://youtu.be/gIxi9ZqOzAw Thank you so much Ashleigh & Drew for bringing Clydene in!!…
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Contest of Challengers
Space is Flexible •It’s “Old Wound” Friday! •Rule #1 of Challengers was in FULL EFFECT lately. •It’s a MASSIVE week for both Marvel and DC and both of those deliveries arrived today. •Decorating for Christmas. •Reporting the full number of packing/shipping damages from PRH just isn’t worth it. •How we can keep the same amount of graphic novel shelf space with so many new graphic novels coming out every year. •The story of the 1-foot grid wall shelf. •CRIMSON CAGE is so good!!…
•The evolution of Pullbox (a precursor to its impending death). •Creating items in Manage Comics. •It’s been a rough week for the comics industry but a VERY rough week for justice. •Putting in the FINAL order numbers for X Lives of Wolverine #1 BEFORE initial orders have been placed. Wait, what?? •Nightwing #87 is going to be amazing!! •The vocal 5%. •The Wolf Maria stopped by and signed some of her covers. •Holiday Hours are coming next week.…
Ransomware No wrestling toys were bought during the recording of this episode. (That is a lie) •Invoicing inconstancies between the various comic publishers. •A ransomware attack on Diamond Comic Distributors and how it affected EVERYONE in comics retail. •The complete lack of 1st pressings of the What’s the Furthest Place From Here 7” vinyl editions. •Adding invoicing to our Hold policy. •Most new in-store signs are up! •Almost having a commercial shot in Challengers and having to close for 2 days for it. •We’re using the Marvel Unlimited app (90% for the “It’s Jeff” comic strip). Thanks again to Markisan Naso (“By The Horns”, “Voracious”) for this episode’s segment break.…
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Contest of Challengers
“Gentrifiers!!” Not subscribing people to Soul Plumber. We do not want to hang your flyer. Prepare for new in-store signage! Giving our gaming section a facelift. The different types of comic book buyers. Upcoming Image releases. So very many annuals on DC’s Final Order Cutoff list this week. Thanks again to Markisan Naso (“By The Horns”, “Voracious”) for this episode’s segment breaks.…
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Contest of Challengers
“I DON’T READ MY EMAILS!” •Trying to make our store as tech-forward as we can. •Don’t get mad at us for trying to help you. •Negative interactions can ruin your whole week. •Getting handmade thank you comics from kids can save your week. •Chicago Podcast Day. •Aftershock’s A CALCULATED MAN is a good read! Contest of Challengers #587 Header image photo by Ana Everling…
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Contest of Challengers
“NAH; I DON’T WANT TO” •Our FINAL AT&T story (we hope), in 2 parts. •When prices rise with no added value. •Marvel Comics August solicitations. •Black Adam #1 is surprisingly good. •Patrick no longer wants to stock one-shots (he’s looking at YOU, Last Shadow Hawk). •Perry White! $5 for 7 new pages. •Updating security camera apps. •Way more PRH shipping damages. Contest of Challengers #586…
“BIG-HEADED” •Chicago Podcast Day is next week! •No more sponsorship. •We’re big-headed now, we guess. •Free Comic Book Day wrap-up (with special guests)! •It’s May, so of course the shop is in the 80’s (degrees, not decade). •Metal bookmarks, anyone? •Buy our Exclusive covers (please)! Contest of Challengers #585…
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Contest of Challengers
“AND” CONVERSATION, NOT “OR” •More problems with AT&T. This time with a 2nd account! •No, sorry, we’re still noy doing consignment. •What is this “Free Comics Book Day” all about? •Sometimes it’s hard to get people to pick up their free t-shirt. •Begging for reviews is a bad look. •Manage Comics updates—they’re all good! Contest of Challengers #584…
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Contest of Challengers
1 I WILL THROW YOUR COMICS IN THE TRASH 1:08:17
1:08:17 Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked1:08:17
Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedI WILL THROW YOUR COMICS IN THE TRASH •A broken Bat Grappling gun •Thor Love and Thunder Marvel Legends are out now! •Fixed costs (I told you I’d keep it in). •Comics for out-of-touch old men. •Cyclical sales (or was this what I was keeping in? I can’t remember) •Simon & Schuster billing fun. Seriously delinquent fun. •Dal really enjoys using Stocky to maintain Challenger’s graphic novel inventory. Contest of Challengers #583…
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Contest of Challengers
WHO ARE THESE BOOKS FOR? •All Gwenpool, all the time! •Handling collected editions. •Why we collect what we collect. •Why are these comics being made and who are they for? •Why we find it difficult to stock variant covers. •We can’t order everything… •Oh, backorders. When will you fill? •Marvel Legends pricing is going up (again). OUR SPONSOR: MANSCAPED The Best in Men's Grooming https://www.manscaped.com/ Use the code CHALLENGERS at check-out for 20% off! National Art & Trade Tuition Opportunity (NATTO) Scholarship http://nattosoup.com/scholarship http://nattosoup.com/scholarshipkit Contest of Challengers #582…
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Contest of Challengers
•Chipotle SHOULD sponsor us. •Manage Comics functionality we’re still hoping for. •Marvel in April. Not so many comics… •Remembering disbursement (that’s what my notes say). •Missing solicitation/press release information. •IDW’s 9 new originals. •A weird PRH delivery from this week. OUR SPONSOR: MANSCAPED The Best in Men's Grooming https://www.manscaped.com/ Use the code CHALLENGERS at check-out for 20% off! National Art & Trade Tuition Opportunity (NATTO) Scholarship http://nattosoup.com/scholarship http://nattosoup.com/scholarshipkit Contest of Challengers #581…
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Contest of Challengers
DRAWN FROM COMICS •Stealth Marvel cancellations. •Thanks, Patrons! •Google sure seems to have their sites set on us! •Minor store changes. •The strange allure of POP Vinyl’s. •Jon Bogdnaove sold some major art! •Bookscan numbers for 2021. •Raise your hand if your school held Scholastic Book Fairs! •We’ve got some great signings headed your way! We’ve also had some other great signings that did not go so well… •Dal suggests you check out BOOM!’s Grim #1 and Image’s Bone Orchard Mythos Passageway graphic novel. OUR SPONSOR: MANSCAPED The Best in Men's Grooming https://www.manscaped.com/ Use the code CHALLENGERS at check-out for 20% off! National Art & Trade Tuition Opportunity (NATTO) Scholarship nattosoup.com/scholarship nattosoup.com/scholarshipkit Contest of Challengers #580…
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Contest of Challengers
FOURTEEN-TO-LIFE •We tuned 14 on the day this episode was recorded! •A week’s worth of AT&T problems (and no phone). •Follow-up to our FCBD layout. •Sometimes calling someone out on the podcast is a GOOD thing. •Toy Hunting in Kokomo, Indiana! •Comic Shop hunting, in the same city. •Sorry in advance, but it’s a Recorded-in-the-Car episode. •Shout out to MJ and Stella for handling all the in-store problems today (they’re not on this episode, but we just wanted to thank them, again). OUR SPONSOR: MANSCAPED The Best in Men's Grooming https://www.manscaped.com/ Use the code CHALLENGERS at check-out for 20% off! Contest of Challengers #579…
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Contest of Challengers
FILTER THE SEARCH •Running a modern comic shop without internet. •Receiving product using only your phone. •Zestworld, the new Substack. •Checking In with a Challenger! •We have a sponsor! •Who would we want to advertise on Contest of Challengers? OUR SPONSOR: MANSCAPED The Best in Men's Grooming https://www.manscaped.com/ Use the code CHALLENGERS at check-out for 20% off! Contest of Challengers #578…
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Contest of Challengers
DO A EXCLUSIVE COVER •DO A POWERBOMB! That’s one of the things we were hinting at last episode. •We have a Challengers Exclusive cover or 2 on the horizon. •Diving back into Store Events BY THE HORNS signing March 30 WEST OF SUNDOWN signing April 6 •How to layout the shop for FCBD this year… •Checking in with Stella! •Erroneous Google reviews. •The power went out! Yet business was not interrupted. •Another PRH call. •Most of our Substacks are coming to Image Comics this summer. Contest of Challengers #577…
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Contest of Challengers
ANYTHING BUT INNOVATIVE •Too much vague talk about thigs we just can’t tell you yet. •Patrick talked to/at 5 wrestlers today, for… reasons… •We’re really excited by one of favorite creator’s new comic project, to be announced next week. •Our Hero Initiative JLA/Avengers raffle is underway! •Patrick’s video call with PRH •Potential new shipping boxes (we like them). •Calling us “innovators” makes us uncomfortable. •Checking in with Andrew. DONATIONS: • https://www.heroinitiative.org/ Contest of Challengers #576…
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Contest of Challengers
BUYING A SOLUTION •Rowing Home with Jordan North. Congratulations, Jordan!! •Where we’ve been donating this week (links below). •UPS (too) Early-morning delivery. •Why the crazy (online, not instore) demand for AVENGERS FOREVER #3? •New Releases are always a limit of 2 (unless you preorder). •Why a Hold Box can’t work with an online inventory (not subscriptions; a take-it-off-the-shelf hold). •A phone that never rings (if only!). •You say you want a(n) (AEW) Revolution… •Advance reads: Rogues #1 (again), Shadow War Alpha. •Last week’s Marvel graphic novels are still missing… •Thanks, Patrons! DONATIONS: • https://canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/jordan/ • https://give.unrefugees.org/220224ukr_emer_d_4983/ • https://gmgunion.com/ Contest of Challengers #575…
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Contest of Challengers
THE WORD “NONE” •ChallengersComics.com has changed! •Why you should read EIGHT BILLION GENIES, I HATE THIS PLACE and BATMAN (starting at #125). •Our JLA/Avengers plans IF we get any copies. •Paint drinker. •Goddammit, please stop stealing our action figures!!! •Checking in with Jeanna, the ‘while driving’ edition. •Our modified Tuesday night email. •Just how well did our “NEW PRINTING” signs work? Contest of Challengers #574…
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Contest of Challengers
F*CK THIS EPISODE •Patrick has been saving up his Shopify questions for Dal until this recording. •Subscribers ordering duplicate covers and we get stuck with their mistakes. •Shopify’s new Customer page layout is not good. •Our website will be changing this week! Maybe even by the time you read this! •We love our new Challengers portraits by Georgeo Brooks! •Too many shelf signs: 1st Issue/New Print/New Last Week/Recommended By •The new, very limited printing of JLA/Avengers from the Hero Initiative. •Marvel theme park attractions: Universal vs Disney. •F*ck This Place by Kyle Starks is already stirring up controversy. •Upcoming books you should look at: BATMAN KILLING TIME and ROGUES. •Current books we’re really digging: JOE HILL’S RAIN, DIRTBAG RAPTURE and WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE. Contest of Challengers #573…
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Contest of Challengers
"A Basic Level of Competence" •Ordering comics for Local Comic Shop Day. •Marvel Legends restock. •Data conversion for Shopify from ComicSuite. •Tuesday’s massive delivery. •Patrick got to unpack a Penguin Random House Marvel shipment. •New books we’ve read: Radio Apocalypse #1 and Robins #1. •Generating excitement for what has yet to come out. Huge thanks to Markisan Naso (“By The Horns”, “Voracious”) for this episode’s segment breaks.…
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Contest of Challengers
"Carny Pieces of $#!T" Adventures at FedEx Office. Some people who want to buy Pokemon cards are really great people. Others, however… Week 2 of not being allowed to sell certain Image titles. Some retailers give us all a bad rep. No 2nd Prints for Image Comics moving forward. 3 days between initial orders and final order cutoffs seems to defeat the purpose. Upcoming comics we like and/or really like or have read: Dark Knights of Steel, DC Vs Vampires, Newburn, Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body, Catwoman Lonely City, Robin & Batman, Task Force Z Supply chain issues for Bad Idea. Zoop-ing the John Paul Leon “The Winter Men” Artist Edition. We’ve restocked ALL of Rachel Bard’s comics!!…
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Contest of Challengers
"Thirsty For Them Robins" •Pokemon Celebrations allocations were so steep we didn’t even have a chance to order. •Ch-ch-ch-change… as in coins. •Social content and platforms that just aren’t for us. •New DC books for January. •An impromptu skip week for Image Comics. •ComicSuite seems to break more each week, and ordering DC books for December is currently a nightmare. •Manage Comics can’t come soon enough, and is, hopefully, getting better every week. •Week 2 of getting Marvel Comics from Penguin Random House.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Don’t Make Us Choose Between Your Money and Satan 1:15:51
1:15:51 Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked1:15:51
Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked"Don’t Make Us Choose Between Your Money and Satan" Wait… ARE we devil worshipers?? A full week of Molly Jane Challenger! And she did…? This store is for the young at heart. The first experience receiving Marvel Comics from Penguin Random House. It was…? Marvel has changed their Final Order Cutoff lead time. Getting Challengers to be what we hoped it could be. Working with artists for store projects is an amazing thing to get to do.…
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Contest of Challengers
"Generally Managing" A brief, yet thorough, history of all past Challengers co-workers. After months of hints and clues, probably the 4th biggest announcement we could make… The futures of Challengers starts NOW! Thanks, Patrons! The performance aspect of selling comics to families.
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Contest of Challengers
"Multiples of the Normal Cost" Please wear your mask over your mouth AND nose. Patreon Free Comic Book Day questions (answered 1 month late). DC, Lunar AND FedEx all have the potential to upset our weekly DC receiving schedule. KickStarter survey woes. Diamond’s Retailer Best Practice Awards are back for 2021. Dal really like CRIMSON CAGE #1! Dal also read some other yet-to-be-released comics. IDW + PRH = acronym abundance!…
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Contest of Challengers
"It’s Soul-Crushing" Playing with our new 1D, Bluetooth, cordless barcode scanner. The overallocation of both subscriptions and special orders in ComicSuite. Last episode we talked about having to do Final Order Cutoffs via Penguin Random House for the first time. This week we talk about actually having done them. Current Initial Order hurdles. Supply prices (bags) are going up AGAIN, as are Marvel Legends prices. Full days of work, at the store and not at the store. Trying to lessen the burden for the future.…
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Contest of Challengers
"Weirder and More Stable" It’s the first week for Marvel Comics single issue Final Order Cutoffs thru Penguin Random House. Manage Comics’ most recent thought stream makes our excitement build, even if the release date is pushed back. Experimenting with Shopify’s point of sale system. Supplies and Funko Pops trade places in the shop.…
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Contest of Challengers
"Please Choose Returnability" Still no DC data in ComicSuite means no one can subscribe to November’s DC books (UPDATE: DC books have been added to the system after we recorded). We’re kind of bad a promoting new comics and merchandise via social media. Cover I.D. I don't remember what this refers to, but it was in my notes so it's here. Have you heard about publishers printing multiple covers for the same comic?? Weird, right? Customer Service isn’t for everybody... Our new shirt Kickstarter campaign is in its last week! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/challengers/keep-reading-comics-t-shirt-designed-by-ali-cantarella…
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Contest of Challengers
"Broken Links in the Supply Chain" The regular occurrence of graphic novels damaged in shipping. Patrick has been doing this for 31 years. Huge week for DC! So many stores did not get their new comics in time for Wednesday, AND DC is having to delay a lot of books for supply reasons. Ingram is on top of it all! 2 of our upcoming store signings have been cancelled (Dave Scheidt “Mayor Good Boy” and Allyson Lassiter “Star Beasts”). Trying to order Marvel graphic novels. Retailers industry wide are feeling the stress. We've still got a new shirt on Kickstarter right now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/challengers/keep-reading-comics-t-shirt-designed-by-ali-cantarella…
More Questions answered about Manage Comics. Store improvements this week: door leak guards, 2 new door thresholds, new carpet runners and 17 new window banners! Also new – Challengers Birthday card, I Love You But I’ve Chosen Comics enamel pin and the Patrick + Dal heads 2-pin set! Our Free Comic Book Day aftermath. Bad Idea’s latest disagreeable marketing decision. Substack! What is it? Which creators are using it? How will it impact comic shops? We've got a new shirt on Kickstarter right now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/challengers/keep-reading-comics-t-shirt-designed-by-ali-cantarella…
Carpet Diem Patrick is SO high strung right now. He can feel the cable starting to fray… Free Comic Book Day is NOW! Although it’ll be over by the time you hear this. Our last 7 days, in order. SO much stuff happened! The process of getting the carpet installed. Special thanks to: Kent Challenger Samantha Challenger, Vex and Steve Drew and Ashleigh Keith and Margie Tad And also… Felix Challenger Andrew Challenger Benhur Jackie Erik…
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Contest of Challengers
"The Value Aspect" Introducing ‘new’ publisher MarvelPRH! A good idea from Diamond! Further adventures with Pullbox. What our subscription service is supposed to be vs what it’s turned into. “Curbside” vs “In-Store”. The pitfalls of celebrity signings. Our recommended offer to exchange. You should really add Ed Brubaker’s Friday HC to you want list. Our current stance on comic Kickstarters. There is no Challengers TikTok. People really want the “hot” Free Comic Book Day titles, but is it for the actual comic stories?…
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Contest of Challengers
"Changing the Calculus" Masks are once again required in-store. Will these rising Covid numbers change Free Comic Book Day (Aug 14)? DC = Doesn’t Care Constantly having to apologize to subscribers for computer errors we can’t control is exhausting. Talking about it every week, even more so. Thanks, Patrons! The ever-changing due dates for Final Order Cutoff numbers. We’ve finalized our new mid-windows banner design.…
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Contest of Challengers
Minimizing Chances of Failure Wearing a coat in July. Seven Sagas vol 1’s. Patrick is working on the last Marvel Comics order from Diamond. Our (probable) switchover to Manage Comics looms ever closer. I’m sorry, but we’re out of Pokémon cards. Again. Still. The face of your disappointment. New Challengers Greeting Card, singular. Our new carpet installation has been pushed back by 1 week. Who makes money in Comics?…
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Contest of Challengers
Spatial Considerations So many plans for updating the look of Challengers, but no time to implement them. Challengers needs a deep cleaning! As we get closer to the potential switch-over to Manage Comics, we’re finding more hardware we’ll need to upgrade. Still hoping to change our Penguin Random House payment terms before we start ordering Marvel single issues. As pop culture fans we sure buy a lot of pop culture stuff.…
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Contest of Challengers
Parse That Data Comics as commodities. Manage Comics 2.0 is looking good for us. The last word on Challengers Blue. Finally… new carpet! And we can use your help moving all the shelves. Say 10 things nice to 1 thing negative.
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Contest of Challengers
Eternal racking questions. How many covers is too many (hint: more than 2). So many shipments from so many distributors. June sales totals (an overview). Water damage. Primordial #1 (by the Gideon Falls team). Don’t miss out on The Nice House on the Lake!
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Contest of Challengers
Yotsuba&! is returning! Calling back after we call you. The weirdness of no masks. Is it good or is it Spawn? Patrick really digs Vinyl from Image. Addressing the Warren Ellis in the room. Hoarding the new Hawkguy collection. The new Amazing Spider-Man writing team. A controversial new figure from DoomCo Designs and Crocodile Jackson. Introducing Felix Challenger.…
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Contest of Challengers
This is a Dull Podcast Upcoming DC books—more hits than not! Prose writers writing comics. Updating our Gift Cards on the website(s). Marvel Legends prices are rising and may rise more. Have you heard about Phonation? 10 Chicago podcasts on vinyl! LOKI is a fun show. Nick Spencer is leaving Amazing Spider-Man. New work from Fiona Staples, but not new Saga work. Signings! Upcoming, new, and unannounced! Where to eat after visiting Challengers?…
Space Ghettos Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow. How’d our Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton signing go? Hint: Awesome. Our new in-store mask policy. Asking for a Spider-Man collection is really asking for _______________? New week, same ComicSuite running errors. Still learning how to order thru Penguin Random House. The non-death of Bad Idea. W.E.B. of Spider-Man #1 was this week’s most annoying comic. A Yelp review from a year and a half ago resurfaces. Bonus! See if you can count the times Dal leaves the recording studio to take a phone call while Patrick fills.…
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Contest of Challengers
Green Lantern after Geoff Johns volume 4. So many damages from our distribution partners. Problems with single issue comic backorders. EVERYTHING is in short supply right now (not just comics) and it’s making people go insane. The different mindset of the suburban comic shop. More advance PDF’s please! Dal really liked Made in Korea and Patrick is totally on board for Vinyl (from the team behind Plastic). How long will we keep wearing masks in-store?…
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Contest of Challengers
Black Lives Matter What’s in Patrick’s pocket? Delaying the Batman/Fortinite reprints is annoying. New DC solicits (Batman the World). Signings are back at Challengers! Kyle Starks & Chris Schweizer, Michael Moreci, Tim Seeley, and Dave Scheidt, for starters. Maybe we’ll have plans for FCBD after all… Black Lives Matter. Thank you for all thinking so highly of us.…
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Contest of Challengers
It’s a Linear Path Friday afternoon dranks. Bad artists can really make you stop reading a book. Losing John Paul Leon and David Anthony Kraft. We have current comic bags available again! Working with other comic shops. Or not. What became of our unsold Hank Howard copies? Low Marvel print runs on Disney+ properties. New Marvel sales terms from Diamond. Also from Diamond, new shipping fee structure. DisCovery.…
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A Frictionless Process Tech support working on ComicSuite all day Friday. Upcoming potential ComicSuite patch to make importing ALL publishers easier. Hachette’s (one of our new regular distributors) refund issue. DC Comics Final Order Cutoff is still 4 weeks out. Street date for new D&D hardcover! Comic bags from Chenxin. We seem to have mis-ordered some recent new DC titles in a big way. *UPDATE ON THE BETA RAY BILL INTERNATIONAL SALES BATTLE!!* More love for the upcoming 6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton! “What/Who makes us money” Marvel’s last minute variant cover artist switches. Who’s up for Ed Piskor’s Red Room #1 next week? Magic the Gathering allocations.…
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Okay to Work With, But Mouthy It’s a pseudo anniversary episode: 1 year since Patrick’s TMNT injury and 2 weeks since Patrick and Dal received their 2nd vaccinations. How Bad Idea’s Whalesville button when terribly wrong this week. All the effort it will take to sell $1 copies of Bad Idea’s Hank Howard for 8 hours. Danhausen is very nice, very evil, and on an Image cover. If only it were easier to answer Pullbox questions. Dal envisions a world where there are NO standing orders for subscribers, only special orders placed every month. Don’t blame Diamond for your mistakes. Venting on the podcast as opposed to venting in-store.…
What’s the worst weather for the shop to be open during? Free Comic Book Day is not this Saturday. The pandemic is still a thing… especially if you’re trying to order Comic Supplies or Manga. Why are DC Final Orders now 4 weeks out instead of 3? “Worthless books” and why we’re not a mail-order store. There are no Sacred Cows in Comics Retail. Where oh where can all this backstock go? Bookshelves too full to make fun. Net terms.…
Contest of Challengers #530 Cry Wolf Putting the Biz in Ness. Man-Bat’s Nite Fort .0 The Beta Ray Bill #1 International Sales Battle is mired in controversy. Future ordering. New DC and Marvel series for July. Fun with balloons… and the police. Wolf.
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Of course “infrastructural” is a word. And we ARE relating to the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, such as Challengers Comics + Conversation. Time Before Time, another upcoming Image title, is definitely worth your… time. Running a comic shop vs running a comic business. New non-Marvel Legends toys. Having Invincible collections is invaluable, as opposed to not being able to get any Falcon and Winter Soldier collections. Penguin Random House is out of stock on our entire order? Upcoming website changes, but we’re in no hurry. Window quotes, in more ways than one.…
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Benhur’s safe is safe! Phew! Seriously, masks are still required in-store!! Sheesh. 7 months of Andrew. Woosh! Changes in the X-Men titles this summer! Snikt! New Marvel Legends action figures just announced! Bam! Bad Idea pins… *Sigh* “I Don’t Know” is Unacceptable. Humph. Image’s The Good Asian is an excellent detective (Chinatown Noir) comic! Ka-ching!* *Okay, so I felt a little weird using “Ka-ching” as the sound effect after The Good Asian. I was going for the sound of a cash register to emphasize how much we expect this to sell. To be safe I googled “noise a cash register makes” and both ‘cha-ching’ and ka-ching’ came up at the top, so I went with it.…
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Post-Future (State) Current and future payment method protocol. More USPS shipping delays, you know, like everyone is facing. A week fraught with ComicSuite programming issues and the dedicated people who constantly try to improve its functionality. The Infinite Frontier of DC Comics’ future.
By the Horns! Elodie hates unicorns. She’s dedicated her life to tracking down and killing them all for trampling her husband to death. Exiled from her farming village, Elodie and her telepathic half wolf/half deer companion, Sajen, search the continent of for clues to the whereabouts of unicorns. When they discover a lead in the port city of Lycus, their revenge mission suddenly takes a dangerous turn… Patrick is joined by Markisan Naso & Jason Muhr (creators of VORACIOUS) to talk about their new fantasy (and sci-fi) comic, BY THE HORNS (Patrick has read it and really likes it!)! And Taylor Swift. They all talk about Taylor Swift, but not in equal amounts.…
American Mail Tony Fleecs, of the upcoming Image comic series STRAY DOGS, is a stand up gent! What is the Immortal Hulk Omnibus and why haven’t we heard of it? Posting Special Orders for January comics in ComicSuite has an unexpected obstacle. Customer anecdotes of the (Fri)day. The Holiday shipping window is closed (for us to mail things out in time). Gee, the Warner Bros. business plan sure feels as catastrophic as the DC Comics one! Club Lago is open for tented-yet-classy outdoor dining. Will the Disney investor call announcements have an immediate impact on comic sales? The Next Batman is not at all who was expected.…
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If you know Arune Singh then you already know why we wanted to have him on this podcast. If you DON’T know Arune Singh, you’re about to find out why we wanted him on this podcast. Like most of us Arune has spent a majority of his life as a comic book fan and reader (and like us, behind the counter). Unlike most of us, Arune has spent years on the publishing side of the comics industry. How and why he got there is just waiting for you to learn. And sadly, we don’t talk about “Hangman” Adam Page nearly enough.…
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Ranking Very Well in Ghana. I can't read my own show notes (written in the dark). Contest of Challengers is killing it under ‘Entrepreneurship’ and ‘Business’ all over the world! Other than the US, that is... Thanks for still wearing masks! Trips to the post office. Dal read Batman Black & White #1 and Patrick read Future State Wonder Woman #1! HBO Max’s impact on pop culture. Higher Patreon levels (and thanks, Patrons!). Annoying call center calls. Asking for things we can’t help with.…
Rats! Or as Adam Ant would say, Car-Car-Car-Car-Car TROUBLE! Black Friday at Challengers. The newest incarnation of Sidekicks is LIVE! Diamond’s rule on posting new comic images to social media. This week’s comics: Doctor Doom, Power Pack and the end of X of Swords were all exceptional! Upcoming comics: Dal really liked Stray Dogs and Radiant Black. Viacom/CBS is hoping to sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin/Random House and that would actually make our lives a little easier.…
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Print is Irrelevant. Cyclops was Wrong (about Cyclops). Another fun week of DC Comics Final Order Cutoff numbers. What if Marvel made pizzas? Brian Hibbs’ take on the future of DC Comics (read the full column here: https://www.comicsbeat.com/tilting-at-windmills-282-the-end-days-of-dc-comics/) Will the Future State Wonder Woman (Tara Flor) be a sought-after book? Covid-positive customers and the current store precautions. Happy Birthday, Dal! Kyle Higgins’ RADIANT BLACK looks real fun!…
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About vs “ABOUT” What does the new Chicago “Stay at Home” advisory mean for Challengers? We do not want to read books about people dealing with Covid-19. Image’s HOME SICK PILOTS is real good, y’all. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank have an Image book coming out in April, “Geiger”. Kaijumax continues to be one of the absolute best books on the stands. What a comic is about vs what a comic is ABOUT. DC Entertainment has just fired 3 of our friends.…
Paul Cornell is amazing and we rave about “I Walk with Monsters”! When Dal broke. It seems Patrick is unfathomably frustrated by people wanting to spend more money. Disappearing DC special orders. Finding a new mass email client. The brief story of Bamboozle. Converting the Kallax back issue shelves to fit 3 boxes per shelf rather than just 2.…
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And the Family Grows. Haaaaavvvve you met Andrew? Why it’s so hard for smaller publishers to get their books noticed on the stands (specifically this week’s Legend of Mandrake the Magician and Sympathy for No Devils). Paying it forward. Even more theft of Marvel Legends. Ironing out our Chicago Bag Tax issues. Thanks, Patrons! New Comics in your future… Homesick Pilots (“Imagine E.T., but if E.T. was a haunted house”); Post Americana (Undiscovered Country meets Scumbag), and Kaiju Score (a heist comic in a world full of Kaijus, but they are neither the thieves nor the thieved).…
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Nah Man, We’re Good. …but thanks for thinking of us. Another new layout for Sidekicks, decided upon in real time (Recorded first but added to the end of the episode, and the we still talk about it at the new start. What is even happening??). Too much cardboard!! Plush cake. Lunar Distribution becomes the only distributor of DC Comics starting in 2021. When a twice delinquent subscriber wants to subscribe again. Difficulties uploading the December 2020 DC orders. Working more at night than ever before (including typing this very sentence!).…
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Where’s Your Human Compassion? TMNT The Last Ronin is going to be HUGE and now for more reasons than just the story. DC Comics starts 2021 off with FUTURE STATE, the possible future of all their characters. Sometimes catching a shoplifter is sad. Have you read WE LIVE, AMERICAN RONIN or STILLWATER? You should. You should also read SCARENTHOOD and GIGA when they come out. Remember that time Dal got punched in the face?…
It’s the 500th episode of Contest of Challengers! An update on our status with Blue’s landlord. An update on the status of Red’s lease. Our dream front window artist. Patrick and Dal each ask the other 5 questions about the store, comics retail and comics in general. It’s a double-length anniversary episode and we think it’s one of our best. Thanks for listening!…
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Grave-Robbing Chadwick Boseman We will not be carrying the Todd McFarlane “B” cover to Spawn #311. A look-back to the All-New All-Different Marvel Comics of Fall 2015. Thanks, Patrons! The changeover to Retail Management Hero.
All Apologies Congratulations Jess & Gabe! Crazy Pokemon card sales this week. So much Manga, and needing to reorganize our shelves to fit it. Every process and procedure we need to sell you comics is letting us down. Every. One. Our register program is scheduled to change this Monday (from RMS to RMH, if you want to get technical). SO MANY EXTRA STEPS. Patrick is finally reading Jim Terry’s “Come Home, Indio” and really likes it.…
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6 Weeks of Aggravation This week has been a solid week of sales. Is it Easter? Spring Break? Our windows really need some attention! Bad Idea strikes again! Shopify online payment options.
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So, anything interesting happen in the comics industry this week? The majority of this episode is about, of course, Marvel Comics leaving Diamond Comic Distributors in favor of Penguin Random House. This Wednesday is our 13th Anniversary. Volumes Bookcafe is closing their shop in our neighborhood (for now). Square and Wyze, 2 services we use all day long, both had server issues today. The 6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton is this year’s best comic book series.…
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It’s So Byzantine This year’s Sale t-shirts are in, but what if we made a 2nd shirt each year? Free Comic Book Day is still happening in 2021, in August, but what are we doing for it? Gregg Schigiel has designed our new book mark! He also designs great masks here: https://www.teepublic.com/user/hatterentertainment It’s been 1 year since Chicago shut down for the start of the pandemic. How has the nature of business changed in that time? Applying for PPP financial assistance. Remembering Ed Mroz (The Mutiny) and Gerri Miller (Metal Edge magazine). Coffee Shop AU. New and Upcoming Comics we’ve read, including TIME BEFORE TIME, NIGHTWING, DETECTIVE COMICS, BATMAN SUPERMAN, HARLEY QUINN and JUSTICE LEAGUE.…
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We seem to have broken yet another audio receiver. And by “we” we’re blaming Kent. Some people find our Rogues Gallery prints fairly valuable. Protect the Eisner at all costs, Dal!! Diamond allocations and the Prisoner’s Dilemma. With 6 months to go, the landlord at Blue is now even more frustrating to deal with.…
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New AEW figure announcements and signings! WandaVision pulling out all the stops (we had not watched Episode 9 before this recording so there are no spoilers at all). Just knowing a landmine is there only helps you avoid that specific landmine. The Joker #1, and a look at the cultural impact of the Joker. Checking in with the first of DC’s post Infinite Frontier books (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman). Now that Bad Idea’s ENIAC #1 is actually out, what does selling Bad Idea comics really look like? Also, Eniac #1 is really good. So good we can’t be angry at it. Before you email us asking if we have something in stock, you can always check for yourself at shop.challengerscomics.com!…
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All Star Comics fires shots from afar using someone VERY close to home. Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR #1 arrives this week! Oh, USPS. Why do you only have 1 good mail carrier in our area? Everything new Bad Idea does makes it seem more about limited/collectability than about reading good comics. Stopping in at Chicago’s Vertical Gallery. A series of connected one shots vs. a mini-series. Too many themed cover options for one title! “Time Traveler” the movie. DC’s Infinite Frontier #0.…
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Pokemon Shining Fates was released today and… well, we carried all of it. For now… Rumors of a DC Comics buyout by rich fans. DC final order orders can be less final than we’d like. Buying comics for more than cover price. Bad Idea working with Diamond? New rules for publishers offering returnability thru Diamond. Todd McFarlane’s vision of the future of comics is… Image comics from the mind-1990’s.…
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Digging Our Own Grave DC is Digital First, Retailers Last. Affidavit Returns can be tricky when not everything is listed on your invoice. The books we wish were selling better. This year’s SALE was way more frustrating than ever before, with higher highs and lower lows. Plus, more procedures to pull it off with an online component. Ordering collecting supplies is more challenging than ever before. How you can use Final Order Cutoffs/Final Orders Due to your advantage! And also, New to Order!…
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Rip-Off Culture Friday customer interactions (no, we do not cut hair). Frozen water pipe BEFORE the Chicago Deep Freeze. It’s SALE TIME! The practice of music sampling (in a comics podcast??). Never attribute to Malice what you can attribute to Stupidity. Several new Bad Idea happenings this week alone! What will Marvel do about Immortal Hulk #43? Or really, HOW will they do it?…
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My Love for You is Like a Truck Just when you’ve got all of 2020’s taxes are sorted, 2019 rears its head again. Polite, thorough communications. Missing 1 Lunar box for next week’s DC books. The generous people of the internet. We will be carrying EVERY BRZRKR #1 cover. A new international sales battle! Good comics of your future, including: Fear Book, Orphan & 5 Beasts, Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, and Silver Coin. Also, Nocterra.…
On the Rocks. We join the recording in-conversation about the act of viewing Wandavision. We don’t talk about the show itself, but the art of trying to stay spoiler-free in today’s social internet age. Subjective not objective. The Bad Idea Preview Book dropped and it’s bringing out the worst in too many people. Our Bad Idea “Hero Trade” contest(s)! Possible monthly raffle drawings for some fun merch. New year; new accountant. Final orders for BOOM!’s BRZRKR (BERZERKER) #1. A year without in-store events.…
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1 Don’t Let Perfect be the Enemy of Good 1:04:56
1:04:56 Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked1:04:56
Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedDon’t Let Perfect be the Enemy of Good No, the Sale is NEXT month. Why do so many people need x2 copies of all the Future State books? Our new Instagram name. Tom Taylor is writing Batman? Santa must have gotten Patrick’s letters! Seriously, Kaijimax is SO SO SO GOOD. Previews Dal has read: Shadecraft, Orcs and Karmen. Slower sales in January. Shipping damages in the time of Covid-19. Sammy Hagar's Piece charity pizza.…
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Our yearly “I Love You But I’ve Chose Comics” sale is coming up and Anissa Espinosa designed this year’s shirt! The difficulty getting the Transformer “Scorponok” and other items. Week 1 of DC’s Future State is under way, so how are they doing? This week’s annoyance: Star Wars High Republic #1. Top Graphic Novel sales for 2020 (https://challengerscomics.com/index.php/announcements/item/2310-top-graphic-novel-sales-for-2020) Wrestle Kingdom 15 (at the very end).…
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Our Year, In Words. It’s a look back at our 2020, in as chronological of an order as we can remember but seen thru the eyes of 2 people that have come out the other side with our business intact. So less of a “can you believe that??” look back and more of a “so that happened” reminiscence. There’s also a brief story about insurance, and the monthly Patreon thank yous. Also, just a tiny bit of wrestling talk, the tiniest of bits.…
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Spatial juxtaposition. Emotional dissonance. We’re Not Santa. It’s okay to ask us for help. We’re here to help you. Well, not HERE, but in the store. Mechanical engineering. Why we’ll never fully embrace Instagram. Comics of your future: ULTRAMEGA. FEAR CASE. Thoughts on WW84. #RIPBrodieLee
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Your Success at Our Expense AEW Dynamite’s Parking Lot Brawl was one of the best wrestling matches we’ve ever seen. Patrick is home from the hospital and very, very itchy. Already planning for Christmas Our new Little Golden Books display. Bad Idea was certainly up to some shenanigans this week… Image Comics now embracing variant covers. Give Comics Hope. Or, Give Comic Shope. One of those. givecomicshope.org…
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*Recorded early but posted late b/c Patrick had leg surgery last week and just got home.* Ordering from Penguin/Random House (joined in conversation). New Batman announcements. Digital releases we didn’t know about (like DC’s Represent!) A Patrick leg update. Big news! Galactus’ daughter. Batman Day 2020. Getting excited for some new series. Spawn is on the rise, again. (The 5 minutes between those last 2 items is the epitome of this podcast. Dal calls it out, so you’ll know it when you get there.)…
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Going BRZRK(R) A dog walks into the store… stop me if you’ve heard this one. (EDIT: He walked back in on Saturday! His name is Ollie, not Oscar.) The hassles of last week’s Lunar shipment (we got another store’s books instead of ours). Here’s how ComicSuite and Pullbox are messing with us THIS week! The tensions of this past Wednesday in the store. BOOM! Studios turns to Kickstarter for their new Keanu Reeves project. You get 50% more podcast this week for free!…
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“You’ve Got This?” Yes, we have this. More issues with Diamond’s Pullbox and with their Replenishment shipments. Patrick’s 30 Years interview with David Harper. Patrick celebrates said 30 years with a Jack Kirby Captain America tattoo.
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Margaritas at work really help Patrick’s mood. 30 Years of Retailing. More ideas for Episode #500. An unexpected benefit of using Pullbox. An unexpected problem with using Pullbox. When did the outside of a comic start mattering more than the inside? A genuinely positive customer interaction (there are MANY during the week; we just don’t usually call them out). Sales expectations with school resuming.…
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Being an adult fan of toys. Just when we get used to wearing masks… The DC Implosion, 2020 edition. Pushing The Button.
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It’s as if people have already forgotten there’s a global pandemic. Fun interactions with ‘customers.’ The tools with which we learned to sell comics are no longer valid. The invisible tastemakers of todays comics. TMNT The Last Ronin is going to be huge! Does anyone care about the 10 covers for Detective Comics #1027? Our KEEP READING COMICS t-shirts are ready for pick-up (and have already been mailed out)! Don’t miss out on… Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge (by Grace “Lumberjanes” Ellis & Brittney “Patsy Walker, Hellcat” Williams) Seven Secrets (by Tom Taylor!!) Come Home, Indio (by Chicago’s own Jim Terry)…
11 years of this Podcast! SO many projects to get done at the store. ‘Caution Codes’ as part of an items name. Even MORE Alex Ross ‘Timeless’ variant covers are coming. Not seeing the joy of comics in our work. An update on using Pullbox. Thanks, Patrons!
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We got a Google review that says we don’t look people in the eyes… We did not receive our copies of Batman #95 this week, mere days after we talked about things going fairly well with the new DC Comics distribution set-up. The uncertain future of comics and comics retail. Our webstore/store point-of-sale system link-up is so close to being complete! Minor issues with Diamond’s Pullbox system. Ordering new action figures for the store and for ourselves. The new creative team on Wonder Woman is off to a solid start (#759). Some other upcoming comic talk!…
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Two and ½ weeks of receiving DC Comics from Lunar Distribution. After getting stuck with SO MANY copies of the tie-in series for War of the Realms and Absolute Carnage, we went really low on all the Empyre tie-ins. And now you all want Empyre tie-ins. DC is moving their Final Order Cutoff day up by 1 day, further distancing themselves from the rest of the industry. Free Comic Book Summer is… a thing? Future retail expectations in a Covid-19 world. We changed up our back issues and they look so pretty!…
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Patrick was interviewed by David Harper for SKTCHD.com’s mid-year check-in. Richie Kotzen rules!! Lots of comic companies and retailers got Paycheck Protection loans. Marvel + Scholastic = The Future. A brief AEW digression. Diamond’s Pullbox is here!
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We sure love repeating ourselves! Sorry subscribers, but your DC pulls will not be in the weekly emails for a while. We sure love repeating ourselves! Negan Lives is not a rare comic! Walking Dead The Alien is scarcer. Wear your damn masks!! Our first DC Comics delivery from Lunar. A small shipment of books from British publisher Shortbox. Marvel is grabbing licensed properties (that they don’t need). July 6th sees us return to being open 7-days per week! But still closing at 5pm for 6 of them. I assure you, we are open to in-store shopping. Dal’s comics picks for September!…
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It’s a bonus mid-week episode! Comic creator Tom Kelly joins Patrick to talk about all the things that go into making your own graphic novel! Going to school to study graphic design. Getting a job in graphic design. Going back to school to study comic art. Making comic art! Setting up at conventions. Drawing Hello Kittys. Running a Kickstarter campaign! And so much more! You can check out the Foot Fist Frankenstein Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/footfistfrankenstein/foot-fist-frankenstein-a-monster-martial-arts-revenge-comic FOOT FIST FRANKENSTEIN is a 120-page hardcover graphic novel that blends together Monsters, Comic Books and Martial Arts movies. Foot Fist Frankenstein is an action adventure revenge story, think John Wick meets the Hulk by way of Kung Fu theater. It's the story of a monster, who after finally finding happiness and peace, has it cruelly ripped away and the revenge mission he undertakes as a result.…
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Patreon will now start charging tax for rewards. Here’s how we’re trying to minimize it for you. How do you draw a star? Chicago is now in Phase 4, so please, PLEASE wear a face mask. The new DC Comics variant cover program for Batman Three Jokers. ‘I hate doing this but I need my job’ Marvel reduces their Empyre crossovers by 20 titles. We’re pulling all 24 chapters of the ‘X of Swords’ crossover for everyone that already gets X-MEN, unless you tell us NOT to. Next year’s Marvel summer crossover? Thanks, Patrons! Patrick’s ALZ5K in remembrance of his Mom (http://rememberingfrances.com)…
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Expanding our hours slightly in July. What is Octopus and how will it help us run our Shopify online store? http://challengers-comics.myshopify.com Our “Keep Reading Comics” Kickstarter is over. Trying to use DC Connect as an ordering catalog. All our DC Direct orders (action figures and statues) have been cancelled. Shipping woes from the new comic book distributors. Image has a new Sales Manager. The forced excitement over Gold Lantern. What % of each New Girl character are you? Free Comic Book Summer? Negan Lives as the Walking Dead returns for 1 more issue. Ordering 3 Jokers.…
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What? We’re NOT starting with DC Comics this episode? No, we are. More new distribution channels. Fun with (new) windows! Patrick injury update (get used to these). Jeanna Challenger is back at the shop and Kent returns this Thursday! The plan to reorganize our back hallway (next month). Having to rent another storage unit. Remembering Denny O’Neil. September’s new Iron Man comic looks real good!! Batman comic sales since re-opening. Black Lives Matter banner. Keep Reading Comics T-Shirt Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/challengers/keep-reading-comics-t-shirt-designed-by-gene-ha Patrick’s ALZ5K in remembrance of his Mom (http://rememberingfrances.com)…
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What did DC do to us this week? #1 Lowered our discount by 20%. Patrick’s ALZ5K in remembrance of his Mom (http://rememberingfrances.com) The further looting of Blue and the aftermath. Red is open for in-store shopping again! But there are rules. Black Lives Matter. What did DC do to us this week? #2 Left Diamond Comic Distributors What does this mean for our Graphic Novel buying? What does this mean for our Single Issue Comic buying? What does this mean for our Subscribers and Special Orders?…
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**An hour after we recorded this episode, our River North location was looted. So we start there and then go to the beginning of the episode** (It was actually looted 6 different times during the night, but that happened after our post script) How have DC Comics' recent actions impacted us THIS week? Customers ignoring our pandemic procedures. Reopening for in-store shopping (this Wednesday!) T-Shirt Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/challengers/keep-reading-comics-t-shirt-designed-by-gene-ha/ Comics Fists Face Mask: https://challengers.threadless.com/designs/comics-fists-mask Comics are back, so of course speculators are also back. Avengers #33 is SO GOOD! The passing of a subscriber. Patrick injury update and losing his Mom to Alzheimer's ( http://rememberingfrances.com ). Thank you, Patrons!…
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Guess what? Patrick’s leg still hurts. Welcome, all you Kamen Rider message board fans! Preparing to re-open for in-store business, but then, not. How DC Comics keeps making life so much harder for us. DC subscription management issues. Challengers Blue is done. Blue bookshelves for sale!! Making more by selling less? The first New Comic Wednesday in 2 months. IS the market stronger with subscribers, or without? Shopify fun!…
Not quite a full episode, but to be honest we've had less coherent ones. More like 30 minutes of Patrick rambling about how much his leg hurts. Some comic things are discussed, but we’ll (hopefully) be back next week with a full rundown of current events, and Dal. Plus, new blinds! Thanks, Drew & Ashleigh!!…
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How filming a dumb IG video put Patrick in the hospital for a few days this week. New comics May 20th for sure! DC wants their books to be released on Tuesdays. Too bad, DC. Which day is the ideal day for new releases? Marvel’s temporary staggered release schedule. Marvel’s new digital first initiative. Sorry, Hawkeye, Ant-Man and Star fans. Patron comments. What DO we think of Chris Jericho? Curse Words has a massive new Kickstarter happening right now!…
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Mental health check-in! Do you want us to ask how you’re doing? Shipping delays are now the norm for all businesses. Our Challengers facemasks arrived! And they are… um, masks. When our in-store inventory doesn’t match our Shopify inventory. Local pick-up shifts from Chicago Board Game Café to Challengers Bucktown starting Monday, May 4th. Our self-imposed rules for our IG videos. Thanks, Patrons! Kenny Omega is a pumpkin-headed dip$#!t!…
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How do you display your action figures and their accessories? Updates to DC Comics’ new distribution plans and Diamond. Our new online Shopify store is LIVE! https://challengers-comics.myshopify.com/ New Bucktown Pick-Up hours for May. And how the extended Illinois shelter-in-place will change what we’re doing. Explaining to our landlord the impact this all has on our business. The ever-changing release schedule for super-hero movies.…
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Why we no longer swear on this podcast (for now). The Friday News Dump. DC Comics’ new distribution plan/ultimatum. Keeping you (and us) safe when we’re allowed to re-open. Challengers masks! How creators are helping retailers. Our new Shopify online store. Making stupid videos to connect with the people we can’t see in-store. Thanks to Chicago Board Game Café!…
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The Comics Industry is Broken Comics are great! The comics industry isn’t. Comics distribution 40 years ago vs Today. Ordering comics in October 1981. When Back Issues were king. #LibcomixRA Wednesdays: Boost Your Local Comic Shop The adjusted Diamond shipping schedule (for now). No events for the foreseeable future, even after we open back up. Football talk?? Weird.…
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Sticking to our weekly routines. Still NO new comics, When the Illinois stay-at-home is lifted, what will be better for us… A. Opening back up BEFORE Diamond resumes shipping new comics? B. Opening back up AFTER Diamond resumes shipping new comics? C. Opening back up AT THE SAME TIME Diamond resumes shipping new comics? Marvel and DC delay their digital releases, for a bit… Diamond’s financial woes. What would a (hypothetical) future without Diamond/single-issue-comics look like for Challengers? Comic Hub as a point-of-sale program. Comic Hub as a digital comics platform.…
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Part of this was recorded as Patrick and Dal hand-delivered comics to people in Chicago! And by “hand-delivered” we mean left on porches at a respectable distance. Some comic book publishers are trying to work around the fact that printers are shut down and Diamond is no longer accepting comics. How Blackmask, TKO Studios and Vault are helping retailers. Thanks, Patrons! Some very supportive people have recently bought Challengers Gift Cards online. We have yet to see the money from those purchases. Here’s why.…
No More New Comics A new episode immediately after the previous new episode! Things are changing THAT RAPIDLY. Diamond Comic Distributors dropped a HUGE announcement about the immediate future of the comic book industry. David Harper, SKTCHD.com, and Daniel Warren Johnson lend a hand. Yes, we’ll have New Comics this week, and we want to get them to you. Dal did not, no matter what we say in this episode, get a turtle. Are we changing over to Comic Hub? Um, maybe?…
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Speculator demographics. Artists Writers and Artisans released their first 4 comics on the same day. More super-upbeat and not-at-all-depressing Covid-19 talk. We’re shut down! ALL of Illinois is. What can we do about it? How are Publishers helping Retailers during this time?
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This episode has basically 2 main topics. What we’re doing as a result of the Covid-19 Coronavirus and Bad Idea comics. Trust us, there is plenty of ground to cover with both topics.
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1 A Positive Integer (2019 Sales Review) 1:10:45
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1 There is No Quality Control in a Field of One 1:18:32
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Commuting between the 2 stores is all new to us. We’re still learning our new routines. Potential changes to Blue’s layout, already. Changes to the way we enforce our subscription rules for 2020. No changes to the way the subscriptions work, but we’re no longer giving any slack. Plenty of computer issues with Diamond. Still. Almost insurmountable changes… we’ll see… How warped the market is for Marvel Comics, with a hat-tip to Brian Hibbs for doing all the research. This upcoming week of comics is H-U-G-E. It is impossible to give every comic coming out the attention it deserves.…
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1 How Quickly the Market Forgets People 1:00:47
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedPatrick was on the news talking about Chicago’s new bus lanes. “If you think like Patrick Brower, you’d be wrong!” Johnny Cadillac Marvel is NOT releasing too many comics…? What would it take for Image to be a tastemaker again? DC’s new iteration of the Suicide Squad is really good!! The new store has put Dal in performative mode. The distance of River North. I don’t remember what that means, but it was written down in the show notes, so I added it. And I also changed from third person narration to first. This is all over the place!!…
The counters arrived!! We made it. We are now a chain! 2 stores! Hear about the final week of prep and the first day of sales. No Black Friday Sales this year. Batman is your friend, but only when no one else is listening. Challengers-exclusive Diamond problems for the week. 2 of ‘em! Industry-wide Diamond issue for the week. Protect that data!! Dark Knight The Golden Child vs China. Arrgh! Here there be (internet) pirates! Thanks, Patrons! We’ve added another 2-Store/1-Day creator signing! With… **** ******!…
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Recorded with a Q-Mic! Can you hear the difference? We say we’re not going to talk about Blue this week, but we totally talk about Blue this week. This was recorded on Dal’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Dal! We’re very excited for our Glow signing to happen because we’re fans of the creators. We’re MORE excited for our Glow signing to happen so all of the phone calls will stop. Denying yourself something until you feel you’re earned it, instead of living your life. Daniel Warren Johnson is the first creator signing at BOTH locations in the same day! Whereas Brian Crowley will be the first signing we host at Blue. Are the comics coming out the week of Christmas enough to make people want to make the trip in on a holiday week? Dal digs Image’s Olympia. It feels like less “Conversation” happens in Challengers pertaining to actual comic series. The theme of Tom King’s Batman, as succinctly summed up by Dal. Diamond has a lot of programs to help new stores/new locations, and Dal got to figure them all out! R.I.P. Tom Lyle.…
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Recorded in Challengers River North! We’re actually pleased with our progress thus far. Less than 2 weeks until opening day! R.I.P. Tom Spurgeon. Orbital Comics in London has stopped carrying single issue new comics. There was a time when we considered that, too.
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An update on the first week of prep for Blue. Boy, no Chicago news source cares about a new comic book shop. Subscriber emails vs. subscribers actually reading emails. The reactions for Dawn of X #1’s. Superman is coming out! Where should we advertise the opening of Blue? Are we having a Black Friday Sale (at Red) and if so, what’s on sale?…
This is the 2nd biggest announcement we could possibly have. This is huge. This is Blue.
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1 The Signal-to-Noise Ratio Has Not Changed 1:09:17
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedDoes Dal always believe in Patrick? A few in-store customer anecdotes. Do people use the New Release monitor we have mounted over the New Releases? Patrick went to DoomCo Designs “Survive” art show opening reception. TV on in the store vs music. And that transitions into a discussion about the disappearance of previous media formats. When looking for an exact specific thing that a stores doesn’t have, do you buy a different thing instead? Interesting customer requests today. Marvel’s Jan 2020 output vs DC’s (thanks to Ryan Higgins of Comics Conspiracy for crunching the numbers). New Year’s Day’s new comics, and maybe a Midnight release…? You know Patrick and Dal, but do you know Pat and Will? Do not miss next week’s episode……
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Do you have Faith? Are you watching Stumptown? We like it. The X-Men #1 Midnight Release was a fun success. That leads us to remember the fandom that once saw us go to midnight events outside of the comics industry. More people are adding all 6 Dawn of X titles, but will they STAY on them? DC Comics January 2020 new announcements. Kevin Feige is the new Chief Creative Officer (or Ossifer) of all Marvel. Movies AND Publishing. Is it a paradigm shift?? We, and the comics industry as a whole, owe Jeff Smith a huge thank you. Netflix making a Bone show is a good start. Chicago Teachers Union—we support you!! We went to West Town Academy to help a TV Production class. Tickets for our AJ Mendez/Aimee Garcia signing are available here: http://tinyurl.com/glowsigning Kent Fremon has a vinyl toy art show at Galerie F on Friday, October 25! More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/546222529466484/…
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The Batman’s Grave #1 is good. Doctor Doom #1 is also good! X-Men #1 is out next week (at midnight) but what are the other Dawn of X books going to be about? We don’t know. Luke Healy is coming to teach a fun cartooning workshop at Challengers! We have a date for our AJ Lee & Aimee Garcia GLOW vs The Babyface signing! And a time! What is DC Comics’ 5G? Fifth Generation? Marvel uses the ghost of Stan Lee to take shots at comic book continuity. Marvel took a ton of flack for Sam Wilson Captain America, Riri Williams Iron Man (Heart), etc., won’t DC encounter the same? Who replaces whom? We’re excited for Legion of Super-Hero flight rings! But not excited to explain who the Batman Who Laughs is. This week’s Amazing Spider-Man has checklists for both Absolute Carnage and 2099. How many Spider-Events can happen at the same time? Or just events, plural from one publisher?…
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How was business on this first Friday in October? Let’s say B+. Local Comic Shop Day returns this November, and while we took 2018 off, we’re back at it… for one amazing reason. Mack-eh-WITZ? Thanks, Patrons! A whole bunch of new comics for 2020, as announced at the New York Comic Con! That’s literally half the episode, but there are some pretty big announcements in here! And, some clunkers!! Bonus Saturday evening postscript!…
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Patrick is an old and more-broken-than-before man. But he breaks for you. Raina’s GUTS is the best-selling BOOK in the country. Graphic Novels are dead—all hail Graphic Books!! Graphic Books return to the New York Times best-seller lists! Huzzah! Diamond Comic Distributors restructures. How Patrick’s love for BBC Radio 1 got Challengers a new customer. Too many new comic publishers releasing too many new books. Why can’t Challengers find success with the new Chris Ware RUSTY BROWN book? Please vote for Challengers for Best Comics Shop in the Chicago Reader Best of 2019 Survey! http://chicagoreader.com/vote in the ‘Buy Local’ section. The new Batman creative team!…
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DC is making a Svengoolie/MeTV promo comic. How can we get a store signing for that? Thank you for all the ALZ5K donations! Patrick survived. Some titles just shouldn’t ship in the same week as other. A follow-up on last week’s discussion on damaged comics. The ridiculous math that is Diamond Comic Distributors’ shipping fees. Seriously, we throw out some actual numbers—see if you can follow along. We can’t. A disconnect between the WWE Network and iTunes subscriptions. We wrote a few pages in a new comics retail guide, “Selling Comics.” It’s like people think we know what we’re doing, or something. Gustavo Duarte is coming back to Challengers, all the way from Brazil!! What does Dal really think of the JJ Abrams “Spider-Man” #1?…
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Why isn’t every new comic on the racks in 10.0/Mint condition? The closing of ComiXology digital storefronts. What’s been as good for retailers as House of X? Sales ALWAYS slow down in September. Why can’t DC get readers interested in a line-wide Event? Year of the Villain just isn’t cutting it. When should a publisher start over at #1? More Transformer Card Game events are heading our way!…
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It's an extra episode of Contest of Challengers for the week! We start mid-pitch as Eliot is explaining the premise of his new Aftershock comic series Midnight Vista to a prospective buyer on the Challengers’ sales floor. The other voices on this episode are Customer Brian K. and Eliot’s friend (and birthday boy) Mike. There are other ambient voices in the background as this was recorded on a Saturday afternoon. The background music gets turned down 8 minutes in (sorry Fozzy). This is a very personal story for Eliot and after listening to it you’ll most certainly want to read MIDNIGHT VISTA!…
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We just had a Battlepug cookout! Where were YOU?? You can make it up to us on Batman Day. Local Saturdays. Our thoughts on the upcoming DC 100-Page Giants. Publishers talking honestly to retailers. The 80/20/5 Rule. Sales expectations for the Dawn of X titles.
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1 Your Fandom Does Not Negate My Fandom 1:11:09
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWhy don’t we do more store videos? We can always do more promoting. Of new comics, of events, everything. Road construction in front of the shop is always fun! What are Doom Code Signs? I may have gotten that name wrong... Making vinyl toys from comic books. Spider-Man Life Story may be THE graphic novel for the gift-giving season. A consistent set of ongoing titles that bring new readers in to stores. Thank you for all the 29th Anniversary congratulations! No gatekeeping!! Equating popular comics to popular music. The spiritual sequel to Watchmen.…
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1 The “Picking Your Pocket” Publishing Mentality 1:14:46
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedD23 is happening right now! What does “D23” stand for, anyway? We don’t know. Have you seen Marvel’s solicits for November? They get bigger every month (as Patrick gets angrier). 2nd, 3rd and even 4th prints being offered before the 1st print comes out. Can Spider-Man #1 sell more than House of X #1? We sure don’t think so. What made everyone (read: speculators) want Batman #77 and Powers of X #3 this week? The difference between the content in a Marvel graphic novel rated “Teen +” vs a Marvel graphic novel rated for a 10-year old is… nothing. A Glow signing? Maybe.…
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Landry Jones joins the XFL! Wait—that doesn’t belong here… Caroline Cash (Girl in the World) just signed at Challengers! She was a delight and we sold books! But… Trade-waiting! Is it by subscribers or non-subscribers? The current trend of comic shops making videos. Destroying this week’s copies of Superman #14 (even though Patrick routinely says #13 in the episode) and Supergirl #33 (that one he gets right). Okay, look, I did a crappy job of taking notes for this episode, I admit, so there’s way more on this podcast than noted here. We got a brief mention on Cartoonist Kayfabe!…
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Patrick is a broken old man. We so desperately want new carpet! And window blinds! Making the consumer pay the credit card processing fee. Paying for “convenience.” #10 in Sri Lanka, bay-bee! AWA announced the first book in their new superhero shared universe. Referencing Brian Hibbs’ latest ‘Tilting at Windmills’ column (on ComicsBeat.com) about stores buying their graphic novels from more than just Diamond. When a major publisher doesn’t support the biggest release they’d had in years. Or, why we’re sold out of House of X #2 already. We got a brief mention on NPR's See, Hear, Eat!…
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Remember Superman Unchained? Dal doesn’t. Keepin’ them back issues in order! When books disappear from your mindset (i.e. Morning Glories). Thanks, Patrons! What are the best Event Books, in enjoyment and in money earned? Surge pricing and the people that merit it. Happy 10th Anniversary, CoC!
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We’ve got a (potentially) big event happening tomorrow and neither of us know what to expect. It’s a surprise drop of the comic book tie-in to Dreamville and J Cole’s “Revenge of the Dreamers III”. We tell you how this came about and what we’re expecting for the day. And if you don’t know Dreamville or J. Cole, it’s okay; we didn’t, either. House of X #1 was released this week! It’s exactly what we wanted it to be and doing what we wanted it to do! But… will the next 6 books in the “Dawn of X” era do the same? Patrick got a new toy and you get to hear it. Listener question about story arcs vs stand-alone mini-series. Brian Michael Bendis was on the Late Late Show with Seth Meyers. Caroline Cash is coming to Challengers! And also some guy names Nike Morton. Or something. We may not be sure of his name but we know he sure likes pugs. Apple is changing the classifications for several podcast categories, including ours! And… and UPDATE to the Dreamville event! Okay, you know what? Shove it up your arse.…
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Want vs need. Rewarding you for sharing in our ecosystem. Captain Marvel #8 is what the swarm went for this week. Customer databases. Information integrated into your life. Top-selling books for the nation vs @ Challengers (Black Cat vs. Dceased). How many young reader imprints can the market bear? The first of the Comic-Con International San Diego publishing announcements.…
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We start with several new comic series announcements—it must be time for Comic-Con! A serious question about second prints. With all the demand over the Walking Dead #193, we missed out on TMNT #95. Additional June sales commentary. Which comics sold better after a TV adaptation? 39 questions from an interviewer that we do not want to type out.…
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How can we make this podcast better? Puppies. Walking Dead #193 came out the day of recording, and it reminds us of everything we hate about comics retail. Oh, we have a LOT to say about this. Wanting to engage with the product is a huge part of what we do. June sales numbers. Why did June suck? It’s a deep dive into the differences between June 2019 and June 2018, and what that means for us. It’s basically a 2-topic episode, but both of those topics get a lot of bandwidth. Come meet Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo on Friday, June 12th! Thanks, Patrons!…
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Why was last episode a day late? Genre-racking graphic novels, one year later. The polarizing business strategy of Colorado’s Mile High Comics. The future DC Comics rebranding and a brief look back at all their previous imprints. Comics growing with you as you age. War of the Realms and the current state of Marvel’s Event books. How to summarize your comic book. Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273…
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1 You Have Earned None of My Excitement 1:10:31
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThe marketing genius of Taylor Swift. J.J. Abrams’ Spider-Man. 37,000 photo views? No, X-Men Grand Design X-Tinction #2 did NOT come out this week. Getting an 8th-grader to work for school credit. Marvel Comics #1000+1 Superman Year One Really fun Teen Titans Raven signing announcement. Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273…
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Mistaken identity! Thanks, Patrons! Making money vs. making people happy. Buncha new comics news! Legion, Flash, Harley & Ivy, King Thor, etc. Absolute Carnage post-credit scenes. The DC Artgerm Poster Portfolio. The Comic in a Box game we haven’t played. Upcoming events! Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273…
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1 Come for the Lamb; Leave with the Dinosaur 1:15:05
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedMarkisan Naso joins Patrick for a wide-ranging conversation that covers it all! Designing a comic-themed beer! Earlier years of comic book journalism and Darwyn Cooke. Of course they plug Challengers’ upcoming Voracious signing with Markisan and Jason Muhr on Saturday, June 22 (11am – 3pm). I mean, they’d be fools NOT to!! What IS Voracious about, anyway? Eating dinosaurs? What? How Markisan and Jason became a creative team. Which animals have you eaten? Taco Bell, and wrestling. The inspirational properties of Grant Morrison. And mead. The great runs of Thor. Finding the perfect color artist. Free stuff you can get at the above-mentioned signing!…
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We 100% value you, our Wednesday Angels (Wednesday Angels ™ & © 2019 Challengers Inc). A not-short story about trying to buy a new car (but it relates to comics retail, we promise). The follow-up to last week’s Tom King news. Soliciting orders for a 2nd print before the final orders are due for the 1st print. White Trees = D&D Dream Daddy. One great solicitation blurb, and then a not-great one. You know, for comparison. Reinterpreting Vampirella. Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273…
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All the upcoming concerts that will cause some adjustments to the CoC recording schedule. Dal’s (very brief) visit to Sarasota. Okay, so we have a lot of speculation about Tom King leaving Batman. A mere 1 day later, so much more of DC’s future Bat-Plans have come out, but we didn’t know that when this was recorded, so bear that in mind when listening to this part. DC’s attempted revitalization of their core characters. If we thought the July catalog was rough… The season finale of DC’s CW shows. HBO’s Barry is SO GOOD. Sure that’s not comic-related, but it’s still a great show. Our future Back Issue plans. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is ending at #50. British writers rally against Brexit (and the next day Theresa May resigns—man, a lot happened from Thursday to Friday!!) Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273…
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1 We’re About Bringing Families Closer Together 1:29:31
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedJust your average episode with 2 comic shop owners talking about business! How we now order DC “B” covers. Ordering for July is soul-crushing. The difference between schilling and imparting information. Filling requests by any means necessary. Reporting all damages, shortages and overages. An alternate take on Free Comic Book Day. When the deep discount offer just isn’t worth it, even if you qualify. Is it time to stop hosting signings and events? Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273 Co-hosted by Mitchell Davies from All Star Comics in Melbourne, Australia!…
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What is Marvel Comics #1000? I’m sorry, we mean WHY is (it called) Marvel Comics #1000? How do we keep track of customer wants when they ask for books that don’t yet exist? We’re looking at YOU, 3 Jokers… Baker & Taylor, our secondary distributor, no longer wants our business (or that of any independent bookstore). Oni Press and Lion Forge are merging. That’s causing layoffs and some employees are not taking it well. Should they? Well-known DC Comics artist Patrick Gleason has just signed an exclusive contract with Marvel. Is he the last of the 1-company artists? We survived our first (and last 12-hour Free Comic Book Day! Did YOU have fun? Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273…
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It’s an interview episode with Nicholas Aflleje & Sarah DeLaine from the brand new Image Comics graphic novel LITTLE GIRLS. Who are they? What is Little Girls about? How did it come about? They’re going to be at Challengers on Monday, May 13th, for a full on release party! Featuring LIVE MUSIC from both Kachi The Band and Gentle Heat! More info on all the music!! Kachi The Band: https://kachitheband.bandcamp.com/ Gentle Heat: https://gentleheat.bandcamp.com/ And check out the Little Girls Soundtrack: https://littlegirlsognmusic.bandcamp.com…
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Listener questions! You (2 of you) had questions (7 questions) and we have answers (way more than 7 answers). The Doomsday Clock collection plans. How much effort is a 25¢ comic worth to us? The upcoming Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane comics look excellent! Another retailer tries to co-opt our FCBD Facebook event page. What is going on with the Jensen Plating Works building? I mean, we don’t know! Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273…
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New POP Vinyl’s… always new POP Vinyl’s. Why don’t we do more Patreon Exclusive episodes? 101WKQX did some filming in Challengers this week. The Little Bird #1 Sales Battle is over. X-23 is also over, along with all non-Hickman X-Titles. Marvel Comics’ July 2019 solicitations are insane. Valkyrie is a comic that needed to not be announced so soon. It looks great but it also ruins current storylines. Get hyped for our LITTLE GIRLS Release Party! Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273…
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1 Bending Over Backwards to Not Buy Anything 1:08:24
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedNever before in 11 years—a $0 cash day! Jumping thru hoops to be a part of the Wizards Play Network (for the Transformers card game). Bag-switching is still shoplifting, you know. Trying to change our payment terms with Diamond. Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273 There are new safety protocols in place for picking up the weekly comics shipment at Geodis. BOOM! Studios stealth-launches a new Angel comic book series! Star Wars Celebration is bringing a bunch of new people into the shop and that’s really cool. WWE independent contractors Rusev and Lana say they are preparing to write the best-selling comic book of all time.…
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First! A conversation with CAKE (Chicago Alternative Comic Expo) organizer Jon Mastantuono about CAKE’s upcoming art auction and what to look forward to for this year’s show. Not recorded in a moving car! Dal played host to a group (gaggle? swarm? murder?) of Scouts in-store this Monday. 2019 has seen a sharp increase in donation requests. Contest of Challengers Bingo continues! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273 The Comics Omnivore project from Coliseum of Comics. Wrapping up the Little Bird Sales Battle. Last minute product changes: Typos vs outright misinformation. Anticipating which books will garner speculator attention is a fool’s game. You just can’t trust comics retailers…
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1 Road Trip! Heading out to Kokomo Toys. 1:02:56
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWe turned 11 today! It’s the return of everybody’s favorite— a recorded-in-a-moving-car episode (showing you why Car Con Carne is recorded in a stationary car). Bluetooth hijinks make listening to the first 36 minutes of this episode more challenging than usual! Up to the 36 minute mark. Contest of Challengers Bingo is a real thing! https://bingobaker.com/play/2017273 War of the Realms #1 may overshadow every other Marvel book next week, so why release Marvel Team-Up #1 and Major X #1 on the same day? A few more notes about C2E2 2019. Visiting Comics Cubed in Kokomo, Indiana. Kokomo Toys is large and filled with toys from your childhood.…
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1 What Do You Expect from a Comic Convention? 1:21:55
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedDetective Comics #1000 is the new C2E2 tickets, for this week, at least. A minor (Challengers) controversy of an upcoming Previews cover featuring Wicked + Divine. Our C2E2 2019 recap. An Epic Photo Opp experience. The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega are actually on this podcast! Our early-morning Diamond/Marvel breakfast. Marty & Sarah tell you all about Champion’s Day!…
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1 Maybe Your Horizons Will Be Broadened 1:08:54
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedAlternate episode title: “High-Fives from Dal!” C2E2 is just about here, and we cannot wait!! …to not have to sell tickets anymore this year. The week’s tally of publishers’ emails. If he didn’t work in comics but still shopped for comics, how would Dal do it? The fun of selling Little Bird #1. Dal built us a new website!! You should give it a look at http://challengerscomics.com Free Comic Book Day details and the announcement of our Little Girls Release Party! Any news come out of Emerald City Comic Con yet this week?…
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Current publishing practices we just don’t understand (such as releasing 2 new #1’s one week but 0 the next; uneven numbering). Who is the new Transformers comic series for? More people than you may realize. So many good books are coming out this upcoming week!! An interview with local artist and comic format innovator Rachel Bard. Is it ever a good sign when publishers seek investors? What we look for in emails from publishers, and how what we don’t look for may benefit other stores.…
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This episode rundown will not be in the order these topics are discussed on the show. How we choose each week’s front counter Challengers Choice. Future Instagram strategy and we don’t mean Gwenpool posts. Challengers was (very briefly) mentioned on BBC Radio 1. The 2019 Sale Shirts are in! Mercenary sales grabs can be fun (DCeased) and can just be blatant (Return of Wolverine). Which should have more content, the single issue comics of a graphic novel or the collection itself? Yes, you can take photos and/or video in Challengers, but we’d appreciate it if you ask us first.…
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1 Don’t Rent Next to Us-- We Sell COMICS! 1:03:17
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThe perception of Challengers to the non-comics population. Apparently we are a business for neighbors to be warned about. The ComicsPRO Annual Meeting is happening right now, and we’re not there! But retailers and publishers alike are making plans to save the industry, so let’s talk about that! Specifically DC Comics and BOOM! Studios, and not Marvel. Marvel is NOT helping. Marvel has 115 single issues of comics coming out in May (that does not include variant covers or graphic novels). Yes, Queensrÿche does play a role in this week’s episode, but not with their music. Surprise Friday store visit from Patrick’s Dad! He hasn’t been to the store in 4 years! Ashly cleaned the hell out of the store today! We mean, someone has to now that Donovan is gone.…
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It is very difficult to sell comics when the device you use to sell said comics does not function. …and other computer problems for the day. The liberating feeling of having a problem you cannot solve, and just accepting that and moving on with your day. Marvel’s just-announced Savage Avengers comic seems like a dumb idea on the surface, but we were all 10 years old once, and it’ll probably do well for them. Challengers readers seem to be unimpressed with the current run of Justice League. No love for undersea kingdoms or spaced-out cosmic deities here, nor fantasy comics. Challengers is in a “Little Bird” sales battle with All Star Comics in Melbourne! Our “I Love You But I’ve Chosen Comics” sale turned out okay after all. How to surface the comic-buying experience via a new website layout. We’re doing a midnight release for Detective Comics #1000. Alita: Battle Angel was more enjoyable of a movie than either of us expected.…
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We’re 2 days into our annual sale and people either take full advantage of it or don’t even realize there IS a sale. It seems Marvel trade paperback collections CAN be made better and less expensive… but they’re not. Aside from a little warping, the Kaijumax Deluxe Hardcover is an amazing achievement in deluxe collectibles. Everything we ever wanted and more we didn’t even know we needed! Getting back to the sale, people sure will go to some lengths to get what they feel they deserve. Have you tried the new Daredevil #1? It’s REALLY good. No idea why the whole thing was “classified” by Marvel, but you should probably read it. Are secret identities even a thing in comics anymore? We’re sorry we don’t have what you want to buy, but also we’re not sorry.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 We’re Not Heroes for Being Open in -20° Weather 1:05:56
1:05:56 Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked1:05:56
Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWe were guests on the Graphic Novel TK podcast! It was a fun time. Maybe check it out? Some days Twitter is harder to understand than others. Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #1 is a good read. If we thought LAST week was slow due to the cold weather… What to eat when working on a day when over 200 Chicago restaurants are closed? Our 25% Off Storewide Sale starts on Thursday! Are $9.99 graphic novels effective? Have we considered connecting to buyers through the shop owners they like? The Captain Marvel movie wave Marvel Legends figures are in, with some interesting figure choices.…
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Contest of Challengers
So cold in Chicago nobody’s coming into the shop. We’ll soon have a new retail neighbor and we have a new security system in place. Little Bird and Assassin Nation are 2 new Image books Patrick really likes. Administrative shake-ups in the DC Comics offices. Initial orders vs. final orders-- what’s the best way to order new comics?…
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Contest of Challengers
Dal and Patrick were both jurors for CAKE (Chicago Alternative Comics Expo) applicants again this year, and our scores were due today. Image Comics is offering full returnability on some of their upcoming #1 issues, and an earned higher discount on issue #2’s. Dal tricked Patrick into watching the Spider-Man Far From Home trailer, and he wasn’t even trying to do so. Dark Horse’s upcoming INVISIBLE KINGDOM from Berger Books is really, really good. More on it next week. We had yet another Challengers customer visit All Star Comics in Melbourne this week. Big Bang Comics from Dublin had a really interesting Twitter thread about today’s comics retail market and how retailers don’t seem to blame themselves. Kelly Thompson should not be the only one promoting her new digital release from Marvel. No, we won’t sell you 15 copies of Ironheart #2 on the day it comes out. Marty + Sarah (Love Wrestling) are coming to Challengers on Easter Sunday!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Dal’s Shocking Suggestion for the Future of Monthly Comics 1:07:24
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWe appreciate the few new ratings and reviews we’ve gotten on iTunes. Please keep ‘em coming! Thank you for the past 10 years, Donovan! An in-depth look at the graphic novel sales of 2018. An even more in-depth look at 2018’s single issue comic sales. Dal has a very progressive (and perhaps polarizing) suggestion for the future of Marvel and DC single issue comics. Listener questions! How do we think the break between story arcs help Image comics sales? And why don’t we make comic sets of grab bags?…
Do you think the Bears will make it to the Super Bowl? Against the Chargers? (EDIT: Um... no) It’s January, so that means it’s once again time for others to predict the death of the direct market! Graphic Novel sales seem down in stores across the country, but not at Challengers. DC’s Zoom and Ink are a good idea but we don’t know that they’ll land with our customer base. The white-washing of Damian Wayne. Yes, the industry is evolving, but it needs to evolve. All the problems retailers are identifying now feel like things we’ve already been thru. 2018 sales by category vs 2017 sales. Patrick’s niece was in Australia on her honeymoon, so we asked her to swing by All-Star Comics in Melbourne and give them a little Chicago care package. We’re pretty excited for WrestleKingdom 13, but it’ll have happened by the time you hear this, so never mind. Post-credit tribute to Mean Gene Okerlund (from CoC #314).…
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Contest of Challengers
Diamond Comic Distributors catches Patrick’s ire one last time for the year. Some customers only see what they want to see. Some stores got next week’s book’s last Monday. We still don’t have them. Specifically nerdy Christmas gifts we received. With almost nothing new on the shelves the week of Christmas, people are finding some older comics, and that’s neat. Keep Reading Comics n 2019!! At the start of 2018, we tried to plan more experiences than signing. That did not work. Lucy Knisley returns to Challengers in March! As does Women’s Comics Month.…
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Contest of Challengers
It’s a Christmas episode! Just by the fact that it’s recorded in late December. Also, Santa has a cameo, and so does Stan Lee. Another long-running comic shop is calling it quits. Santa came to hang out and spread some Holiday Cheer this Wednesday, and he made a video to remind subscribers to pick up their comics. And then we decided to share it with other stores… Marvel’s Stan Lee tributes make selling those comics just a little bit harder. New Comic Releases for the next 2 weeks are kind of weird; the content and the actual shipping dates. An audio transcript of the ‘Email Primer’ we’re giving out to all subscribers in 2019. The Christmas Eve release of the newest Dogman graphic novel. #joinin And, unlike the Aquaman movie, this episode has a post-credits scene! (Aquaman has a MID-credits scene, but not a POST-credits scene)…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Maybe There Should Have Been Borders After All 1:21:26
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWhy, as a small, retail business, would you not offer gift cards? Once again, our Peoples Gas account was swiped by a condo resident in our building. The Record Store in Howell, NJ, is going out on their own terms. Oh, Border Town... (This segment is what this episode’s title refers to). “TKO does things a little differently than most publishers.” True, but that isn’t necessarily different GOOD.…
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Contest of Challengers
I dunno, how do YOU swipe credit cards thru the card reader? An update to a prior subscriber story, and Patrick’s 2 favorite ways to overreact. Sending comics to prison. For inmates; not to punish the comics themselves. Our lateral back issue filing cabinets are now fully functional. The Avengers Endgame trailer is out and Patrick will not watch it. But Dal will. And did. The effect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Marvel Comics. There is going to be a 3rd Conan series, and he’ll be in Avengers No Road Home.…
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Contest of Challengers
400 episodes of this? Damn. We “acquired” 2 new back issue cabinets. After days of work, they’re not what we expected. November was not a great sales month and it ended on a really bad week. Construction + snow = a less than $100 day (for the first time in many years). Patrick’s car need over $1900 of work done in November. Subscriber visits over the Holiday season and the GoFundMe for Cave Comics. Speaking if subscribers, it’s time to drop more of them out of our pull and hold service. The Mutiny, a Chicago icon dive bar, is closing after 30 years. The new Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic looks pretty good. Publisher output the week of Christmas is not that great this year.…
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Contest of Challengers
Working Hard vs. Hardest Working This episode was recorded immediately following our 2018 Black Friday sale. We never seem to sell out of the stuff we want to get rid of. Getting burned when subscribers have books on hold for months that they never wanted. Reminding subscribers, in person, the value of our weekly emails. The detailed account of either a subscriber losing 2 comics or us making 5 mistakes 2 months in a row. How Monday pick-up was taken away from us. Are customer attitudes regional or national? One final Lumberjanes Day reminder. Christmas shopping as customers, not retailers.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 The Chicago "Put-That-Back-We’re-Not-Buying-That" Fair 1:01:34
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedRest in Peace, Stan. Recorded live from the show floor of ChiTaG, the Chicago Toy and Game Fair, the worst we have ever done at a convention. This one almost broke us.
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Contest of Challengers
1 Don’t Know What Ya Got Until Someone Else Buys It 54:45
54:45 Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked54:45
Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThe level of engagement we feel defines Challengers. When trivial information becomes exceedingly useful. “+ Conversation” doesn’t apply to movie theories. Selling some 1978 Marshall Rogers Detective Comics for 99¢ we didn’t know we had. Store signage only works if people are willing to read signs. Or see them. Changes to our personal work schedules for the first time in years, and why. ChiTaG is one week away and we THINK we’re ready. Grant Morrison’s Green Lantern #1 came out this week. Lumberjanes Day is coming up! So is our Black Friday Sale and more events!…
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Contest of Challengers
The Isola collection available in comic shops doesn’t have the prologue story that the Barnes & Noble edition has. Somehow we missed ordering 3 issues of Die! Die! Die! The 50 Most Favorite Comic Shops in the US (not the Best; the most Favorite). Sincere regards to Barry and Jayme of Southern Fried Comics as they’re choosing to close their shop. Patrick has 2 similar ideas for plastic and tote bag usage in the shop. We now have an actual comic book spinner rack of $1 comics. What if we really made a go of Halloween Comicfest in 2019? We have a new Lumberjanes Event coming on December 1st with multiple creators. The Mark Waid Legal Defense Fund.…
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Contest of Challengers
Patrick talked to Aubrey Sitterson and Chris Moreno about The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling. And the recording turned out to be virtually unlistenable due to technological issues. So… Patrick recreates the conversation entirely in his voice, minus most of his actual dialog. Sound weird? It is! But it was too good of a conversation to not share. Now it’s a monologue! Bonus: the actual nigh-undecipherable interview is included. Sorry, Aubrey! Sorry, Chris! Curse you, Pamela (the program; not a person)! Including: The democratizing of opinion sharing; “Worth”, their previous graphic novel collaboration; pro wrestling, of course! Not mentioned: Aubrey and Patrick each wrote dialog for Mike Norton’s “Battlepug” and for the same characters!…
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Contest of Challengers
Just like episode #177 from 4 years ago, Patrick is recovering from surgery so Dal has to work every day. That leads to asking if time away makes one like comics more or less than being at a store all the time? If we become millionaires (outside of comics retail, of course) would Challengers still exist? Trying to keep all-ages single issues in stock. So far there are 2 Christmas gift-worthy graphic novels for the season. There are so many Tillie Walden books available! 2 comics of note this week are Exorsisters #1 and Shuri #1. If you like Monstress, do you want more books like Monstress? Or just more Monstress? We held 3 events in the past week. Dal recaps his Ace Comic Con experience. Are you excited for DC’s new creative teams on some of their core characters? Is John Byrne coming back to the X-Men?…
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Contest of Challengers
This episode does not contain an interview with Aubrey Sitterson and Chris Moreno from The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling, and we tell you the unfortunate reason why. Hopefully, the end of the continuing story of Challengers and our alarm company. Paperwork and bureaucracy! Ace Comic Con Chicago is happening. Great for celebrity photo ops! No so much for, you know, comics. Jook Joint #1 is pretty brutal, but certainly worth the read. It’s pretty ballsy of Marvel to pay tribute to Ghost Rider creator Gary Friedrich.…
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Contest of Challengers
Good news-- we did not get broken into this week! So that's 1 week in a row! The continuing story of Challengers and our (for now) alarm company. Add that to our wonky A/C bent front door and we have 3 too many maintenance issues at the moment. More security measures will be put into place. The New York Comic Con was going on as we recorded this, so we talk about some of the announcements that had been made. And then… things take a slightly dark turn as we’re not really excited by the slate of announcements. And by ‘not really excited’ we mean pretty much straight up angry.…
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Contest of Challengers
Dark Matter has a new retail coffee shop right across the street from Challengers. We got broken into and robbed… again. We loved Heroes in Crisis #1 and don’t understand people that are so anti-Tom King. Dal is looking forward to Gran Morrison’s Green Lantern. Patrick, not so much. More love for Man-Eaters #1, now that it’s actually on sale! Doctor Strange has been really good and just had a neat twist. Batman Damned is now quarterly and #1 is not being reprinted at this time. We hope that decision changes……
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Contest of Challengers
It’s almost time for our health insurance plans to be cancelled! If you complain that comics cost too much, maybe reevaluate your buying choices. What if a creator you love did something you have a serious moral objection to? And yes, there is a comic that shows Bruce Wayne’s penis. If you want it for that reason alone, just own up to it.…
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Contest of Challengers
The new DC Universe streaming service started today. Did we subscribe? If we did, did it work? The full Batman Day 2018 rundown, and comparisons to past events. Also, looking to 2019 and Batman 80th Anniversary. Also, Patrick cannot count… or add. Batman Damned #1 comes out next week and it’s already sold out. Marvel stealth-cancelled the brand new Vision mini-series before we could even turn in our orders for #1. Something smells bad in comics retail… And maybe we do know what we’re doing after all.…
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Contest of Challengers
From the sound of glass shattering you’d think “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was on his way to the ring, but NO! It’s a break-in at Challengers. And, unrelated, identity theft! It’s a great week for criminals at Challengers’ expense! And we do mean ‘expense.’ Hear how we deal with these types of highly disappointing, yet not wholly unexpected, occurrences. Plus, the aftermath of the Ryan Browne GHA hardcover release party.…
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Contest of Challengers
Recorded mere moments before it’s posted, this episode is almost completely unedited. Time the pauses! Count the “ummm’s”! Do you want your receipt? No more signatures for chip card purchases? Paying it forward for younger readers? Probably not. Some DC news out of this weekend’s Fan Expo Toronto. A brief interview with “Ryan Browne.” Lots of new events!…
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Contest of Challengers
Friday started with a Disaster Pizza (™ & ©). Maybe not comic news, but it happened IN a comic shop, so it counts. Patrick is suddenly very excited for Marvel’s 2019 Conan the Barbarian comic. …but… Patrick is also furious with Marvel for a variety of reasons. All of said reasons are discussed, don’t you worry. What’s going to happen in Batman #55? We honestly don’t know. Do you? Are current political comics cathartic or just too much of a reminder? West Coast Avengers #1 and Amazing Spider-Man #4 are examined.…
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Contest of Challengers
When should we have Daniel Warren Johnson in to sign for MURDER FALCON #1? There are several new Image comics we’re excited about… MAN-EATERS, CEMETERY BEACH and MCMLXXV (1975). We’ve gotten to read them and are excited for them all, to differing extents. Also, Black Crown’s LODGER. Closing a second location vs. closing an original location. Is Marvel going to kill Honey Badger? Mike Norton and Ryan Browne will be at Challengers this upcoming week. You should be, too.…
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Contest of Challengers
It’s the Gen Con Road Diaries, featuring a bunch of guest stars! 0:03:40 Brad Rooks from Oni Press. 1:05:39 Cory Casoni from Table Titans. 1:12:00 Gabo, artist of “Dead of Winter” and “The Life After.” 1:16:23 Kory Bing, creator of the webcomic Skin Deep. Plus, occasional check-ins from Patrick and Dal about their first time at “The Best Four Days in Gaming” and a rundown of the games they played after-hours (spoilers: Kyle Starks won almost everything and Patrick always came in dead last).…
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Contest of Challengers
It’s next week’s episode of Contest of Challengers six days early! Another midnight release event? Um, pass. Koyama Press is ceasing publication in 2021, but Annie Koyama will still be an important patron of the comic book arts. Bongo Comics is also ceasing publication, in October. Watching new-to-comic-shops customers discover Challengers is pure joy. Comedian Jim Jefferies went to San Diego and filmed a piece about diversity… American white people don’t like being called “White people.” There’s yet another new comic-con in Chicago, ACE, in October. We announce a new Ryan Browne event here, first! For more information (or to maybe donate) about the Alzheimer’s 5K Patrick is participating in in September, go to http://rememberingfrances.com…
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Contest of Challengers
Zach Lehner joins Patrick in a very echo-y room to talk all about his brand new Oni Press graphic novel “Junior Brave of the Apocalypse Book 2: Out of the Woods.” This conversation gets deeper than either of them expected as they dig way beneath the surface of comic book creation and the importance of Calvin and Hobbes. Also, they play amateur detectives and explore their abandoned surroundings. Zach is signing at Challengers all day on Wednesday, August 8th from 11am to 7pm (along with “Girls With Slingshots” creator Danielle Corsetto from 4pm -7pm, but she is not on this episode). Bonus! Dal pops in to talk briefly about the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Special!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Marvel doesn’t know how to make comics for kids. 1:23:37
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedSneaky secret shoppers are apparently a thing. It’s the time of year where more mentally challenged people roam Chicago streets. The San Diego Comic-Con is happening as we record, so we’re going over a bunch of new comic news. Or, other news that has an impact on our business. Wizards of the Coast are raising prices on Magic the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons product. IDW will be publishing all-ages comics featuring Marvel Comics characters. Apparently Marvel doesn’t know how to make comics for kids. Kelly Thompson is writing Jessica Jones. Gasp! We had NO idea! Donny Cates is overseeing the new Marvel Knights MK20 line. There are a ton of new Spider-related Marvel comics and Batman-related DC comics heading our way soon. Oh, that DC Universe “Titans” trailer… Just lots more announcements and what we think of them.…
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Contest of Challengers
Whoops, that header is a mistake. It should read, “DIE!DIE!DIE! by Robert Kirkman. Darn typos. “That’s not what I would do if I put a gun to your head.” is an actual quote from this episode. Lots of FF #1 covers are coming out. We’re not ordering them. Marvel has several non-announcement teasers leading into San Diego. So many good comics came out this week! X-23 #1! Superman #1! She Could Fly #1! Amazing Spider-Man #1! Nancy Drew #2! New event announcements! Mike Norton “Lil’ Donnie” signing and Word Balloon recording! Batman Day 2018! MURDER FALCON! That title says it all. As predicted on this very podcast 2 years ago, a major publisher stealth-launched a brand new comic book series by big-name creators! But… did it work?…
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Contest of Challengers
The “proper” way to display comic books on shelves. Daring to tell creators how to design covers. What a time for weddings. Kitty and Colossus. Mr. and Mrs. X. Garnet (Steven Universe). The Bat and The Cat. We talk all the weddings and there are SPOILERS. We’ll tell you when, so be ready (starting at 22:50).…
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Contest of Challengers
This is the second episode #378 we recorded for you today. Technical difficulties caused us to lose a full 1-hour & 4-minute episode, and, professionals that we are, we immediately recorded another, completely different episode for you. It has a little bit of recap from what Dal calls “The Lost Episode” but aside from that it’s all new material. If Galactus was going to devour the Earth in one year’s time, and he will not be stopped, would you want to know? What comic creator would you want to be trapped on a desert island with? And plenty of other stuff, but I’m not doing a full breakdown because I’ve already lost too much time this week.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Exclusive DC Comics for Walmart (not Comic Shops) 1:09:02
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedTwo new waves of Marvel Legends figures have been selling very well. If you overlooked The Hard Place in its 6-issue run, the trade is out now and it’s worth a look. 3rd week in a row we talk about Game Stop-- they just keep giving us reason to! How video games are played vs. how comic books are consumed. DC Comics is selling original Tom King Superman and Brian Michael Bendis Batman comics exclusively in Wal Mart stores. How do you think we react to that?? DC’s Black Label books will not necessarily be in traditional comic book formats. We may hate to admit it, but stocking the DC “B” covers has been beneficial. Lots of Merchandise restock is on the way… posters, pins, buttons, single issue all-ages comics, as well as a NEW Challengers bookmark! We’re really happy with it (but we’re ALWAYS happy with them). The monthly ordering process is really disheartening for Patrick.…
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Contest of Challengers
Wrestling mouthpiece Jimmy Hart is coming to Challengers this Saturday! This was almost the week that Patrick retired from comics retail. Nancy Drew and By Night are 2 new excellent comics that both started this week. Marvel resurrects both Iceman and the Unstoppable Wasp, both with their previous writers. Exactly what pushes each of our retail buttons. Oni’s “Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns” is a great resource in comic form! What does the (possibly) looming UPS strike mean for future comic deliveries? More on the Game Stop comic experiment. Ultimate Comics in North Carolina had all 3 stores robbed in the same night. Marvel is set to be producing 3 monthly Conan comics in 2019. Geoff Johns is out as CCO of DC Entertainment. Perhaps due to AT&T buying Warner Bros.? Tom King’s upcoming “Heroes in Crisis” mini-series looks completely amazing.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 What If Diamond Comic Distributors Went Away? 1:08:56
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThe new Divorce Gun album “The Waning Days of the World” is available now! iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, 7Digital, iHeartRadio, Napster, Tidal, Rdio, Deezer, Pandora, Shazam, and in-store at Challengers! Diane Nelson has stepped down from her role as President of DC Entertainment. Spider-Geddon seems way too soon to have yet another Spider-Crossover. Game Stop is going to start selling monthly comic books. Maybe. I mean, they haven’t officially announced it, but it’s a thing we talk about. Looking back at Steve Geppi’s Keynote Address from this year’s C2E2 Diamond Retailer Breakfast, was he trying to tell us something? And how would we survive if Diamond went away? As ever, we have a few new events to talk about, including asking your opinion on a Mike Norton event for the LIL’ DONNIE collection. DC is relaunching their Vertigo imprint. We’re so excited for it that almost don’t even mention it.…
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Contest of Challengers
Comixology will be producing original, creator-owned comics on their digital platform. We talk about the Forbes article about it. We’re not opposed to in-store promotion of characters that have a current media presence. If you could only hear the sounds Patrick makes when reading the monthly Previews catalog for the first time each month. We got a sweet Eisner “For Your Consideration” package in the mail. It’s great when parents and kids engage with comics as a family. It’s not great when parents ignore their kids and let them run screaming around the store. Thanks, Patrons! Did you miss our Adventure Time Art Show? I mean, you probably did… FLAVOR from Image is real good! So is MAN OF STEEL. We ordered a bunch of different Action Comics #1000 covers (yay!) and Amazing Spider-Man #800 covers (not yay!). We’re probably not doing that again… We end with a random Divorce Gun song from the upcoming album “The Waning Days of the World.”…
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Contest of Challengers
Obligatory Mach Kick (Transformers) reference! There may be one every week moving forward! An in-depth discussion about a new Yelp review, and the responses we chose not to send. When comic fans become comic creators, and the role comic shops play in them getting there (via Joe Field’s Twitter, @FlyCoJoe). We have a Kids Comics Workshop (with Gabi Mendez and Sheika Lugtu). Announcing the Challengers Correspondence Club, hosted by Letter Writers Alliance co-founder Donovan Challenger! Patrick really enjoys Image’s “Skyward” and Brian Michael Bendis’ “Man of Steel” #1 (out this week). Some of the current weekly titles aren’t doing as well as we were hoping. GDPR- the new European Union security rules! We’re sure you’ve gotten a ton of emails about this. Does it affect Challengers? Once again a store credit card got hacked. Is paying at the gas pump to blame?…
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Contest of Challengers
1 It’s Not Your Fandom; It’s Only For Me 1:03:36
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedHyping up the Nerd Cred! This episode is an official Public Meeting. The new West Coast Avengers comic looks great! The Kessel Run vs the Kobiashi Maru (and I am not looking up the actual spelling of those). Some of the new Marvel #1’s look great. Some do not. Thundercats Roar is a thing. Thundercats + OK K.O.! + Adventure Time + Steven Universe. What Dal wants from the DC CW shows next season. The Dark Nights Metal soundtrack is still happening. Soundtracks to comics can be fun. You know, like Acid Washed. Mark Millar wants the first (and only) printing of The Magic Order #1 to be a collector’s item. At any rate that comic will look great. This is our last chance to pitch our SPECTACLE Release Party with Megan Rose Gedris. We close with Acid Washed performing “Acid Washed” from the ACID WASHED EP.…
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Contest of Challengers
My Boyfriend is a Bear is out now and really fun!! Spectacle by Megan Rose Gedris is out in 2 weeks and we’re having a circus-themed release party for it! Free Comic Book Day 2018 is over, so of course we’re working on Free Comic Book Day 2019. Ideas come out organically in this very discussion. Contest of Challengers has a new logo… borrowed from a current DC comic. DC is starting to offer incentive variants and we’re not really on board with this plan. More and more people are wanting just the DC variant covers each week. We’ve had more people ask for this week’s Suicide Squad variant than we can sell of issues off the shelf. How does that even happen? Young Animal is ending in August. We’ve heard rumors of a few new DC titles and creative team changes. Bud Plant will no longer exhibit at San Diego, after 48 years. Random House is starting their own all-ages graphic novel imprint, and our friend Gina Gagliano is heading it! This is amazing news for the comics industry! John Barber is the new Editor-In-Chief of IDW Publishing. Black Badge is the new BOOM! Studios comic from Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins. Thing black op boy and girl scouts. There is a “Men in Comics” panel at TCAF this weekend and it sounds wonderfully hilarious.…
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Contest of Challengers
Free Comic Book Day 2018 is history! Hear our complete rundown of how the day went. Plus! The new BCW Comic Book Bin storage box. And, ONI’s My Boyfriend is a Bear!
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Contest of Challengers
Ever wonder just how the comics find their way onto our shelves and into your subscription box? This episode is an in-depth look at how Patrick and Dal spend their Tuesdays, from driving to the warehouse to putting books on the racks, and every step in-between. Plus, Kent Challenger introduces you to Tarbus the Tardigrade.…
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Contest of Challengers
Probably the last time we’ll talk about Action Comics #1000. This time, how the Midnight Release went, and how it compares to previous midnight releases. It sure seems like Marvel wants a piece of DC’s Action cover success with all their upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #800 covers (with still more to -be-announced). Too bad they’re going about it in a way that doesn’t help build excitement. X-CLASSIFIED, written and drawn by CLASSIFIED starring CLASSIFIED sure isn’t the way to solicit a title. We really like Esad Ribic’s art, but not his cover to Fantastic Four #1. Lots of new customers in this week couldn’t find our New Releases. INFIDEL #2 is as good as #1, and THE DAMNED #9 is so good! As is BE PREPARED. Michael Kupperman has “All The Answers.” We think our Book Party book club revival is already coming to an end. Helping a colleague work thru his upcoming venture’s early issues as part of a brain trust. Genre-racking was as good of an idea as we hoped it would be.…
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Contest of Challengers
Action Comics #1000 is out this Wednesday (at 12:01am). How many covers do you plan to buy? Are you ready for the Bendis era of Superman? Superman’s past 5 years have been kind of rocky… Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley’s Amazing Spider-Man looks like it’s going to be great. Their Free Comic Book Day issue is a lot of fun, as is Jason Aaron’s Avengers. Don’t miss these new series. Also, Oni’s Shadow Roads and Transformers Unicron. Catching up on new comic announcements, such as the new creative team and cast for Astonishing X-Men and Joëlle Jones’ Catwoman ongoing. This week’s Domino #1 is wonderful, fun, and a solid book about female friendships. Planning a hypothetical signing on a holiday. Hypothetical. The most adorable bat-symbol we’ve ever seen.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 “Sometimes we need to remind people of the business aspects of this.” 2:16:17
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIt’s a busy week as we talk about the Diamond Retailer Summit, C2E2, a new BOOM! Studios retail initiative, two Richie Kotzen concerts, filming the “My Comic Shop Country” documentary and, of course, BaconFest Chicago. Strap in as this one is over 2 hours!
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Contest of Challengers
1 The First 10 Years of Challengers Comics + Conversation 1:10:58
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWe proudly announce our creator line-up for this year’s Free Comic Book Day. What comic-themed gift can you get for someone that works in a comics shop? Protecting the privacy of our customers (from other customers). Challengers has been in business for 10 years! A brief history of how Challengers started and what it took to get the doors open for business. Our main takeaways from 10 years. Thank you for being part of our first decade!…
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Contest of Challengers
It’s been a week. How have the new changes been received? As a consumer, do you want to be immediately help in a store or left alone? It’s time for new Challengers business cards! Coleen Doran gives a brief history of the direct market (via Twitter). Meltdown (a 25-year-old comics shop in L.A.) is closing their store. We don’t think it’s due to sales. May is going to be SO EXPENSIVE for shops AND fans. SO MANY COMICS!! Some new Marvel comics have match-to levels up to 350% of previous issues in order to get a sales break. Would we rather have free copies overshipped for a new title, or returnability of bought copies? Gene Luen Yang talks about teaching with comics.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 By the time you hear this, change will have occurred. 1:24:46
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedBut, what? What is changing? Fine, we’ll tell you. We’re making some pretty big layout changes, while not moving any of the furniture. We’re about to turn 10 (but please don’t congratulate us until it happens)! We get pretty detailed as to how these changes were made, all the math behind the scenes. We voted early! We hope you’re going to vote, too (if you live somewhere where voting will occur). There are a few more new title announcements this week (yup, again), including a new round of DC/Hanna Barbera crossovers that look SO fun! Why is the new Laura Kinney (All-New Wolverine) comic called X-23?!? Patrick thought we’d briefly mention Toys-R-Us and then move on, but that turns into, like, 20 minutes on them. 2 new really good horror books this week, INFIDEL from Image (really moody and creepy and modern) and VAMPIRONICA from Archie (just fun, and gorgeous). Horror comics are the new black.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 We’ll pay you $4/month to NOT shop here. 1:01:07
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedNo, not YOU; someone else. But we’d do it if we could. Fridays, amirite?? We start off the episode with a quick reminder of how subscriptions work, because some people still don’t get it. You’re not an @$$hole for asking questions. The 2018 Sale shirts are in! Why don’t we order ALL our graphic novels from Diamond? Also, HOW we order our graphic novels from Diamond. More observations about selling C2E2 tickets. We think DC’s Black Label imprint will live up to its name. If Toys-R-Us stores all close, will we order toys differently? So many great #1 issues came out this week!!…
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Contest of Challengers
Suddenly it feels like last week’s episode was a 2-parter. More new Marvel ‘Fresh Start’ title announcements. Several DC announcements from Emerald City Comic Con, including 4 Neil Gaiman-adjacent books and 2 new non DCU Brian Michael Bendis books. Why we do not relish selling C2E2 tickets in-store. February sales numbers are in. March event round-up.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 May is going to be a killer month for comics! 1:11:43
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWe’re not in Portland. Or ARE we? It’s the Comics PRO Annual Meeting this weekend. Any news? Diamond Comics’ new PreviewsWorld Pullbox has a lot of people talking. Is it just an updated version of ComiXology’s old subscription service? Speaking of Previews, DC Comics is leaving Diamond’s Previews catalog and starting their own. The Image Expo was also this week, so here’s a quick rundown. Marvel is promoting A Fresh Start for their publishing line, but is it really a fresh start?…
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After years of thinking Challengers didn’t need a women-specific comic-themed meet-up, Samantha Challenger proves us so very wrong. The ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of this type of event. The short-term and long-term goals of the night. Plans for the next meet-up. And, Samantha lists her current favorite Manga graphic novels, pro wrestlers and current comic series, and we completely missed the boat by not having her mention her favorite drag queens!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 We do great with all-ages comics, but what about the Young Adult market? 1:02:43
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedPatrick is worried about the snow affecting business during the yearly sale. Dal is not. DC Comics has to new younger reader graphic novel imprints. This episode has very little editing to show you what these conversations really sound like. We think there are too many Infinity Countdown-related books in Marvel’s immediate future. DC wisely doesn’t try to tie their current comics into their current movie properties. So many movie and TV show trailers were released this week. January sales were way down. Announcing a Writing Workshop with Michael Moreci! And an interview with Nakama Toys owner, Mary Warren!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 DC Comics has just planned your summer. 1:07:30
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedFeeling ownership of the city you live and work in, and putting money back into that very community. Thanks, Patreon patrons! Dal wants us to do Patreon-exclusive episode. Big changes at Valiant this week. Some really big DC news out this week: DC Nation #0 and the new Action Comics and Superman plans. More weekly series are going to make ordering that much more challenging. The New Age of DC Heroes comics that are centered around the artists, all seem to be losing their artists. There is yet another Superman-less Superman TV show on the way. SO many February events!…
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1 Picking up the crumbs, with fellow retailer Brian Hibbs. 55:27
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedMisconfigured microphone settings can’t keep us from talking to one of our favorite comics retailers, BRIAN HIBBS of Comix Experience in San Francisco! Brian’s been in the comics industry longer than we have, and his insight is invaluable. Looking at the state of the industry vs. the quality of today’s product. Comix Experience has an amazing graphic novel club. You will not believe what Brian’s favorite comic book is… let’s just say Dal was ecstatic.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 What did we get in the mail? It rhymes with “cocaine.” 1:08:55
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedYou will not believe what came in Saturday’s mail. The 1990’s X-Men cartoon is responsible for getting so many people interested in comic books. Marvel putting out 4 new Wolverine-adjacent mini-series strikes us as a bad idea. DC’s Action Comics #1000 strikes us a s a good idea. Dan Slott is leaving Spider-Man for Iron Man, and Marvel signed Kelly Thompson to an exclusive contract. We like both of those ideas. Dal really wants a Jane Foster Thunderstrike book. Women’s Comics Night, Challengers Movie Night and Challengers Book Party are all on the schedule for February!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Mounting inconveniences and humiliations. 1:01:37
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWell, we finally heard back from our landlord… We talk about what that means for the future and potential changes. The pros and cons of genre racking graphic novels. How we read or single issue comics. We’re not excited for the New Age of DC Heroes. We may be stocking *gasp* open order variant covers. Happy Birthday, Lucy Knisley! More community-oriented events are coming to Challengers.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 This is not what we want to be known for. 1:21:44
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWelcome new listeners! Are you ready for a serious look at 2017’s sales? We were down 6.8% from 2016 and we discuss the numbers, trends and percentages. We’re down over $21,000.00 in single-issue Marvel Comics sales. This became an international news story and got a lot of people talking. Too many, you might say. 94 Subscribers did NOT come in for their comics in December. We bought product from 113 different vendors/manufacturers/creators/distributors in 2017. We’re planning a lot more events outside of signings in 2018.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 We are optimistic for 2018, I promise. 1:21:23
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThose 6 days of Christmas sales were nice. Not as good as 2016, but still nice. We got some real nice 5-star reviews recently, and a head-scratching 1-star. Getting people to leave their homes for entertainment is hard to do. How do we get comic reviews to be as sales-boosting as game reviews? Patrick writes a comics commercial on the spot. Women’s Comics Month 2018 is shaping up to be great with 14 participants already scheduled. We have a great guest coming in for Free Comic Book Day in May, but we won’t tell you who just yet. Making sure subscribers don’t miss crossovers. It’s been over 4 weeks since we put Holiday cards in subscribers’ files. The number that have not been picked up seems to be high. What are we excited for in 2018? You should check out BOOM! Studios’ JUDAS #1.…
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This special mid-week bonus episode is an interview recorded in Challengers with Onrie Kompan and Dan Dougherty, creators of the new real life historical graphic novel MARX: A Tale of Neglect. It was recorded just before Christmas, so forgive a few Holiday well-wishes that are merely a week old. This graphic novel is the story of what Onrie’s grandfather went thru during World War II. Find out how it came about, how Dan got involved and what the whole book means to them both. And we talk about their other work in comics.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 It finally feels like Christmas (in our cash register). 54:17
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedChristmas finally has a positive effect on sales, and it’s fun to go to work when people want to buy comics! There is a brand new reason we’re excited to stay in our current location (if we can). Marvel is stealth-cancelling a bunch of titles. Some Marvel Legacy titles we really like. Is Dan Slott leaving Amazing Spider-Man? Who can replace him? “Surviving Creativity” is a great podcast. We sure wish we could sell statues and more comic-themed merchandise. Customer requests at the Holidays.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Happy Holidays to all the Russian bot-farms that “listen” to us. 1:04:21
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedDal immediately starts talking about Star Wars The Last Jedi (which he hadn’t even seen at the time of this recording—but don’t worry; he’s seen it plenty since then). The pros and cons of Disney acquiring Fox. And, of course, Net Neutrality. A follow-up to last episode’s Patreon discussion. What a difference a week makes. A rundown of 2018’s gold tier Free Comic Book Day comics. They look good.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 The Challengers Holiday Graphic Novel Gift Guide. 1:03:34
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedPatreon has changed the way fees are paid, and no one likes it. Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Festivus Gift Ideas for the comic fans on your list! Yes, we talk about buying Taylor Swift concert tickets. “Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors” looks wonderful and we’re excited for it.
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Occasionally we get asked for advice on opening a comic store. This episode is our real-world advice to someone asking us questions about opening their own store. Lessons we’ve learned; lessons we haven’t learned; lessons we’re still learning. We may joke about our ‘success’ but you can’t be in business for almost 10 years by not knowing what you’re doing.…
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Three events in five days! We run ‘em all down. Doomsday Clock #1 11:57pm Release Event. Black Friday 50% OFF Comics (Comics; NOT graphic novels) Santa’s Husband Signing. The diversity of these three events give us plenty to talk about, for sure. Oh, and don’t worry; we do find time to talk about the Wolverine.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 The “CB” in his name stands for “Comic Books,” of course. 1:17:04
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedHoliday decorations come early, for a specific reason. WGN News stopped by to film a segment (or 5) on Local Comic Shop Day at Challengers. Don Cardenas talks about his Packs of the Lowcountry Kickstarter. Axel Alonso is out as Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief. CB Cebulski is in. We’re having a BIG Black Friday Sale!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 One publisher’s loss is possibly another publisher’s loss. 1:07:56
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIt’s the biggest comics news story of the year, and we make you wait over 30 minutes before we start talking about it. First we talk about Funko’s Initial Public Offering disaster. New themed displays in-store, including Thor Ragnarok and the Justice League. X-Men Red. Looking at possible new locations, just in case we have to move. DC Comics has signed Brian Michael Bends to an exclusive contract. The timing of entertainment announcements, using Doctor Who and Superchunk announcements from this week as a guide post. Men in comics are no better than men in Hollywood.…
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Contest of Challengers
At the time of recording, Patrick and Dal have seen Thor Ragnarok a combined 5 times. This episode’s title has no actual bearing to the episode, but it is mentioned, so it counts, but “A piece of water” is just as accurate. Rian Hughes, our favorite logo designer, has a book of his logos coming out in April. Should we care about eBay exclusive Marvel Comics variant covers? More egregious nonsense that’s only negative, x3. We sidestep our own accountant to handle this year’s incorporation paperwork. Marvel Universe Live: Age of Heroes was SO FUN! And we DO wind up talking about Thor Ragnarok, a little.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Buy the comic, then we’ll talk about it. That’s your conversation. 1:04:58
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWhat Chicagoland comic shop has been open the longest? Patrick really wants to read a history of Chicago comic book retail stores. Halloween Comicfest just happened and we don’t know if we promoted it correctly. We received a graphic novel this week that had no data in Diamond’s system, yet we had customers’ orders for it. This is the story of getting Diamond to help us with it. Some subscribers are really taking advantage of our subscription service. It’s perfectly fine if you don’t know the pop culture references we use to pitch books.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 We guess you only want MORE Batman comics. 1:08:14
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedMarvel’s movie-based collections don’t really work for us. That leads into talk about Thor: Ragnarok. The sharp drop-off of mini-series sales numbers. The saga of one man looking for the first issue of Aftershock’s Fu-Jitsu #1. $6,000.00 of dental work vs. one extra comic book. We’re now Facebook verified! Sean Dove has been added to our Halloween Comicfest event! The difficulties of explaining Dark Nights Metal to people 3 months into the event’s run. The New Age of DC Heroes vs. Challengers subscription pre-orders.…
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Contest of Challengers
Patrick fixed an issue with the receiver (so you can hear the new FOZZY CD “Judas” on ALL 6 store speakers!!). Dal won’t watch “Mei and the Kitten Bus.” Comixology is ditching their Pull List functionality (more than a year after we already ditched it). We’re featured in the new book “Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture.” Subscriber copies vs. shelf copies on any given week. Patrick is interested in getting into the Revoltech line of Marvel figures. Halloween Comicfest is a-comin’! We held a surprise Friday the 13th 13% Off sale! Marty DeRosa helped us out with something we really need for an upcoming event. We go over category percentages between Jan-Sep 2016 vs 2017.…
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1 A perfect snapshot of today’s comics and today’s comics retail. 1:03:04
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedHow far is too far from the blue line? Some comic retailers still cannot handle diversity in comics. The first 6 pages of Doomsday Clock are online and Dal likes it more than expected. A whole bunch of news from the New York Comic Con. A whole bunch.
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1 Policing comics thru the lens of the greater good. 1:04:51
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedShould we change our store hours? How a 1981 episode of WKRP in Cincinnati resonates with today’s comics industry. Why we don’t sell vintage books. Hugh Hefner vs. Dr. Seuss Measuring yesterday’s comics thru the lens of today. Marvel Legacy is finally here! Patrick went to the eye doctor. Upcoming Marvel Avengers and Venom crossovers. A letter from a fellow retailer. Why did we recently buy a used toilet bowl for Challengers? And a post-outro National Comic Book Day anecdote from Dal.…
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Contest of Challengers
Who would win in a fight, Captain America or Spider-Man? We’ve read some more Legacy issues. Dal is upping our numbers. Man do we hate those PDF watermarks. Our inability to push new Image titles is disappointing. Why did anyone ever think the Internet was a good idea? Harley Quinn Day preview! Rick and Morty Art Show recap. When permission becomes secondary to want. Or, Our Rick and Morty Art Show vs. Emporium’s Upside-Down bar. Patrick gets lost in a BBC Radio 1 anecdote (but gets back to it at the very, very end).…
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Contest of Challengers
1 "The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul-- is you." 58:22
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWe got another Secret Shopper report, and some new Google reviews. A brief football interlude as we check in on the Bears and the Chargers (sorry). Dal hosted our first Challengers Game Night! How did it go? Patrick got a lovely Challengers coaster in the mail. Looking ahead to the ‘new’ Marvel Legacy titles, as we’ve read a few of them so far. Fox News has a problem with Superman saving people from an automatic weapon-wielding killer. Dal liked Eugenic #1 (upcoming from BOOM!) a lot!! And Sean Gordon Murphy’s Batman: The White Knight. Dal is behind on the current X-Romances. Events! We always have events!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Today’s Comics Market is hard enough to manage without hurricanes. 51:27
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedNo Dal this week, so Patrick goes it alone. After 27 years in comic retailing, Patrick has made ALL his friends thru comics. All Star Comics in Melbourne, Australia is a swell show run by swell folks. Walking Dead #171 has a variant variant cover. Marvel Super Hero Adventures seems like a step backwards. Hurricanes are not good for the sustainability of the comics retail community. Comic Shops are not Sex Shops. Thank You notes for new customers.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 August 2017 sales may be up the tiniest bit, but, up is up. 1:08:41
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIt’s a Secret Empire post mortem, and then a look-ahead to Marvel Legacy. Dal wants to start hosting gaming nights. First up, Marvel Munchkin! Kirby Centennial and John Siuntres event recaps, and a brief look at all of September's events. There are a lot. Patrick (and Jon Drawdoer, Tim Seeley and Ryan Browne) talked to the mentors of Chicago HOPES for Kids to help them understand how to use comics in their mentoring of underprivileged kids. SPINNING is out now! Perfect for those just growing out of Raina’s books. August 2017 sales are up the tiniest bit over August 2016. Over 10 minutes of *bonus* Moviepass conversation.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 “I'll do anything at all EVER for Challengers. No questions asked, end of statement” 1:19:17
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThis episode is so much fun! Patrick is joined by Toonhound Stuidos’ Cory Casoni and Scott “PvP” Kurtz to talk about TABLE TITANS, their wonderful podcast SURVIVING CREATIVITY (Patrick’s favorite podcast), the KickStarter for BINWHIN’S MINIONS, and so much more! This episode is the reason Challengers is now branching out into gaming.…
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Contest of Challengers
Quick recap of our Return Policy (we do not accept returns). Dal’s not having a good week with super-hero comics, even though our Metal Midnight Release was fun. Patrick is tired of doing things that benefit other people/business but not Challengers. So many events are happening! Non-spoilery talk about The Defenders on Netflix. Speaking of Nextflix, they bought Millarworld and we talk about it. We want to be an Amazon portal. You know, if you can’t beat ‘em… We’re dipping our toes into gaming (more on that next week). Wizard Magazine is back?? The new Runaways comic is really fun!…
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Patrick, Kent and Cristina continue their Crisis on Infinite Earths discussion in the final of our Crisis episodes. Tim Drake means a lot to Cristina, as does Dick Grayson. What drew Cristina to Challengers in the first place? The hidden humor of Crisis. We wonder what Batman history is still canon? No Man’s Land? Cataclysm? Azbats? The DC Archives vs. the Disney Archives.…
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1 “I’m just worthless compared to Supergirl!” 1:15:54
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWhat starts as a discussion about the long-term repercussions of DC’s seminal work of universe-condensing, Crisis on Infinite Earths, quickly digresses into myriad other classic comic tomes, and even some theories about the brand new, and excellent, Mister Miracle! Dedicated (and immensely knowledgeable) DC reader Cristina McCrystal joins Patrick and Kent in a special 2-part episode! There’s a reason Cristina has an encyclopedic knowledge of DC characters. Was Supergirl the best among us?…
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1 Why do people still live in Gotham City? 1:07:25
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWelcome to another episode of “Patrick’s Ax to Grind.” Dal filmed for Pointy (don’t worry; we explain what Pointy is). Patrick had another rough Friday thanks to Google inventory-checkers. Our new New Release TV is up (thanks, Jack!) Weird phone calls, comic shop Google reviews and a cute kid story. The huge signing that wasn’t to be. We’re doing a Midnight Release for DC’s Dark Nights Metal #1. You should maybe take a look at Elsewhere (Image) and Mech Cadet Yu (BOOM!). Yes, we talk about both of those again. Dal is digging Arkham Knight.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Where is the comic wonderment of our youth? 55:43
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedChallengers’ lease is up next year and we don’t know if we’ll be able to stay where we are. Donovan took a really annoying phone call today. Will 25% of shopping malls close in the next 5 years? Patrick wants Challengers to be an experience of wonder and excitement, and he doesn’t think it is. Kent gave us a 42” monitor that you’ll all be viewing soon. Dal tells a riveting story about Headmaster Arcee figures. We’ve just opened an Etsy store, which feels weird because we have a store store and we sell things online via our website, but, you know, if it works… We (still) LOVE The Damned. And Kaijumax! We really hope people come out and buy art at our Jack Kirby’s 100th Birthday Charity Celebration. You should take a look at Mech Cadet Yu #1 this week, and Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 in a few weeks. And Angelic #1 after that.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 “I literally do not live in a world without comics.” 47:10
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIt's an interview with former comics retailer and current Direct Market Representative at BOOM! Studios, MORGAN PERRY! Comic book retailers are industry professionals. Getting into comics via Star Wars and sci-fi fandom. Eating, sleeping, and breathing comics. Morgan’s path in comics is really similar to Patrick’s own path. There's plenty more, but why read about it when you can listen!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Those who do not learn comics history... 1:11:24
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedOur state-of-the-fictional-arts recording studio is back online! An interview with (Dal pretending to be) RYAN BROWNE about the Curse Words Van Tour! REDLANDS from Image is a reeeeaaaallllyyy good book, and you should think about checking it out. Also, MOONSTRUCK. And a few others. Take a Detour withDetour.com/Challengers! There are storm clouds forming over the comics industry and they’re called Marvel Legacy. Boy, oh boy, this is a topic, for sure. And we dig in. Across the industry, June 2017 comic sales are down 21% from June 2016. Have faith.…
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1 The Narrative of Comics, without Patrick or Dal. 57:24
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThis one is pretty unique! It’s a panel discussion on narrative and process with 4 very talented Chicago-based creators. Coco Picard (“The Chronicles of Fortune”) Jessica Campbell ("Hot or Not") Anya Davidson ("Band for Life") Marnie Galloway ("In the Sounds and Seas") Moderated by Neil Brideau (Radiator Comics) We wanted to do something to celebrate the release of “The Chronicles of Fortune” and this is what Coco decided upon. This took place in Challengers (Sidekicks, actually) and Patrick was there for it, he’s just not part of this recording. Nor is Dal. See? Unique.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 We are from France! Our weekend as the French Comics Association. 1:35:05
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedBonjour! Parlez-vous français? Why didn’t we call this CONTENT of Challengers?? This week we go international without leaving Chicago. We spent last weekend running the French Comics Association booth at the American Library Association 2017 Annual Conference at McCormick Place. This is the who, why and how of that conference. We got to interact with several wonderful international comics creators; Guy Delisle, Marguerite Abouet, Pénélope Bagieu, Jérémie Royer, and David Etien, as well as the FCA staff themselves. Yes, there were croissants (pronounced “kuhWAH-sawnts”).…
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1 LIVE with Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt (and CM Punk). 58:09
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like Liked"To Hell and Back: A Spotlight on THE DAMNED and THE SIXTH GUN" panel at C2E2 2017. The audio has been found! Learn the history of one of comic’s most creative partnerships! Cullen kills his favorite characters. Brian hates drawing Drake and Becky. CM Punk refuses to read the last Sixth Gun trade. Thanks to C2E2 for getting us this audio and to Oni Press for setting it all up in the first place.…
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1 You don’t have to know EVERYTHING about Star Wars to be a Star Wars fan. 1:09:25
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWonder Woman Day! Darth Vader Day! We’ve sure had a lot of “Days” recently. But how’d they turn out? We start with a story about a smug Star Wars figure collector. This was recorded during the Puerto Rican Pride Parade, and you may be able to tell from the background noise. But probably not. Dal and Patrick will be out of the store for a few days this week for the American Library Association Annual Conference at McCormick Place. Challengers is running the French Comics Association booth. Gregg Schigiel will be here this Thursday! Coco Picard, Anya Davidson, Marnie Galloway, Jessica Campbell and Neil Brideau will all be in-store for a discussion on the narrative of comics, Friday, July 30th. Accommodating 5 creators and a live audience is a logistical challenge for us. We could not tell you that Darth Vader would be at our event live, in person, and here’s the reasons why. Thanks a lot, Lucas! What is Marvel Legacy? Bonus! Donovan Challenger has something to say about people complaining about the Chicago Bag Tax.…
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1 What if Spider-Man was a Disney princess? 1:11:41
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedPatrick welcomes “PIX” creator Gregg Schigiel to the show. Gregg loves Power Pack, so Dal will certainly like this episode! Gregg was an assistant editor at Marvel Comics in the late 1990’s and drew several issues of WHAT IF…? Gregg will be at Challengers on Thursday, June 22 from 3pm to 7pm. Librarians are the real front line for getting kids into comics.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Losing the PRIVILEGE to BUY a t-shirt does not give you the RIGHT to STEAL. 1:26:21
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedMay’s sales numbers are not encouraging. We don’t look to back issues to recoup costs. We survived the Rick and Morty “Don’t Trip Road Trip” tour event. Here’s a long recap filled with plenty of anecdotes. 90% of the people in attendance were awesome. Wubba-lubba-dub-dub!
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1 Comic book "Events" are like wrestling Pay-Per-Views 1:02:43
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWhen DC’s Injustice video game came out 4+ years ago we spent an entire episode playing it. What will we do now that Injustice 2 is out? We can’t talk about the things we really want to talk about. There was an article in The Atlantic about Marvel not know how to run their business. Didja read it? We did. Speaking of Marvel, they just fired their only gay minority editor. The drop-off of readers on new titles from issue #1 to issue #4 is staggering. May’s sales are either excellent or terrible; no in-between. Dal bought Patrick a Becky Lynch WWE Elite figure. Dal compares his wrestling-viewing to people who don’t read monthly super-hero comics, and it makes a lot of sense. We now carry Marty and Sarah Love Wrestling enamel pins! There will also be more Challengers-designed enamel pins. Shout out to Lapel Yeah! This Rick and Morty event gets bigger as it gets closer. We’re expecting 2,000 to show up. Two thousand.…
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Contest of Challengers
This week it’s an episode of Contest of Challenger. Singular. No, Patrick will not help you find where the letter “T” is in the back issue boxes. You should be able to do that on your own. We’ve got some sweet new swag: Comics Fists pins and Coexist bumper stickers. Both designed by Patrick and made just for you! Tom Hardy was Bane; now he’s Venom. Marvel announces MORE Star Wars comics, and a sweet Chip Zdarsky variant for Peter Parker #1 that we won’t be able to get. Jason Wood from 11 O’Clock Comics interviewed Patrick! Good questions and mediocre answers. Dal had great answers for his ComicBook.com interview. You can totally tell exactly where Patrick had to start being quiet during this recording.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 “I hear a bunch of screaming demons. Is that just me?” 1:08:25
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThis episode is told in reverse. We start with Patreon subscribers and an event listing, and then go into comic reviews (kinda) and then industry news and end on store news. It wasn’t planned that way that that is literally the reverse of our usual structure. We are NOT prepared for the amount of people that say they’re coming to our Rick and Morty event. The Tom King/Mitch Gerads just-announced Mister Miracle looks SO! GOOD! Network Upfronts = Lots of comic book-based TV news. And movie news. Dal has an interesting theory about the new Black Lightning TV series. Image is releasing a series of Pride covers in June. Kids graphic novel sales are up! Non-kids graphic novels are down. Is the New York Times Best Seller list to blame? We totally rearranged our shelves! Is it working?…
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Contest of Challengers
1 “This is horrible; you guys are the worst.” And other Free Comic Book Day tales. 1:01:57
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWubba lubba dub dub! The Rick and Morty #Rickmobile will be stopping at Challengers on June 1st! It’s the Free Comic Book Day 2017 after-show! The day sure started slow… We had Matt Kindt! And Alex Rosado and Dan Dougherty. And 5 wonderful cosplayers. Dal had a sketch request for himself and Patrick did his best to derail it. Hilarity ensued. We’re read Secret Empire up thru #3. We really like it. Trust us. We’re not Hydra. Which is totally not something Hydra would say.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 “I don’t believe I was identified as a Secret Shopper.” Incorrect. 1:01:32
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedDal was planning to carry the new comic by recording artist Lights. Patrick chose Gwar. That leads into other band comics, like Slayer, My Chemical Romance, and more. We received a new Secret Shopper Report and we go over it in detail! Subscribers! Please don’t put books you no longer want back on the shelf without asking us to remove that title from your list! We had lunch with author Scott Westerfeld and we both like his new YA graphic Novel “Spill Zone.” How do we capture the excitement of C2E2 in store? You are not a bad person for wanting to read Secret Empire. You are not anti-Semitic for wanting to read Secret Empire. Bonus! Highlights from the NFL Draft (kind of).…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Your back issue bins are littered with new ideas. 1:37:56
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThis episode’s title is a quote from DC’s Dan DiDio. It’s a good quote, but we never actually mention it in the episode. I mean, you’ll figure out where it fits in. It was C2E2 weekend here in Chicago! It was also the Diamond Comic Distributors Retailer Summit. Both of those things add up to a lot of meetings/panels/seminars for Patrick and Dal. We also held a pretty sweet party for Oni Press, Brian Hurtt and Cullen Bunn. It was probably our best party ever. We ran into and/or met a ton of comic creators this weekend, so please pardon our name dropping. Patrick hosted a C2E2 panel starring Cullen and Brian and had a special guest co-moderator for most of it. Chris Burnham didn’t recognize Patrick and it led to a really awkward encounter (for him). We also talk about all the things we bought at the show (including a box of Booty-O’s to make sure we ain’t booty!!)…
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Contest of Challengers
1 We’ll be Damned if we do one more event with creators Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt. 1:07:00
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedStar Wars Celebration is a thing, that we’re not at, yet we still talk about. X-Men Gold #1 fallout. Is Apple going to buy Disney? It’s a BIG week for Challengers, because of C2E2. Here’s our plans. We love Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt, so we talk all about them. We have some ridiculous, van-themed events on the schedule, but we need help from our Alderman to make these work. More in-store events, taking us thru the summer.…
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Contest of Challengers
Eric Stephenson says nice things about Challengers. So does Gregg “Pix” Schigiel. Small things we do can have a big impact on people, good and bad. We talk about how we navigate bookstores, because… We visited the new Chicago Amazon bookstore. There’s lots to talk about here. And then… the topic of the week… Marvel Comics vs. Diversity. Hoo boy. And just when we thought we were done for the week, there’s late breaking news about hidden anti-Christian and Jewish messages in X-Men Gold #1!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 You're So Sexy When You Aren't Transmitting STIs. 38:25
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedThis is the final Women’s Comics Month interview episode, featuring a full-length interview with Isabella Rotman. Her art is usually about the ocean, mermaids, crushing loneliness, people in the woods, or sex. She is author of the sexual health comic You're So Sexy When You Aren't Transmitting STIs, Not On My Watch: The Bystanders Handbook for the Prevention of Sexual Violence, Good to Know: A Zine of Useful Things, and many more.…
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Contest of Challengers
This episode is the last in a series of mini-interviews with the creators that set up for Women’s Comics Month 2017 at Challengers. Featuring: Kat Leyh Amy Peltz Sheika Lugtu Stephanie Mided Sage Coffey Vixtopher Yewon Kwon & Bec Hac Cathy Hannah Corinne Halbert Delia Jean Coco Picard
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Contest of Challengers
1 A major change to how we shelve new comics. 1:02:08
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedNew reusable tote bags. Large poster re-stock. Pop vinyl re-stock. Large all-ages graphic novel re-stock. Sale t-shirts are in. A whole bunch of new local comics and zines (thanks to Women’s Comics Month). We’re trying to put every penny back into the sore. The Challengiraffe prototype has been made by DoomCo Designs. We’ll actually have these fun 3D-printed statues available by Free Comic Book Day! Marvel’s “Generations” and Secret Empire #0. Dal has a BIG idea for changing how we rack single issue comic books. It’s different than we’ve ever done. Can we do it? Event recap!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 The balance between wanting to read and wanting to own. 50:48
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIt’s a special mid-week bonus episode as Patrick interviews artist Ashley Riot. What started as a Women’s Comics Month interview turned into a full episode! Ashley tells about growing up as the only anime/manga fan she knew and what it’s like to find other people and places of similar interests. Already a convention pro, Ashley delights in seeing young girls reading comics and loves giving drawing advice to kids and anyone with the desire to draw. Ashley’s original work includes an upcoming book called Psyche. Lots of talk of Sailor Moon, Ghost in the Shell, Doctor Who, The IT Crowd, and our deep, deep mutual love of Richard Ayoade.…
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Contest of Challengers
This episode is a series of mini-interviews with the creators that set up for the first half of Women’s Comics Month 2017 at Challengers. Chloë Perkis Bianca Xunise Lauren Burke & Monica Ras Amber Huff Rosie Accola Sara Kloskowski Marie Enger Andrea Bell Rebecca Rothschild
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Contest of Challengers
1 Adding coal to a fire does not douse the fire. 1:24:12
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedNOT RECORDED IN A MOVING VEHICLE! You’re welcome. There’s a bunch of Marvel things to talk about: Legacy numbering, movie/TV advertising and geo-targeted character interaction, yet another new X-Men team book. We like SOME of this. We are 1 week into Women’s Comics Month. How is it going? 1st quarter 2017 sales are down 10% thus far. The number of brand new titles coming out in May is staggering. Will Patrick be on a Diamond Retailer Summit panel? We had a C2E2 scavenger hunt at the store. Having an actual, mailing address mailing list; not emails. Our business neighbor is now a Cards for Cash store. Read Grass Roots #1 (and Gwenpool, for Dal).…
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Contest of Challengers
This is mercifully the last of our recorded-in-the-car episodes, on the way home from Memphis, Tennessee. Friday and Saturday of the conference in one episode. Valiant suite party. Workshop recap. The Keynote address! Stocking more Young Adult books. 32 roundtable discussions. Dinner with :01 First Second. (also, the name Patrick forgot was Miranda) Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Auction. Diamond warehouse tour in Olive Branch, Mississippi.…
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Contest of Challengers
This is the second of out recorded-in-the-car episodes, on the way home from Memphis, Tennessee. It’s noisy and raining and you don’t have to hear us get lost this time. I mean, we DID, you just don’t hear it. It’s a full Thursday rundown of the conference. Marvel talks! How was their year? DC takes the rest of the day! Comics, trades, marketing and collectibles. Patrick only slept a tiny bit during the presentations. Lunch workshops. Patrick hosted one about store signings and Dal sat in on one about product diversification in stores. Dinner at King Jerry Lawler’s Hall of Fame Grille. Plus! A special guest appearance from 2 other Chicago podcasters (thanks to the MLW Radio Network)!…
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Contest of Challengers
This is the first of three (3!!) recorded-in-the-car episodes, to and from Memphis, Tennessee. On the way to the 2017 ComicsPRO Annual Meeting, listen as Patrick and Dal: -Get lost on I-57! -Talk about what they expect to be doing all weekend. -Learn Bane is getting a his own 12-issue series. -Realize Batwoman, Super Sons and The Wild Storm all debuted this week. -Tell you our retail neighbor, Boost Mobile, is going away. So is Impossible Industries. -Discuss that there is going to be a new Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man series, in which Peter returns to NY and gets mustard on his dress shirt. -And remind you our Revival Wake is this Wednesday! Opening song: “Memphis” by Joe Jackson.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Surrendering the legacy of inclusion. 1:10:47
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedCan a geek-centric marketing firm reach the audiences we don’t? Cancelling FiveStars is harder than getting FiveStars in the first place. Have you seen Legion? Dal has and likes it! As we predicted many, many episodes ago, Marvel’s next big “E” event is Captain America-centric and written by Nick Spencer. Is Marvel abandoning legacy characters and going back to the status quo? Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt are coming back to Challengers! Daniel Warren Johnson is also coming back to Challengers! Gene Ha wants to show you how special comic shops are. Working harder for 25% off.…
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Contest of Challengers
It’s SALE time! We only do one storewide sale per year and this is it! We feel like our new title good will is running thin. Like, we can’t get people to buy books just on our say so anymore. What titles do we hope people buy during the sale? Do you use lists in your everyday life? Patrick is falling behind his regular comic reading. Wednesday was Image Comics Day! 25 years of Image Comics! What did we do for it? (hint: nothing) Dal talks himself into bringing back our lapsed book club, Chattingers. We want a Brand Manager.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Comics are a MEDIUM; not a genre, New York Times! 1:09:47
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIt’s the 300th episode of Contest of Challengers! And we celebrate with… a regular episode. You’re welcome. When is a collection complete? The New York Times is dropping their regular list of Best Selling Graphic Novels and we are NOT happy about it. A major international comics creator is interested in coming to Challengers. Who is it? Greg Rucka has a new Image title on the way. What do we think about Old Guard?…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Let He Who is Without Internet (Com)Cast the First Stone 56:55
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWe start with a weird and unresolved issue with 2 Saturday shoppers. Our internet went out and Comcast had many ideas on the issue. Patrick disagreed. Resist! We can’t help but talk about all of the weekend’s marches, but we keep trying to tie it to comics. Believe it or not, talking about the Inauguration actually segues into how well we think Tom King is doing on Batman and specifically with Bane. Event rundown!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Best-Sellers of 2016, by the numbers. 1:18:36
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIt’s a numbers game this week as we run down the best-selling graphic novels and the best-selling single issue comics of 2016. How many super heroes have parents that are still alive? More upcoming Marvel titles are announced (of course there are, as it’s a week in the year). We dump on Spider-Man. Again. Quick talk about Pulls Lists. Patrick wants a progressive discount. You may not have heard of “Extremity” but when it comes out in March you’re gonna love it!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Boost your Local Comic Shop vs. “Team Comics” 1:36:16
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedEverything is new! It’s a New Year! We have a new website! The interior of the store has been rearranged! All new for you! Here’s a little explanation as to why we’ve changed stuff. Ten 2017 comic industry predictions. #boostyourLCS, with guest audio from Ross Richie 2016 total sales vs 2015 total sales. Matt Kindt is coming back to Challengers! Gene Ha is coming back to Challengers! The brand new Unstoppable Wasp #1 is really fun and we both enjoyed USAvengers #1, too!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Happy New Year! Prince can’t die again. 1:18:37
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedRecorded in the final days of 2016. Mac McCaughan from Superchunk sums it up so much better than we can. Yes, we sold CD’s at one time, so we can justify talking about music on a comics podcast. Midwest Merch, our on-demand t-shirt provider, is going away. We’ll miss them. Love is Love is a great book doing great things for worthy people. So, of course comic retailers have a problem with it. When asked by the creators to NOT sell Saga #41, what do YOU think retailers do?? Is Patrick a professional comics industry apologist? Our website is getting a face lift. Why do vacuum cleaners come to Challengers just to die? The brand new Hulk #1 is really good, and a worthy successor to the Charles Soule She-Hulk run.…
SPOILER ALERT! We talk all about the brand new Star Wars movie, Rogue One, and that includes major plot points, so consider yourself warned. Lots of spoilers! Dal loves all movies Star Wars! Patrick is indifferent. One of them fell asleep during the movie! One of them has seen it twice in the first 24-hours of release and once or twice more by now. Can you enjoy this movie without knowing what WE think of it? Probably, yes.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Boxing Day means UPS loses your boxes, right? 58:25
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedHappy Holidays from Challengers! The Holiday buying season is in full swing! How do YOU shop for gifts? In-store? Online? Outsource? Gift-giving is way more Patrick’s thing than Dal’s. Helping people find Christmas presents, especially when they’re not familiar with comic shops, is kind of the best thing. You should totally eat at the Haywood Tavern!! The best way to ask if we have something in stock is to call the store, not to hit us up on social media. Patrick figures out the % of subscribers that have yet to be in in December. Patrick finds a thing on Walmart.com that is on sale for $19 when Challengers has it for sale at $75. What does he do? It wouldn’t be Christmas without a missing box of product! Thanks, UPS! Have you seen Justice League Action?…
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Contest of Challengers
1 Let’s see a robot do this job! Wait, no. 1:27:03
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedHappy Holidays from Challengers! We maybe start out by talking about Christmas music for a little too long… And then we maybe talk about toys for kinda long, too. 2017 is starting off great for events at Challengers! Ryan Browne and Ashley A. Woods, and Amber Benson and Sarah Kuhn, all in January. Women’s History Month = Women’s Comics Month We talk a lot about Marvel’s October 2017 title sales vs. Challengers sales of those same titles. Lastly, slow sales are being felt all across the industry. Some suggest diversification, but what diversification do they mean?…
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Contest of Challengers
Sandwich indignity! Buncha movie trailers have just been released and they mostly look good! It’s hard out there for a pimp comics retailer. Retailers around the country are vocalizing their current difficulties. What do comic readers and fans OWE comic retailers? What do the creators and publishers owe retailers? What got the comics industry out of the slump 20 years ago? We’ve got something planned for March, to coincide with Women’s History Month. Curse Words #2 is even better than Curse Words #1! Is Curse Words on your radar? We end with a brand new Holiday song!…
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Contest of Challengers
1 It’s not a Challengers thing; it’s a comics industry thing 1:09:52
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedWe have our first ever Holiday sale next week. Sales are trending down across the industry because readers are no longer engaged. Event recapping: Local Comic Shop Day and Art Baltazar. Were YOU there? What could make Local Comic Shop Day a success? How would we engage people without the internet? Rounding up for charity, and why we won’t do it. All the new X-Men titles and creative teams from Marvel. Wicker Park has a new hotel and hopefully we can use it! 250 prints in 10 separate boxes.…
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Contest of Challengers
Uploaded early for your long Thanksgiving commute! A long and noisy interview with fellow comics retailer Alli Alleman of Collector’s Paradise in LA. Well, that’s where she works NOW. See! the comics industry thru younger eyes. Experience! comics retail from a woman’s perspective. Marvel! at her Rick Remender story from San Diego this past summer. Learn how similar experiences are for most people that spend their days behind a comic shop counter.…
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Contest of Challengers
1 3 things we do right/3 things we did wrong. 1:33:28
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedIt’s Dal’s birthday, but he has a gift for YOU. Maybe. Tech apologies for episode #287 and a preface to episode #290. That’s not too confusing, right? 3x3: Three things we’ve done wrong and three things we’ve done right. Well, right-ish… We set up at Pritzker School’s reading night and had fun. Kids sure do love business cards. “Graphic Novel” vs. “Comic Book” Do you really care what they’re called? Spider-Man #9 is not the comic we were expecting, sadly. Turns out we are not your favorite shop in Bucktown. A mobile vintage store van is…?…
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Contest of Challengers
1 By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth! We review Doctor Strange. 1:05:38
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Play Later Play Later Lists Like LikedBy the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth! By the Omnipotent Oshtur! By Agamotto's All-Seeing Eye! We saw Doctor Strange on opening night, and we talk all about it! Lots and lots of SPOILERS!
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