Contest of Challengers

The 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...

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 wel...

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...

We 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 effe...

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?

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...

We 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 th...

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 Dami...

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 s...

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 s...

Why, 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.

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...

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...

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 mi...

Rest 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.

The 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...

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...

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...

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 graph...

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 #...

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...

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...

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.

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 o...

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 ha...