Lots of catching up to do, courtesy of Free Comic Book Day, The Avengers, the Robot Print Art Show and more. Guest-starring Colt Cabana, Kevin Nash and Sammy Hagar. 

86! The year Patrick graduated high school! Ha! He's old. And this week it shows, as he takes the reins solo while trying to tackle the question of morality in today's comic market.

We just can’t get enough of our toys! We talk about lots of stuff this week, but really, all we wanna talk about are our toys. And then we wonder if this actually adds value to your lives? Also, toys. And Colt Cabana drops by.

Interviews w/ Michael Moreci & Steve Seeley and Ryan Browne, conducted during our HOAX HUNTERS/SMOKE AND MIRRORS launch party! But before that Patrick and Dal talk about what they can't, or SHOULDN'T, talk about, and stories of pranking other stores.

Us? Where have YOU been? I realize the title of this episode may make you think we interview Jim Shooter. We do not. But we DO talk about video games more than we should. And about Mark Waid. And once again, Dal does not support Patrick’s (self) righteous indignation on ANY topic.

This is the hardest Patrick has laughed while editing an episode, but he’s a child. Can you survive the Ultimate Drawing Challenge! And if you skip Comic Book Men, try The Variants instead.

Topics include Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley’s recent media comments and, briefly, Before Watchmen.  

Yes, we discuss our upcoming C2E2 layout. Sure, we discuss upcoming art shows and new show subjects. Absolutely we converse a LOT about hand selling. But most importantly, we talk about, and eat, s’mores. 

Kyle Baker looks towards the future as Patrick and Dal look to the immediate past. Featuring Weekly Email Newsletters, Sketch Blogs and the Chicago departure of Tony Akins.

Featuring more listener questions; the collapse of Tundra; Captain America’s fake brother; and, the detailed answer to one of the most asked questions in the store… why do we dress like we do at Challengers?

It’s the longest CoC episode, by far! It’s a huge look back to a full year’s worth of comic and graphic novel sales. And gushing over Eliza Frye, Sarah Becan and Jess Godwin. Happy New Year!

A 'lost' episode from April 2011, featuring Tom Kelly & John Siuntres. Recorded in a very noisy Challengers while a sick patron was coughing loudly throughout the night. The coughing was all edited out but the remains are a bit choppy. It’s a good talk, but you have to work for it this week.

The countdown to Christmas sees the recap of recent events, a questioning of Marvel’s Astonishing line, the desire for custom t-shirts and a brief update on Achewood. Also, Stan Lee!

New Year’s Eve party @ Challengers! Hosted by singer Jess Godwin and writer Elliott Serrano. Food, drink, nerd burlesque, a ‘nerder’ mystery, and more. Details within. Also, 12 Rules for the Comics Industry (not ours) and we love Defenders #1.

Dal has completely redesigned the Challengers website, and he tells you why/how. We also talk recent #1 sales numbers and tell you all about why Patrick is annoyed with the local news media, as it relates to last week’s Lance Briggs event. Jerks.

It feels like New Year’s already as it’s out with the old and in with the new. 2012 promises several new, ongoing events at Challengers, including Challengers Assemble/d, Comic Klatch, and the new Visual Field! And never be afraid of change or of revamping your website when it’s purpose changes. This week’s music by Joe Jackson and E’Nuff Z’Nuff.

Two distinct hales of one episode, complete with a musical intermission. In half one, Patrick and Dal go over their January orders and lament the sheer magnitude (Pop! Pop!) of February. And in part 2, a special guest joins them both AND ComiXology.

If money was no object, what would Challengers look like? We also discuss Holiday Sales, a possible New Year’s Eve party, actual sales numbers for Avenging Spider-Man #1 and the New DC 52 collection announcements. Bonus song: Animetal USA sings “Space Battleship Yamato”

This episode Patrick and Dal talk about their hiring practices and what they expect from their employees. And who better to help out with this discussion than Samantha Challenger! That’s right, you get 3, count ‘em THREE, Challengers in one episode! Total bargain deluxe.

Lights; music; commerce! The boys talk about WHY they do events and how much thought goes into their execution. That leads into a discussion of Halloween events and then Dal explains the new Challengers Touch Screen Interface. Also, Tumblr!

128 tracks of recording quality and 127 of them are Dal!  We’re back and in a brand new studio!  We talk about what we expect from The Rogues Gallery, we introduce Ex Libris Challengers, and we go over the first month of Challengers Unlimited.  And then we discuss Newsarama’s Top Ten stories from the New York Comic Con (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/10-new-york-comic-con-news-items-111017.html) and end the episode looking at Month 2 of the New DCU.

Say, did you ever wonder if comic retailers overreact to things? And, we love you SO much... we recoded this episode twice!

This episode goes from the current 24 Hour Comics Day all the way back to the lost 3rd episode of CoC. With a bonus lost snippet added in. 

What are publishers currently doing right? What should you NOT do when opening a comic shop? And SHOULD Challengers carry more toys?

So, how did the first week of New DCU titles sell? And could we have sold more? We also talk some Skottie Young and more.  And Big Daddy Cool starts us off this week.

Yet another new Challengers plan for the future. Or, how you can win $3500.00 worth of new comics. And we talk about other stuff, too, but the $3500.00 is front and center.

Book clubs, shuffled art exhibits and Tardis cakes are discussed as we also reveal all the details and reasoning of what will forever be known as... Challengers Unlimited.

Events, recent past and future. A call to Jimmy PS Hayes. And how indy creators can help us notice their books.

Well, they can’t ALL be winners. 

Post-San Diego.  Brazilian Art Books.  Spider-Man Day. Season One books.  Amazing #669 Variant.  And Kofi Kingston.  I also almost called this episode, “Swoonin’ for Cloonan.”

We’re not in San Diego; we’re melting in Chicago. We love “One Soul.” We mock Rupert Murdoch. But do we have a moral imperative to protect you from yourself?

Patrick cleans out his basement and finds a bunch of stuff he didn’t even know he had. So he describes it. Dal talks about Marvel’s ‘New Store Initiative.’ And they both recap a ‘state of Chicago comics retail’ night they had this week w/ a fellow retailer.

After a 2+ week break, Patrick and Dal realize they actually miss doing this show. So they talk... about Stuart Immonen and The Rogues Gallery, comic store fieldtrips, and why Dal is giving up super-hero comics for July.

Patrick was at the Summit City ComicCon while Dal was at the store hosting Around Comics. Ryan Browne and his awesome new comic "BLAST FURNACE: Recreational Thief" was at both! How is that even possible? Progress. American progress.

Oh come on, you KNOW what this one is all about. One thing. Well, 52 new things out of one thing.

Hey ho, strike one; last one in's a son of a gun. Hey ho, strike two; can't fight here, this is the war room.
So kiss me quickly; who'll oblige? Oh come along now, don't be shy. Don't be all surface; no insides. Oh, no.
You've got to stop your grumbling, and all that human bondage den. So swear the heat in baby, no neck ties.

The Challengers website has been streamlined. Comic shop employees make terrible Club Members. Macho Man Randy Savage died (sad). Our pal JVO wrote a book. I guess this episode description is just a string of sentences.  Also, that ‘peasant joke’ is actually about lepers and is from an MST3K Hercules movie. “The lepers are revolting!”  “I’ll say!”

Youth in Revolt! Party without books! Margaritas! Whose opinion do you really want? What makes a store event good? Are these even the right topics for this week’s episode? I can’t remember! I guess we’ll all find out together! Also, I completely forgot Dal’s episode title (it’s in there somewhere), so I had to pick something else.  Sorry, Dal.

Free Comic Book Day 2011 was amazing. And here we tell you why.

How do you know where to find the Graphic Novels you’re looking for at Challengers? Dal proposes a new racking system and he and Patrick debate its merits. It’s a question without a complete answer and it is beaten to death in a frank and open discussion. And the return of the completely random post-podcast segments!

Ha! I thought this was episode 13. We’ve had 2 ‘lost’ episodes in recent weeks, so my internal numbering is off. Anyway, this whole episode gets away from us and becomes darker than we planned. What started as a “we’re not complaining, but…” episode, turns into an hour of outright publisher bashing. But, man do I feel better!

It’s an all-podcast crossover episode with Contest of Challengers, Comics Slumber Party, Comic Geek Speak and Word Balloon all represented!  So let’s go back to Season 1 numbering as we talk to Becky Cloonan.

This episode is called “The Hammer” for reasons that were edited out. But the name stuck. What you DO get is a C2E2 wrap-up, reasons why Becky Cloonan is pretty f’n awesome and the promised listener mail answers! Buckle up; it’s a long one!

Like a new line of clothing on the runway, this week Patrick and Dal trot out a list of reasons why they do/don't do the things they do/don't do. Less industry wide/more of a Challengers-specific focus. And the answer to the Riddle of the Ages!

This week on the ART OF WRESTLING podcast, host and pro-wrestling icon COLT CABANA talks about support for the show and the possibility of a live recording in the spring.  Elsewhere, Dal’s mind completely freezes and there is talk of Border’s effect on the current comic-buying climate. And... a bonus phone call from Jimmy P$ Hayes!

This week, the microphone faces Dal so Patrick is a mere echo! We had to wait a full day to post this, our 5^th CoC in as many weeks, because we went over our monthly-allotted storage space w/ Libsyn, but it’s not our fault; comics never stand still, baby! Also, “insert show content here.” Ha! That was a joke! We actually talk about not having to like comics, but WANTING to, the Creators Front for Diversity in Comics, and why we don't stock variant covers anymore. 

Cullen Bunn. Brian Hurtt. The Sixth Gun. A thourough and comprehensive discussion on art and art galleries.

We're back in less than a week--someone call Guinness!  The world of comic book publishing never slows down, and neither does the news that comes out of it.  This episode Patrick and W. Dal talk about the editorial hierarchy at Marvel; all of the worthy candidates for 2 ComicsPRO industry awards; the return of letter columns, and more.  There is also a tribute to Y&T bassist Phil Kennemore, dueling Michael Caine impressions and Verizon iPhone talk in a record 20 minutes of after-podcast talk.  Oh, you’ll know when you’ve listened too long.

This episode, the recording, editing and posting, was the most time-consuming experience I have had yet with Contest of Challengers.  So much so that this is a completely different version that the one I just spent an extra hour re-editing.  As a result, I have nothing else to say here.

Triple trouble on this episode of Challengers, as Dal talks with comics couple Stien and Christian all about their history, their comics... and the horror of Rashida Jones' comic book.

Onrie Kompan joins Patrick this episode to tell all about the unbeatable warrior, Yi Soon Shin, to talk about digital devices, the Amazing Spider-Man and how an electronic community will never replace a physical, brick and mortar one.  At least we HOPE so... Also, as an added bonus, there's background noise (at the beginning)!  Yes!  The sounds of a busy comic store on a Wednesday.  You're welcome!

Dal talks to Jon M. about Doctor Who, The Return of Bruce Wayne, Wonder Woman #600 and other things all obtained legally.

Patrick is joined by Challenger-in-training KENT FREMON. Kent loves Grant Morrison's Batman and he's not afraid to tell you about it.  And Seaguy. And even some non-Morrison works, like Tales Designed to Thrizzle are discussed!   And cartoons.  Kent is also forced at virtual gunpoint to recommend something for you all to read.  And he does.  Good show, Kent!

This time out, Dal talks with RYAN VOSS about Amazing Spider-Man, John Constantine: Hellblazer, Amazing Spider-Man, Scalped, and Amazing Spider-Man again.  BONUS: Amazing Spider-Man discussion.

Everything old is new again this week as we welcome Jimmy PS Hayes to not only Contest of Challengers, but to Challengers in general!  Jimmy joins Patrick to discuss the figure-four leg-lock, paying people back, Robert Kirkman, the difference between the comics you read as a kid and the comics you want to own now, and Tom DeFalco.  They also do a quick C2E2 wrap-up and Patrick does a horrible impression of a former comic publisher.  Featuring W. Dal Bush and James Galinski.

 

Grant Craig joins Patrick for Episode 23: "Black Metal Comics" in which the subject of 'black metal comics' never comes up.  Comics, sure, and a whole lot of music talk (some of it related to black metal but most geographically located in the Raleigh/Chapel Hill areas).  And while this is certainly a long one, Grant has a great ability to take Patrick's music segues and bring them back around to comics while keep the intened point.  Way to go, Grant!  I also feel the need to point out that my spellcheck is disabled and I feel completely lost without it.  So any spelling mistakes right here are the result of faulty technology and a grown man's terrible inability to spell.  Guest starring W. Dal Bush and Mike Lee!

Lord Farcus? Well, our guest this week is MARCUS FOSTER, but we never call him Lord Farcus.  I almost called this episode "Bananas Foster" but I don't call him that, either.  Anyway, join us as Patrick mumbles more than ever while he completely ruins the surprises of "Blackest Night" in a conversation where all the really good bits were cut out because we both name too many names. Yes, you get the second-rate version of the Marcus Foster interview right here!  Also, there are sound effects! Be worried.

Miss us?  Contest of Challengers is back, and this time we're talking with our own Christina Challenger about what she's reading and what she's looking forward to reading.  Also, the somewhat-declining physique of David Boreanez.  You totally missed us!

It's Christmas Eve Eve and we're in the middle of our 30-hours straight Christmas Crisis event.  Poor Donald Cardenas just wanted to pick up his weekly comics and suddenly he's talking to BOTH Patrick & Dal about older brothers who read comics, the Wolverine and plenty more!  And in an effort to get this out quick, NO EDITING!

Listener mail!  Sort of!  This episode, Dal responds to questions submitted through the Challengers website.  Well, "responds".  It's more like "digresses endlessly and misses the point", but, you know...

It's a disturbingly egocentric episode this time, as Patrick interviews… Patrick…?  Surprisingly, he has a lot to tell himself as he came prepared with a list of questions and did not try to answer them ahead of time.  And dig this… NO rambling! And for the first time, thanks to our pal Bob Burns of “The Divorce Gun,” we have a theme!

We keep it in the family this week as Patrick talks to the man who got him interested in comic books in the first place, his brother George Brower! Yes, the former Rumble Brotheres reunite before your very ears!  Find out what made George start reading comics, which comics and why in this trip down memory lane. George recounts what it was like to be the older brother while corrupting the mind of an innocent.  Ahhh, good times.

Got too many comics?  Patrick talks to Steve Davich about selling your comics on eBay!  Is it fun?  Is it worth it?  Will you make money?  Steve tells all!  They also talk about what got them reading in the first place and both men ramble and digress as much as you'd expect, even without the addition of alcohol.  Yes, really.

Patrick talks to Frank Davis about what makes a writer worth following and which current writers have lost their 'all access' cards with Frank and why.  It's almost all writers this week, folks, and Frank is okay with that.

This week Patrick & W. Dal talk about comic book art; why they love it, what they look for and the reasons that led them to hold a Comic Art Show and Sale.  Your eyes will well up as each of them recall a specific page of art from their past and they discuss it as if it were a fragile, wounded butterfly that has been gently captured and then run thru with a push pin placing it forever on display.

This week, Dal talks to Bud Sims about comics and carving, as this interview was conducted during day two of our 2009 Halloween Spooktacular.  Thus, expect a slightly distracted couple of talkers.

This week we deviate from our weekly interviews and present a selection of excerpts from our ChallengeJuniors recordings.  ChallengeJuniors is our all-ages read-along group that meets one Saturday a month.  For it we gather a cast of friends and record all the dialogue of that month's chosen book.  Then we play that back in the store as everyone follows along in their books.  We have a lot of fun and hopefully it shows.

In an episode actually recorded in the waning hours of 24 Hour Comic Day, Patrick talks to Jose Mirque about other countries popular comic books, the legitimacy of Doctor Voodoo's degree (*psst* he's a Doctor of Psychology), the sheer number of Hulks and Hulk-related characters and much more.

Dal and Patrick take turns talking to Seamus Burke, Dan Carroll and Chris Burnham, three of our brave 24 Hour Comic Day competitors.  What were their goals, ideas and reasons behind such madness?  And did they succeed?  Listen on!

The second of several episodes recorded during 24 Hour Comic Book Day 2009, this time Dal talks to participant Dan Carroll.

The first of several episodes recorded during 24 Hour Comic Book Day 2009, this time Dal talks to participant Seamus Burke of OhGoodie.net.

This week Dal talks to Joe Askins about a whole heap of stuff, including (but not limited to) Batman & Robin, Dark Avengers/X-Men: Utopia, Blackest Night, and pretty much the whole last month's worth of books that Joe just got around to reading.

This week Patrick talks to David Lyons about the recent business dealings of both Marvel and DC, Strange Tales, and a LOT more in this record long 25-minute conversation.

This week, Dal talks to Chris Revekant in a DOUBLE-SIZED Contest of Challengers.  Topics include Invincible Iron Man, Dark Reign, Blackest Night and, of course, Superboy and the Ravers.  Of course.

This week, Patrick talks to local musician Mike Hodgin about comics, some starring Dick Grayson, some Mike doesn't read.

This week, Dal talks to Brian Mead about James Jean, Wednesday Comics and how to make an awesome/unprofitable James Bond movie.

Patrick talks to Challengers club member Christopher Sunzere about Green Lantern/Blackest Night, Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man.

This week, Dal talks to Vincent Chung about Walking Dead.  BONUS: Ashly Challenger and Real Sounds Of Comic Retail!

This week, Patrick talks to Luke Smarto about this year's Chicago Comic-Con, Luke's new book "Pillow Fight," Wednesday Comics and why they each say, "um" or "ahh" to fill the conversational pauses.

This week, Dal talks to Patrick Brower about the comics he read that week. Topics include Amazing Spider-Man #600, Incredible Hulk #600 and Invincible #64.