Contest of Challengers
From Challengers Comics + Conversation in Chicago, this is Contest of Challengers, a podcast about the business of running a comics shop. From publishers to distributors to the sales floor itself, each episode deals with the issues of the week and how they affect the way Challengers conducts business, and that includes the actual comic book issues themselves. Hosted by Patrick Brower and W. Dal Bush. Thanks for listening. Keep Reading Comics!
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 68 minutes
- Episodes
- 750
- Years Active
- 2009 - 2025
Where is the comic wonderment of our youth?
Challengers’ lease is up next year and we don’t know if we’ll be able to stay where we are. Donovan took a really annoying phone call today. Will 25% of shopping malls close in the next 5 years? Patr…
“I literally do not live in a world without comics.”
It's an interview with former comics retailer and current Direct Market Representative at BOOM! Studios, MORGAN PERRY! Comic book retailers are industry professionals. Getting into comics via Star Wa…
Those who do not learn comics history...
Our state-of-the-fictional-arts recording studio is back online! An interview with (Dal pretending to be) RYAN BROWNE about the Curse Words Van Tour! REDLANDS from Image is a reeeeaaaallllyyy good bo…
The Narrative of Comics, without Patrick or Dal.
This one is pretty unique! It’s a panel discussion on narrative and process with 4 very talented Chicago-based creators. Coco Picard (“The Chronicles of Fortune”) Jessica Campbell ("Hot or Not") Anya…
We are from France! Our weekend as the French Comics Association.
Bonjour! Parlez-vous français? Why didn’t we call this CONTENT of Challengers?? This week we go international without leaving Chicago. We spent last weekend running the French Comics Association boot…
LIVE with Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt (and CM Punk).
"To Hell and Back: A Spotlight on THE DAMNED and THE SIXTH GUN" panel at C2E2 2017. The audio has been found! Learn the history of one of comic’s most creative partnerships! Cullen kills his favorite…
You don’t have to know EVERYTHING about Star Wars to be a Star Wars fan.
Wonder Woman Day! Darth Vader Day! We’ve sure had a lot of “Days” recently. But how’d they turn out? We start with a story about a smug Star Wars figure collector. This was recorded during the Puerto…
What if Spider-Man was a Disney princess?
Patrick welcomes “PIX” creator Gregg Schigiel to the show. Gregg loves Power Pack, so Dal will certainly like this episode! Gregg was an assistant editor at Marvel Comics in the late 1990’s and drew …
Losing the PRIVILEGE to BUY a t-shirt does not give you the RIGHT to STEAL.
May’s sales numbers are not encouraging. We don’t look to back issues to recoup costs. We survived the Rick and Morty “Don’t Trip Road Trip” tour event. Here’s a long recap filled with plenty of anec…
Comic book "Events" are like wrestling Pay-Per-Views
When DC’s Injustice video game came out 4+ years ago we spent an entire episode playing it. What will we do now that Injustice 2 is out? We can’t talk about the things we really want to talk about. T…
“I don’t have time to read all this crap.”
This week it’s an episode of Contest of Challenger. Singular. No, Patrick will not help you find where the letter “T” is in the back issue boxes. You should be able to do that on your own. We’ve got …
“I hear a bunch of screaming demons. Is that just me?”
This episode is told in reverse. We start with Patreon subscribers and an event listing, and then go into comic reviews (kinda) and then industry news and end on store news. It wasn’t planned that wa…
“This is horrible; you guys are the worst.” And other Free Comic Book Day tales.
Wubba lubba dub dub! The Rick and Morty #Rickmobile will be stopping at Challengers on June 1st! It’s the Free Comic Book Day 2017 after-show! The day sure started slow… We had Matt Kindt! And Alex R…
“I don’t believe I was identified as a Secret Shopper.” Incorrect.
Dal was planning to carry the new comic by recording artist Lights. Patrick chose Gwar. That leads into other band comics, like Slayer, My Chemical Romance, and more. We received a new Secret Shopper…
Your back issue bins are littered with new ideas.
This episode’s title is a quote from DC’s Dan DiDio. It’s a good quote, but we never actually mention it in the episode. I mean, you’ll figure out where it fits in. It was C2E2 weekend here in Chicag…
We’ll be Damned if we do one more event with creators Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt.
Star Wars Celebration is a thing, that we’re not at, yet we still talk about. X-Men Gold #1 fallout. Is Apple going to buy Disney? It’s a BIG week for Challengers, because of C2E2. Here’s our plans. …
It’s not diversity; it’s reality.
Eric Stephenson says nice things about Challengers. So does Gregg “Pix” Schigiel. Small things we do can have a big impact on people, good and bad. We talk about how we navigate bookstores, because… …
You're So Sexy When You Aren't Transmitting STIs.
This is the final Women’s Comics Month interview episode, featuring a full-length interview with Isabella Rotman. Her art is usually about the ocean, mermaids, crushing loneliness, people in the wood…
Women’s Comics Month, part 2.
This episode is the last in a series of mini-interviews with the creators that set up for Women’s Comics Month 2017 at Challengers. Featuring: Kat Leyh Amy Peltz Sheika Lugtu Stephanie Mided Sage Cof…
A major change to how we shelve new comics.
New reusable tote bags. Large poster re-stock. Pop vinyl re-stock. Large all-ages graphic novel re-stock. Sale t-shirts are in. A whole bunch of new local comics and zines (thanks to Women’s Comics M…