Contest of Challengers

What Chicagoland comic shop has been open the longest? Patrick really wants to read a history of Chicago comic book retail stores. Halloween Comicfest just happened and we don't know if we promoted it correctly. We received a graphic novel this week that had no data in Diamond's system, yet we had customers' orders for it. This is the story of getting Diamond to help us with it. Some subscribers are really taking advantage of our subscription service. It's perfectly fine if you don't know the pop culture references we use to pitch books.

Marvel's movie-based collections don't really work for us. That leads into talk about Thor: Ragnarok. The sharp drop-off of mini-series sales numbers. The saga of one man looking for the first issue of Aftershock's Fu-Jitsu #1. $6,000.00 of dental work vs. one extra comic book. We're now Facebook verified! Sean Dove has been added to our Halloween Comicfest event! The difficulties of explaining Dark Nights Metal to people 3 months into the event's run. The New Age of DC Heroes vs. Challengers subscription pre-orders.

Patrick fixed an issue with the receiver (so you can hear the new FOZZY CD "Judas" on ALL 6 store speakers!!). Dal won't watch "Mei and the Kitten Bus." Comixology is ditching their Pull List functionality (more than a year after we already ditched it). We're featured in the new book "Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture." Subscriber copies vs. shelf copies on any given week. Patrick is interested in getting into the Revoltech line of Marvel figures. Halloween Comicfest is a-comin'! We held a surprise Friday the 13th 13% Off sale! Marty DeRosa helped us out with something we really need for an upcoming event. We go over category percentages between Jan-Sep 2016 vs 2017.

How far is too far from the blue line? Some comic retailers still cannot handle diversity in comics. The first 6 pages of Doomsday Clock are online and Dal likes it more than expected. A whole bunch of news from the New York Comic Con. A whole bunch.

Should we change our store hours? How a 1981 episode of WKRP in Cincinnati resonates with today's comics industry. Why we don't sell vintage books. Hugh Hefner vs. Dr. Seuss Measuring yesterday's comics thru the lens of today. Marvel Legacy is finally here! Patrick went to the eye doctor. Upcoming Marvel Avengers and Venom crossovers. A letter from a fellow retailer. Why did we recently buy a used toilet bowl for Challengers? And a post-outro National Comic Book Day anecdote from Dal.

Who would win in a fight, Captain America or Spider-Man? We've read some more Legacy issues. Dal is upping our numbers. Man do we hate those PDF watermarks. Our inability to push new Image titles is disappointing. Why did anyone ever think the Internet was a good idea? Harley Quinn Day preview! Rick and Morty Art Show recap. When permission becomes secondary to want. Or, Our Rick and Morty Art Show vs. Emporium's Upside-Down bar. Patrick gets lost in a BBC Radio 1 anecdote (but gets back to it at the very, very end).

We got another Secret Shopper report, and some new Google reviews. A brief football interlude as we check in on the Bears and the Chargers (sorry). Dal hosted our first Challengers Game Night! How did it go? Patrick got a lovely Challengers coaster in the mail. Looking ahead to the 'new' Marvel Legacy titles, as we've read a few of them so far. Fox News has a problem with Superman saving people from an automatic weapon-wielding killer. Dal liked Eugenic #1 (upcoming from BOOM!) a lot!! And Sean Gordon Murphy's Batman: The White Knight. Dal is behind on the current X-Romances. Events! We always have events!

No Dal this week, so Patrick goes it alone. After 27 years in comic retailing, Patrick has made ALL his friends thru comics. All Star Comics in Melbourne, Australia is a swell show run by swell folks. Walking Dead #171 has a variant variant cover. Marvel Super Hero Adventures seems like a step backwards. Hurricanes are not good for the sustainability of the comics retail community. Comic Shops are not Sex Shops. Thank You notes for new customers.

It's a Secret Empire post mortem, and then a look-ahead to Marvel Legacy. Dal wants to start hosting gaming nights. First up, Marvel Munchkin! Kirby Centennial and John Siuntres event recaps, and a brief look at all of September's events. There are a lot. Patrick (and Jon Drawdoer, Tim Seeley and Ryan Browne) talked to the mentors of Chicago HOPES for Kids to help them understand how to use comics in their mentoring of underprivileged kids. SPINNING is out now! Perfect for those just growing out of Raina's books. August 2017 sales are up the tiniest bit over August 2016. Over 10 minutes of *bonus* Moviepass conversation.

This episode is so much fun! Patrick is joined by Toonhound Stuidos' Cory Casoni and Scott "PvP" Kurtz to talk about TABLE TITANS, their wonderful podcast SURVIVING CREATIVITY (Patrick's favorite podcast), the KickStarter for BINWHIN'S MINIONS, and so much more! This episode is the reason Challengers is now branching out into gaming.