Contest of Challengers

PUBLISHER SUPPORT •Is "graphic novel" the right word for what we sell? •Night Farters. •Patrick is okay again. •Dungeons and Dragons. •Our 15th Anniversary Party was a swell time! •Our (separate) C2E2 adventures. •2023 sales-to-date (spoiler: not good). •Oversaturation! •DANGER! And Other Unknown Risks. •Thanks, Patrons! Contest of Challengers #632

SWEET CONSTANCY •Challengers is 15!! •The Post-Covid Correction Period. •A deliberate lack of Back Issues. •The X-Men Timeline. •We DON'T Like Ike! •2 new Bios for Patrick! Contest of Challengers #631

CT-HEY! DON'T PARK THERE! •Cars engulfed by flame. •Positive Shopify changes. •New Sign Holders (that no one will notice, but that's the point). •Shelf rearranging and a much larger 25% OFF section! •When the CTA parked on the sidewalk, blocking our front door. •Smart Filer and Search. •Shopify item importing slow down. •Here are the comics we are excited about from this episode: W0RLDTR33 GREAT BRITISH BUMP-OFF (again!!) TITANS WONDER WOMAN UNSTOPPABLE DOOM PATROL THE NASTY PEACEMAKER TRIES HARD!! Contest of Challengers #630

LACK OF MOMENTUM •A Challengers business fact: If a comic sells very well for us, it is usually ignored by the mainstream. •John Allison is very smart. •The missing "A" cover of Invincible Iron Man #4. •Checking-in PRH replacement books. •Patrick is on Episode 825 of Car Con Carne (https://carconcarne.com/2023/03/14/challengers-comics-celebrates-15th-anniversary-at-club-lago-episode-825/) plus other interviews. •Manage Comics has 2 really great changes this week that make life easier! Thanks, Brian (and team!)! •Spay Illinois (https://www.spayillinois.org/) •There's are the comics we are excited about from this episode: WHERE MONSTERS LIE #4, GREAT BRITISH BUMP-OFF #1, BATMAN ONE BAD DAY RA'S AL GHUL, HAIRBALL #1, NIGHTWING #105. Contest of Challengers #629

YOU'RE THE WORST PART OF COMIC COLLECTING •Really good comics: INDIGO CHILDREN; NO/ONE and (hopefully) PARASOCIAL. •All the Variant Covers for March 15th. Also, the last time we complain about variant covers on this podcast. •Chargeback BS from a Pumpkin-Headed D!p$#!t with no shame. •The Fables Wellness Chart. •The sewer pipe in our trash room is possessed. •Patrick in Publishers Weekly (and on Car Con Carne)! •RJ City has some new names for Dal (RJ City does not appear on this podcast)! Contest of Challengers #628

2 BUGS MAKE A RIGHT •Removing an item from the Shopify register during the payment phase. •Extra-large transactions cause large bugs. •Guns! •The X-23 Deadly Regenesis solicitation is a large paragraph of nothing. •2 Kickstarter campaigns of note (yes, we can be bought)! •Fast food apps. •Funko woes. •Upcoming books of note: Neighbors #1 (BOOM!), Indigo Children #1 (Image), Rock Gods of Memphis, Tennessee (Dark Horse). •Patrons! •Lonesome Hunters signed bookplates! Contest of Challengers #627

IN YOUR MIND CALENDARNo time for notes—we're already late! Contest of Challengers #626

SOMEWHERE BTW SKEPTICAL & AMBIVALENT •"You look like you work in a comic shop!" •3 Shopify support tickets at one time. •What Shopify considers a "discount". •"The trick was… sort of pedantic." •UPS BS •Our website is now a webstore. •Sale aftermath. •Marvel releases for May 2023. •Challengers' social media audit. Contest of Challengers #625

SCREAMING INTO THE DARK with TIM SEELEY • It's a full-on comic industry takedown with Tim Seeley! Join 2 grizzled comic industry veterans as they talk about the state of things today while remembering all the wonderful nonsense they've been a part of these past 21 years. •Why are we doing this if it benefits no one? •The death of experience. •Screaming into the dark. •Too early or too dumb. Colt Noble TV commercial: https://vimeo.com/8249958 LOCAL MAN #1 is out Febryary 22nd!! Contest of Challengers #624

WE'RE NOT GETTING IN YOUR WAY •A Mystery Project is coming together… •Working with Creators on store projects. •It's SALE time!!!!!! •Manage Comics, ever improving. •Thanks, Patrons! •The WINGER Analogy. •Placing Final Orders during the Holidays causes problems in February. •Weekly comic book release schedules are horribly unbalanced. •Net Pricing is NOT Retail Pricing! •Lunar vs Diamond when it comes to Overages. Contest of Challengers #623