Sinopse
From Challengers Comics + Conversation in Chicago, this is CONTEST OF CHALLENGERS, a podcast about the business of running a comic book store. Hosted by Patrick Brower and W. Dal Bush. Challengers 1845 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 ChallengersComics.com
Episódios
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Minimizing Chances of Failure
26/07/2021 Duração: 01h10minMinimizing 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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Spatial Considerations
18/07/2021 Duração: 01h08minSpatial 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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Parse That Data
11/07/2021 Duração: 01h07minParse 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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So Many Shipments
05/07/2021 Duração: 01h06minEternal 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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Is It Good or is it Spawn?
27/06/2021 Duração: 01h04minYotsuba&! 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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This is a Dull Podcast
21/06/2021 Duração: 01h07minThis 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?
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Space Ghettos
14/06/2021 Duração: 01h01minSpace 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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So. Many. Damages.
07/06/2021 Duração: 01h05minGreen 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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Black Lives Matter
30/05/2021 Duração: 01h09minBlack 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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It’s a Linear Path
25/05/2021 Duração: 01h01minIt’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
17/05/2021 Duração: 01h04minA 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
09/05/2021 Duração: 01h10minOkay 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.
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Saying “No”
03/05/2021 Duração: 58minWhat’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.
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Infrastructural
19/04/2021 Duração: 01h04minOf 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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“I Don’t Know” is Unacceptable
11/04/2021 Duração: 01h03minBenhur’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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6 Weeks of Aggravation
05/04/2021 Duração: 01h08min6 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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Jumping Right In...
28/03/2021 Duração: 01h14minSo, 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
22/03/2021 Duração: 01h26minIt’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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The Prisoner’s Dilemma
15/03/2021 Duração: 01h14minWe 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.