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PODCAST

Contest of Challengers

CHALLENGERS Comics + Conversation

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!

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

01:06:00

WHAT'S THE SCAM?

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/11/10

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 patience and for sticking with us! WHAT'S THE SCAM?•We do a lot of movie promotion for just about everybody that asks. •New Ennis/Epting graphic novel, PARTISAN! •We still don't really back Kickstarter projects. •Special orders from long ago that will never fill. •Shipping issues abound in the real world. •Why Priority Mail shipping is hardly worth it

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01:11:12

AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/11/03

AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT•Halloween is just an excuse to talk about the Monster Cereal Mascots! •Corpse Tour guy deserves more than YOU! •Thanks, Patrons! •Funding offers. •The cost of store exclusive covers. •A new printing of an old Patrick comic book project. •When we used to exhaust ourselves hosting events. This episode is dedicated to giving everyone the same experience.---------- This episode was not digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How'd it sound? Contest of Challengers #756 Theme: Adam

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59:17

DAY 6,417

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/10/27

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 and what that means for Patrick! •The earlier days of Challengers. •The end of Diamond Previews. •We are locked out of our Diamond account (for all that matters). •DC Comics is currently more additive to the industry than any other publisher. •James Tynnion IV is coming to Challengers in less than 2 weeks! This episode is dedicated to all 6,416 previous

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01:13:01

SEVERAL POINTS OF ALIGNMENT

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/10/20

SEVERAL POINTS OF ALIGNMENT•Airport chat! But only the first part; we’re back in the Podcastitorium ™ for most of the episode. •No name calling. •Digital marketing mail. •NYCC purchases •DC Next Level This episode is dedicated to NO KINGS!---------- This episode was partially digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #754 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue

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01:39:21

CCC @ NYCC

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/10/13

CCC @ NYCC•Recorded entirely in New York City! •Very long car rides. •The Speech! •The rest of our New York Comic Con experiences. Mostly. This episode is dedicated to the oldest and dearest of friends.---------- This episode was NOT digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #753 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Sebastian Bach, Arune

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01:04:16

A SPEECH IS JUST TALKING

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/10/06

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 for our New Your Comic Con •AEW + DC Comics = Our worlds colliding!! •Superman/Spiderman from DC and Marvel in 2026! This episode is dedicated to always standing up for those that cannot stan up for themselves.---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #752 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill)

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56:53

ALL-MALE REVIEW

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/09/29

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 tiring Batman Day! •A 1-star review for not at all unrealistic entitled reasons! •We’ll be getting Image books 27 days before bookstores! •Comics talked about in this episode: LUCKY DEVILS #5 SLEEP #5 VOYEUR #1 This episode is dedicated to playing the hits.---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of

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01:09:21

IT’S JUST COMIC BOOKS

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/09/22

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/news/celebrate-batman-day-with-challengers-comics/ •How DC Comics is hindering our Batman Day. •Deadpool/Batman! •Our (lack o)f Local Comic Shop Day plans. •An unsent email. •20 New #1’s for October 1st! •Having to drop a very delinquent subscriber. This episode is dedicated to owning up to your mistakes.---------- This episode was digitally edited by

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59:31

PUBLIC DISCOURSE

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/09/15

PUBLIC DISCOURSE•Hypothetical employee situations. •When our opinion doesn’t matter. •Red Hood #1. •Another celebrity drop-by! This episode is dedicated to not using your words to hurt others.---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #749 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City, Sebastian Bach, Arune Singh, James

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01:11:12

IT’S BEEN KNOWN FOR YEARS

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/09/08

IT’S BEEN KNOWN FOR YEARS•DC KENNY OMEGA #1. •Challengers Blue. What If it survived? •The Jonas Brothers. •Thanks, Patrons! •Japanese Manga vs American Comics, via The Beat. •IDW Classics. •Fran’s Kitchen cookbook is in-stock! Support the Alzheimer’s Association! You can buy the cookbook on the Challengers website here: https://challengerscomics.com/products/frans-kitchen-cookbook And you can donate directly at

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01:00:57

35 - 0

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/09/01

35 - 0•Lucy Knisley’s latest signing! •35 years. •Social media app changes. •Rethinking FOC’s. •Fran’s Kitchen cookbook is in-stock! Support the Alzheimer’s Association! You can buy the cookbook on the Challengers website here: https://challengerscomics.com/products/frans-kitchen-cookbook And you can donate directly at https://act.alz.org/site/TR;jsessionid=00000000.app20117b?px=10851299&fr_id=18580&pg=personal&NONCE_TOKEN=0C147D8B6AF658D9B4FA0012D177141A This episode is dedicated to what would

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01:00:22

BLIND AS A BAG

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/08/31

Show less This episode was erroneously not posted last week! SORRY!! That means there will be TWO episodes posted within 24 hours! (Thanks for the heads up, Andrew!) BLIND AS A BAG•Last week’s Yelp review is gone. •Bags of Blindness! INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE PRESENTS BATTLE BEAST #1, BATMAN #1 Blind as a Bat, DC K.O. #1 Lights Out, ULTIMATE ENDGAME #1 True Believers. •Bar codes on covers. •Compact Comics on fire! •Black Ninja comics! •Celebrity interaction in the comic shop. •Fran’s Kitchen

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01:09:11

WE’VE COMPLETELY FAILED

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/08/18

WE’VE COMPLETELY FAILED•Changes to the Patreon website (and declined pledges). •App interaction. •A completely insane Yelp review. •Card game allocations. •The American Joshi + the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! •Batman Deadpool looks so fun!! •Fran’s Kitchen cookbook is in-stock! Support the Alzheimer’s Association! You can buy the cookbook on the Challengers website or you can donate directly at rememberingfrances.com This episode is dedicated to Frances.---------- This episode was not digitally

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01:06:33

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF EXISTENCE

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/08/11

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF EXISTENCE•Welcome back to us! •Don’t skip reading Supergirl! It’s so fun! •Customer outreach (via emails). •Where Monsters Lie vol 3 Dead End, and how you can get it! •Shopify’s email interface is… lacking… •Some big events are coming to Challengers this Fall! •Our non-existent Diamond orders. •Thanks, Patrons! •Opening new accounts at new-to-us distributors. •More like NO-kemon cards, amirite?? This episode is dedicated to all the cyborbs.---------- This episode was

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01:31:50

“MITCHELL!”

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/06/30

“MITCHELL!”•Patrick is joined by Mitchell Davies of All Star Comics in Melbourne, Australia! •How can 2 stores 15,570 kilometers apart have the exact same experiences selling comics? •2 Will Eisner “Spirit of Comics” Retailer Award recipients! •Which store has the better All-Ages section? •How GHOSTBUSTERS brought the stores together. •All Star predominantly sells American comics, so how do they get them? •Working with the same distributors from very different distances. This episode is dedicated

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01:08:37

YOU HAVE MORE VALUE THAN THIS

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/06/23

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. •Problems for IDW. •Zenescope leaves Diamond. •What we’ve never received from Diamond. •Comics talked about in this episode: SUPERMAN TREASURY EDITION 2025 NEW HISTORY OF THE DCU #1 GOTHAM CITY SIRENS UNFIT FOR ORBIT #1 EXQUSITE CORPSES #3 This episode is dedicated to The Glasgow Looking Glass.---------- This episode was digitally edited

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01:02:46

HOW TO MEET THE MOST AMOUNT OF NEEDS

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/06/16

HOW TO MEET THE MOST AMOUNT OF NEEDS•Magic the Gathering: Final Fantasy and the wave of unmeetable collector demand. •Prioritizing the in-store experience. •Back issue bundles! •Gehenna Naked Aggression’s printing issue. •No more Marvel Masterworks? •How the 1999 manga “The Future I Saw” is currently effecting Japanese tourism. •Getting a credit line from a comic distributor. •Sourcing comic supplies from Lunar. •Warner Bros Discovery splits in 2! This episode is dedicated to a 45+ year-old

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01:00:32

DIAMONDS AREN’T FOREVER

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/06/09

DIAMONDS AREN’T FOREVER•Childhood toy line nostalgia into today’s comic publishing. •Literally half of this episode is about action figures. Be warned. •An “important” Diamond update! This episode is dedicated to Mark & Jasmine.---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #740 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue (Trent’s Mom), RJ City,

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01:17:38

HOW DEEP OF A WELL

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/06/02

HOW DEEP OF A WELL•We press “record” in the middle of a conversation about just-announced Marvel Legends figures from a Hasbro livestream. •Morgan Perry is the BEST! •A duct-cleaning coincidence. •Thanks, Patrons! •Deadpool/Batman! •The strength of the market for the late summer. •Thank you, Peter David. This episode is dedicated to a little Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo! ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #739 Theme: Adam WarRock

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48:18

THINK OF THINGS TO THINK OF

Contest of Challengers ·

2025/05/26

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. •BLADES OF FURRY signing recap. •Mission Impossible Final Reckoning giveaway swag! This episode is dedicated to doing your own stunts ---------- This episode was digitally edited by Cleanvoice. How’d it sound? Contest of Challengers #738 Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro/Outro: James VanOsdol “Patrick” Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher

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