Contest Of Challengers

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

“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

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

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

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 #1Contest 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

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

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, #2Contest of Challengers #692

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) shopContest of Challengers #691

“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

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

“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 #2Contest of Challengers #688

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

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

INTELLECTUALLY?  •Bad customer service. •Gotta get them Back Issues! •Setting up for FCBD. •Thanks, Patrons! •Our C2E2 experiences. Contest of Challengers #683

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