Contest of Challengers

This episode has basically 2 main topics. What we’re doing as a result of the Covid-19 Coronavirus and Bad Idea comics. Trust us, there is plenty of ground to cover with both topics.

A Challenger Loves Ya (Contest of Challengers) Who are we and what is this podcast? Challengers loves ya! Well, *A* Challenger loves ya. The spread of coronavirus Covid-19 is, understandably, wreakin…

Wednesday in-store anecdotes, recorded as they happened. The final week of selling C2E2 2020 tickets! Yay! All the way from Tel Aviv, fellow retailer Jackob Sareli joins us on the frozen, late-night …

This is the week that C2E2 ticket sales reach a frenzied level. The ComicsPRO Annual Meeting s happening RIGHT NOW in Portland. And we’re not there. BOOM! Studios presentation at ComicsPRO says all t…

Transportation to Store #2. How’d our only storewide sale of the year turn out? New store banner woes. Using and abusing Instagram. The new Signing Wall in River North. Phantom titles in Diamond’s sy…

There’s a new publisher in comics, full of familiar faces, and they have a whole new take on today's publishing market. References to AWA (Artists Writers Artisans) and TKO. Who’s up for a 5-issue Ju…

Recording star Poppy did NOT come to Bucktown today. The making of our 1979 man-on-the-street Sale video. January 2020 sales vs 2019. Ryan Browne signed at both stores this week! Please stop asking u…

The first wave of McFarlane DC Multiverse figures are in, and we have thoughts! Ordering Marvel Legends for the rest of the year, with no real information. More frustration with our Point of Sale sys…

A 1-star Yelp review + Reddit + the UK website The Poke = quite the internet week for Challengers. One more round of identity theft, because having the last one back in October is just too long ago. …

When business is slow in Blue vs Red The second change to Blue’s layout in a month. How we work our Back Issues. The Local Artist section really needs to be re-sorted. Marvel’s Outlaw series announce…

Thanks, Matthew Rosenberg!! NO subscriber complaints! We mean BY us, not ABOUT us. But we still complain about 1 customer interaction… Top 100 Comics sales notes. Top 100 Graphic Novels sales notes. …

Retail sure is weird this time of year! Spending New Year’s Eve at Challengers (Red). Christmas makes us feel like we carry all the wrong things. Club members are responding positively to our tighter…

Dal is very hungry. You can hear the tension between Dal and Patrick at the start of this episode.  Profanity warning for around the 21 minute mark. Theft! Things were stolen today. A chase ensued. T…

Commuting between the 2 stores is all new to us. We’re still learning our new routines. Potential changes to Blue’s layout, already. Changes to the way we enforce our subscription rules for 2020. No …

Patrick was on the news talking about Chicago’s new bus lanes. “If you think like Patrick Brower, you’d be wrong!” Johnny Cadillac Marvel is NOT releasing too many comics…? What would it take for Ima…

The counters arrived!! We made it. We are now a chain! 2 stores! Hear about the final week of prep and the first day of sales. No Black Friday Sales this year. Batman is your friend, but only when no…

Recorded with a Q-Mic! Can you hear the difference? We say we’re not going to talk about Blue this week, but we totally talk about Blue this week. This was recorded on Dal’s birthday. Happy Birthday,…

Recorded in Challengers River North! We’re actually pleased with our progress thus far. Less than 2 weeks until opening day! R.I.P. Tom Spurgeon. Orbital Comics in London has stopped carrying single …

An update on the first week of prep for Blue. Boy, no Chicago news source cares about a new comic book shop. Subscriber emails vs. subscribers actually reading emails. The reactions for Dawn of X #1’…

This is the 2nd biggest announcement we could possibly have. This is huge. This is Blue.