Contest Of Challengers

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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?

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.

Don’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.

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).

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.

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

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.