Contest of Challengers

PREMIUM READING EXPERIENCE

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

PREMIUM READING EXPERIENCE•ARUNE SINGH returns to CoC almost exactly 5 years after his last appearance! •Action figures? Wrestling? COMICS? Yup, w...

HILARIOUSLY MISGUIDED

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

HILARIOUSLY MISGUIDED•Chicago's weather is not helping our Holiday sales… •The rise and rise of Absolute Batman. •Shopify sales channel issu...

IT'S ON THE BAG

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

IT'S ON THE BAG•It's a Thanksgiving miracle! •Minor distribution issues, per usual. •Our Corpse Tour re-cap. •The 2026 Angoulême Internatio...

WHAT'S THE SCAM?

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break from the podcast after this episode. We will be back later in 2025, but we're not sure when, or how often. Thanks for your pati...

AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT•Halloween is just an excuse to talk about the Monster Cereal Mascots! •Corpse Tour guy deserves more than YOU! •Thanks, ...

DAY 6,417

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

DAY 6,417It's Exhausting to Exist in That Space (alternate episode title) •Going to cons as kids vs going now. •The 6,417th day of Challengers a...

SEVERAL POINTS OF ALIGNMENT

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

SEVERAL POINTS OF ALIGNMENT•Airport chat! But only the first part; we're back in the Podcastitorium ™ for most of the episode. •No name callin...

CCC @ NYCC

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

CCC @ NYCC•Recorded entirely in New York City! •Very long car rides. •The Speech! •The rest of our New York Comic Con experiences. Mostly.  ...

A SPEECH IS JUST TALKING

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A SPEECH IS JUST TALKING•Barry Mindster and the bonkers emails we get. •Who is Laura Lympus? •We're getting closer to having an actual plan fo...

ALL-MALE REVIEW

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

ALL-MALE REVIEW•Droning on about the same topics! All deliveries all the time! •We're heading to the New York Comic Con in 2 weeks! •It was a t...

IT'S JUST COMIC BOOKS

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

IT'S JUST COMIC BOOKS•No podcasting backlash from last week. •Patrick was on WGN's Spotlight Chicago this week for Batman Day! https://wgntv.com...

PUBLIC DISCOURSE

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

PUBLIC DISCOURSE•Hypothetical employee situations. •When our opinion doesn't matter. •Red Hood #1. •Another celebrity drop-by!   This episo...

IT'S BEEN KNOWN FOR YEARS

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

IT'S BEEN KNOWN FOR YEARS•DC KENNY OMEGA #1. •Challengers Blue. What If it survived? •The Jonas Brothers. •Thanks, Patrons! •Japanese Mang...

35 - 0

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

35 - 0•Lucy Knisley's latest signing! •35 years. •Social media app changes. •Rethinking FOC's. •Fran's Kitchen cookbook is in-stock! Supp...

BLIND AS A BAG

31 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Show less This episode was erroneously not posted last week! SORRY!! That means there will be TWO episodes posted within 24 hours! (Thanks f...

WE'VE COMPLETELY FAILED

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

WE'VE COMPLETELY FAILED•Changes to the Patreon website (and declined pledges). •App interaction. •A completely insane Yelp review. •Card gam...

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF EXISTENCE

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF EXISTENCE•Welcome back to us! •Don't skip reading Supergirl! It's so fun! •Customer outreach (via emails). •Where Monst...

"MITCHELL!"

30 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"MITCHELL!"•Patrick is joined by Mitchell Davies of All Star Comics in Melbourne, Australia! •How can 2 stores 15,570 kilometers apart have the e...

YOU HAVE MORE VALUE THAN THIS

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

YOU HAVE MORE VALUE THAN THIS•The 200th Anniversary of the first comic book? •Marvel's 616 Day. •The Golden Biscuit of Adventure Comics #210. ...

HOW TO MEET THE MOST AMOUNT OF NEEDS

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

HOW TO MEET THE MOST AMOUNT OF NEEDS•Magic the Gathering: Final Fantasy and the wave of unmeetable collector demand. •Prioritizing the in-store ...

DIAMONDS AREN'T FOREVER

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

DIAMONDS AREN'T FOREVER•Childhood toy line nostalgia into today's comic publishing. •Literally half of this episode is about action figures. Be ...

HOW DEEP OF A WELL

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

HOW DEEP OF A WELL•We press "record" in the middle of a conversation about just-announced Marvel Legends figures from a Hasbro livestream.   •M...

THINK OF THINGS TO THINK OF

26 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

THINK OF THINGS TO THINK OF•A week of repairs for the Podcastitorium! •July's Lunar orders are due when?!? •Ad Populum officially owns Diamond...

A CODEFIED STRUCTURE

19 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A CODEFIED STRUCTURE•Paper vs PDF •Using physical catalogs when ordering. •Receiving stock from Scholastic. •Comics talked about in this epi...

NOT A PATH TO FOLLOW

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

NOT A PATH TO FOLLOW•Website tweaks and notifications. •Searching PRH for "I Am a Hero." •Details of our Career Day at a local elementary scho...

A WEEK IN THE DAY

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A WEEK IN THE DAY•No more "Charles" at the bank! •Forgetting subscribers' names. •A mystery box of comics from Lunar! •MORE shortages from L...

THIS IS DUMB, JUST, PERIOD.

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

THIS IS DUMB, JUST, PERIOD.•Free Comic Book Day week prep. •Upcoming events! •Now that BOOM! Is distributed by Penguin Random House… •New ...

IS THIS WHAT RESPECT FEELS LIKE?

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

IS THIS WHAT RESPECT FEELS LIKE?•Dal already has thoughts for next year's C2E2! •It's our C2E2 2025 recap episode! It was a pretty great show and...

ABSOLUTE UNITS OF DESTRUCTION (with MORGAN PERRY)

14 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

ABSOLUTE UNITS OF DESTRUCTION•Patrick is joined by MORGAN PERRY, Marketing Manager at Square Enix, Inc. •Square Enix has a new program for comic...

IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE CONFUSING THE CHILDREN

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE CONFUSING THE CHILDREN•Tariffs in comics. •Dal's take on Lost Fantasy #1. •Cover designs. •The closure of ThingsFromAno...

APOLOGIZING FOR THINGS NOT OUR FAULT

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

APOLOGIZING FOR THINGS NOT OUR FAULT•Trying to buy a Will Ospreay print by Rob Schamberger. •MORE problems with Lunar shipments! •MORE problem...

RELIABLY FRUSTRATING

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

RELIABLY FRUSTRATING•Next week is maybe the biggest New Release week we've ever had, in both quantity and dollar amount. •Lunar shortages! •Qua...

I'M SURE YOU'RE GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I'M SURE YOU'RE GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS •The next few weeks of New Releases are MASSIVE. •What we're looking forward to at C2E2. •Gabi Mende...

THE BULLSEYE OF BULLSEYES

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

THE BULLSEYE OF BULLSEYES •Godzilla vs Chicago, one week later. •New Dark Horse graphic novels immediately unavailable. •Andrea Bell signing re...

VALIDABLE

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

VALIDABLE •ComicsPRO Annual Meeting part 2! •Batman H2SH. Pronounced "huh-toosh" •Back to ComicsPRO news! •GODZILLA! •Dal vs the MCU. •C...

ALL BUSINESS

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

ALL BUSINESS •This IS a business podcast, after all. •It's Tax Time (never to be confused with "Toni Time")! •Paying vendors. •ComicsPRO new...

SALE APPARENT

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

SALE APPARENT •Distribution shipping schedules. •How did the 2025 "I Love You But I've Chosen Comics" sale do for us? •Shopify user permission...

INTRODUCING UNCERTANTY TO THE PROCESS

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

INTRODUCING UNCERTANTY TO THE PROCESS •Sacrificers #13 shortage and what Lunar did about it. •Upcoming bookmark! •More publishers abandoning D...

THE KYLE-VERSE with KYLE HIGGINS

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

THE KYLE-VERSE with KYLE HIGGINS •It's an extra-special, extra-long episode featuring KYLE HIGGINS (and Andrew Challenger)!! •Image's MASSIVE-V...

NO SAFETY NET

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

NO SAFETY NET •How much does our Sale T-Shirt cost? •Small week of releases for the week of our Sale. •One World Under Doom vs X-Manhunt. •P...

CONCIERGE SERVICE

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

CONCIERGE SERVICE •Shopify God Mode. •Inventory reconciliation. •Lucky Devils signing (and 2 upcoming signings). •Ratioed bookplates. •Chi...

COMMUNITY INREACH

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

COMMUNITY INREACH•NOT recorded in a car! •Community outreach and fan base cultivation. •Store eras. 5, maybe? •Challengers adages.•Comic t...

MINUS FIVE

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

MINUS FIVE •No more subscription discount! •The Amalgam allocation. •2024 Sales info! •Our Best Sellers of 2024. •The Saga subscriber epid...

YOU ARE A FIXTURE

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

YOU ARE A FIXTURE •New Release List nonsense. •Your gifts to us. •December sales, thus far. •POP vinyl ordering. •Barnes & Noble's impact....

POKING AROUND THE BACK END

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

POKING AROUND THE BACK END •Christmas sales daze. •Knocking on the doorway of delinquency. •Financial mishmash. •Poking around the back end. ...

THE ONGOING SAGA

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

THE ONGOING SAGA•An update on Diamond Comic Distributors.•(Lack of) SAGA for 2024. •Firing subscribers.•Loyality/Points programs.•Holiday ...

WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON?

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON?•Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld.•A week without Diamond. •Thanks, Patrons!•Ireland. •Spoiler. Not as in we can't tell...

KEEPING IT MIDWEST

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

KEEPING IT MIDWESTPatrick is out of the country! Dal is stuck doing all the work! So that means... Guest Hosts!! •Who are this episode's guest ho...

INTERNET FAMOUS

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

INTERNET FAMOUS •No more Samsung Podcasts. •Toy shopping around town. •Your children's names. •The Feral World Tour event. •Holiday re...

OPTIMISM??

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

OPTIMISM?? •The B.O.I. Report. •Dated periodicals. •Optimism? From US?? •Dividers. •DOOM!  This episode is dedicated to how unsettlin...

BLOOD IN THE TITLE

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

BLOOD IN THE TITLE •Controlling your reactions. •This week's New Release videos. •DC's initial wave of Absolute #1's are all out. •Comic ...

FEEDING FRENZY

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FEEDING FRENZY •The long reach of Absolute Batman #1. •New website single-issue buying limits (and why). •LUCKY DEVILS #1 (by Ryan Browne and...

THEMATIC HEFT

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

THEMATIC HEFT •Graphic Novels based off of bands. •Out-of-print graphic novels. •X-Books sales check-in! •Collector mentality. •How th...

MEGAFORCE

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

MEGAFORCE •Absolute Batman #1 is a HUGE, thikk-thighed hit! •It's all about the BOOM (Tube)! •Aimee Garcia and AJ Mendez are coming (or, wer...

CHANGING THE CALCULUS

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

CHANGING THE CALCULUS•A broken frame. •Dal's Manage Comics Vision Board (TM). •Website search bars. •Dal is unqualified to sell comics. •Co...

WE JUST DO WHAT WE DO

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

WE JUST DO WHAT WE DO •September 2024 sales. •The difference between different distributors' invoicing. •Stocky importing (and what is Stocky...

LET THERE BE LIGHT

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

LET THERE BE LIGHT •Online credit/Pokemon kids. •We have (many but not all) new lights! •How was Batman Day 2014? •Dal talks about the Chic...

CLIFFORD T. JUMPER

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

CLIFFORD T. JUMPER •Patrick is (was) on WGN Spotlight Chicago. •Breaking our Manga section into Genres. •Another week of Lunar woes.•Comics...

FUNGIBLE

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FUNGIBLE •Surge pricing. •Non-consecutive artists. •Good relationships with your USPS/UPS/FED EX delivery people. •Printer delays. •Sept...

DAL CHOSE IT

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

DAL CHOSE IT •No cookies?!? •Updating the public. •A lunar eclipse. •The McDonalds bonus play. Contest of Challengers #701

34 700

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

34700 •Episode 700 coincides with Patrick's 34th Comic Retail Anniversary! •No, our Challengers Choice counter dump does not hold free comics. ...

"HEL-LO. DAN-YELL?"

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"HEL-LO. DAN-YELL?" •Consulting? •Retailers talk, but do they listen? •Advice on opening a comic shop. •Unpopular opinion time! •Cover ...

THE BREAK-UP SONG

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

THE BREAK-UP SONG •Little Golden Books. •3 new DC titles for November. •Checking in on From The Ashes sales. •Marvel Unlimited. •So man...

PROMOTIONAL MUSCLE

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

PROMOTIONAL MUSCLE •Sponsors! •Inventory needs to be synched.•A Manage Comics correction.•So many new #1 issues per week.•Promotional musc...

IT'S NOT IN MY DNA

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 pri...

CONNECTION

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 l...

COIL VOLTAGE

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

COIL VOLTAGE •Zdarsky Comic News •Powerpuff Girls #1 is so much fun! •Giveaways being given to the right people. •ALL IN and Absolute DC....

FOR STABILITY REASONS

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FOR STABILITY REASONS •How the video game Zenless Zone Zero is like working in a comic shop.•BIG Manage Comics update! •Gettin' them ducts cle...

IT'S NOT AN ERA

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

IT'S NOT AN ERA •Challengers Shelf Sponsorship is live! https://challengerscomics.com/products/shelf-sponsorship  •The Future of The X-Men sta...

IT'S JUST NOISE

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 confiden...

"SOMETHING SPECIAL IS COMING"

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"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 se...

TO FACILITATE BEAUTIFICATION

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

TO FACILITATE BEAUTIFICATION •Advance PDF's from BOOM! Studios and Image. •Shelf Sponsorship—more details! •Website Changes? Dark Mode! •...

"SUPERHERO BURGER"

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"SUPERHERO BURGER" •CRIME! Crime? •Spam. •No single issues; the future? •Sponsorships!! •Maybe there's something to that burger idea…...

OBFUSCATING THE DETAILS

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

OBFUSCATING THE DETAILS •4 years ago today… •The bad and good of retail, both in one day! •Identity thieved! •Thanks, Patrons! •Taskmaster...

DUST BITERS

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

DUST BITERS •Item Scraping solicitors.  •"New Series" Flyer for Sidekicks and Manga. •The difficulties of ordering new manga. •Adjusting our ...

FOLD-ER

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FOLD-ER  •Welcome to Contest of Challengers with Charles and Dale!  •Archiving comics on our website. •UPS shipments. •Card game ordering, a...

GETTING A HANDLE ON FCBD

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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? Conte...

INTELLECTUALLY?

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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

THE FUTURE OF COMIC BOOK RETAIL

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 Pa...

I'M NOT EVERYBODY

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I'M NOT EVERYBODY •Dented packaging. •Charging delinquent subscribers interest…? •DC's 5-book release week. •FCBD output. •California's Ea...

BLACK TIE

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

BLACK TIE •The Future Of Comic Book Retail •Apparently we are not a "Legacy" shop. •"Marcus" and his comic book. And a black tie. •People keep...

ENTHUSIASM OVER KNOWLEDGE

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

ENTHUSIASM OVER KNOWLEDGE •A very full inbox. •Leaving tasks for the other person. •Upcoming Events with: Brian Azzarello, Stephanie Phillips, S...

IN SEQUENCE

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

IN SEQUENCE •We have now officially been open for 16 years! Yow! •Keeping the "local" in local events. •C2E2 is fast approaching. •Wanting to ...

XVI

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

XVI •Sixteen years in the same building but with many different building owners/managers. •Hmmm, can Patrick get Kip Winger to come out for our 17...

X-CHANGES

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

X-CHANGES •Sorry, we don't price-match with Amazon, because we don't have a market cap of $1,820,000,000,000. •Single issue sales attrition as evi...

CALL AN AMBULANCE

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

CALL AN AMBULANCE •The many, many ways comic shops can sort comics for their subscribers. •How we think distributors ship their books, geographica...

INCENTIVE TO BUY

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

INCENTIVE TO BUY •The fresh scent of Challengers. •February sales are a Challengers record (not a good record). •Refreshing our Reward program. ...

FLAT-RATE

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FLAT-RATE •Diamond announces new Flat-Rate shipping pricing. •The ComicsPRO Annual Meeting is happening right now! And we are not there. •DC ann...

MUCHA LUCHA

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

MUCHA LUCHA •Sidekicks is fun! •Sale shirts, redux. •Comic sales in Vegas. •Pop-Ups.•Madame Web. •Shopify tax forms. •The cost of win...

FIT TO PRINT

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FIT TO PRINT •Thank you for sharing any of our posts and for liking what we do! •How is our 25% Off Sale doing…? •It's a Brand-New Dal!! •...

IN-SALE STORES

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

IN-SALE STORES •Final Order Cutoff emails. •A Man with a Hat. •SALE!!! •No Wednesday holds. •January's final sales numbers. •Thanks, Patro...

FEELING THE IMPACT

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FEELING THE IMPACT •Low January sales. •The future of vaulting subscriber credit cards. •Ghost Machine      -Publisher support      -Issue...

DEAD POWER

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

DEAD POWER •Dead Strange •Chainsaw Man's Power •Neca product returns. •No bags (this is in my notes but as I'm typing this, I have no memor...

YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED •Patrick's experience as a retail customer. •2023 number fun!! Now in percentages! •Positive consumer financial positivit...

ECONOMIC-CABAL

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

ECONOMIC-CABAL •Oooohhhhh! Episode 666! Sooo spooookyyyyy!! •Stacked deliveries really suck! •More complaining about how Diamond ships out produ...

A BURDEN TO SURVIVORS

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A BURDEN TO SURVIVORS •Arielle Free is in Chicago and Patrick had no idea (non-comics). •Remembering the contributions of George Brower III (Patri...

20 = 1

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

20 = 1 •Happy Christmas! •Nick Piterra's AX-WIELDER JON is here! •December's messed-up New Release lists.  •WHERE THE BODY WAS bookplate upda...

THE PIPELINE

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

THE PIPELINE •New Marvel Legends for early 2024. •Hasbro is feeling the same issues as the comics industry. •Advent calendars. •LUCY KNISLEY i...

FALLING OVER ON THE SLOPES

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

FALLING OVER ON THE SLOPES•So many semi cab horns! •Less of a Palace than you'd hope. •Share the GOOD, not just the bad. •PINE AND MERRIMAC #1...

I GUESS YOU COULD ALSO JUST KILL ME

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

I GUESS YOU COULD ALSO JUST KILL ME •Comic shops undergoing changes. •The reality of store events. •Event Spaces •No more Back Issues? •Than...