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!

We don’t mean it to, but this episode is chock full of our C2E2 thoughts, set-up, plans and goals.  Not all at once, mind you, we spread it out for you. And Dal has some pretty great thoughts about the way digital comics should be made. See you at C2E2!

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!

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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!

Man, are we on a roll! So much so that for the second time in 2011 we've had to increase our monthly podcast storage memory to accommodate our more-than-regular schedule! This one is a little shorter as we've already hit you with a Season 1 episode this week, but there's always a little something worth talking about in comics! Featuring Fear Itself vs. Flashpoint and a brief analysis on trying to sell 33 million convention tickets.

What? Season 1 numbering? What's going on?!? It's the return to the interview format (and thus Season 1 numbering) as Patrick happily welcomes Samantha LaFountain to Challengers! What gets a 9-year old girl from the wilds of rural New Jersey interested in comics? Where do you even get comics in rural New Jersey? These questions and many, many others are answered in our giggliest episode to date!

This week, the microphone faces Dal so Patrick is a mere echo! We had to wait a full day to post this, our 5th 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. 

Hey kids, remember a thing called the Comics Code Authority? Well, it's dead and we can't seem to care. This week we talk about rating systems for comics, Once A Week (a new internet resource of creator-owned comic information), isocahedral comics, and so very much more. Also, Lady Gaga and Savage Dragon! Um, not "Lady Gaga AND Savage Dragon." Lady Gaga and also Savage Dragon.

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.

New Season! New Format!  It's 2.0, baby, and in this pilot episode, Patrick and W. Dal talk about getting a breather on Wednesday mornings, the viability of all-ages material in the direct market, the Architects, red rage and so much more.  Welcome back to the podcast you only thought you missed.  We're here to prove otherwise!

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...

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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.