Contest Of Challengers

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.