Comic Book Candy

 If only the Teen Titans were this much fun (mash-up by Cliff Chiang )  That headline will either make you roll your eyes and loudly sigh, or you are eagerly awaiting to hear about new books treading familiar coming-of-age territory. You can count me in the latter category! I've always enjoyed melodramatic adolescent adventures, whether in early seasons of Buffy or between the pages of Invincible . But as the average age of comic book readers has climbed higher, the need to appeal to teen readers has declined. Beloved characters have grown up as well; Spidey falls somewhere between 20-something and young professional, the X-Men have been teachers longer than they've been students, and the original Teen Titans have opted to drop the Teen. Even the once young Robin has taken on Batman's role in the past year. The newer generation of teen-centric titles are scarce compared to yesteryear, not to mention the fact that they've seen a noticeable drop in quality an...

Challengers as seen on the much warmer 24 Hour Comics Day this past October. (This post is part of an ongoing series where I attempt to visit every single comic book store within Chicago city limits. You can read more about the project here! ) Location: 1845 N Western Ave #2R in Bucktown Public Transit: Nearest buses are the Western (49) and Milwaukee (56), nearest train is the Western blue line. Hours: Monday through Friday: 11:00 to 7:00 Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 to 5:00 Website: http://www.challengerscomics.com Challengers Comics + Conversation presented a uniquely complicated task for Retail Therapy. My history with the owners makes me a little more than biased. I worked for co-owner Patrick Brower for several years before he opened Challengers, and I have remained close friends with him since. When my husband and I wanted to have a Star Trek theme wedding , Pat offered to officiate and host the nuptials inside of Challengers. How can I possibly talk about this comi...

(This post is part of an ongoing series where I attempt to visit every single comic book store within Chicago city limits. You can read more about it here !) Location: 2641 N Kedzie in Logan Square Public Transit: Nearest buses are the Diversey (76) and Milwaukee (56); Nearest train is the Blue line Logan Square stop. Hours: Monday: 12-7 Tuesday: 12-7 Wednesday: 12-8 Thursday: 12-7 Friday: 12-8 Saturday: 12-7 Sunday: 12-6 Website: www.g-mart.com G-Mart Comic Books has flown under my radar for several years, and I suspect that may be the case for many Chicago comic book fans. Geographically, it is not easy to get to for a Northsider like myself. Located in Logan Square, it took a good hour to reach, and even when I was in the neighborhood, I still managed to miss it despite being across the street. After wondering too far down Kedzie, I stopped at a local 7-11 and asked the employees if they knew where the comic book store G-Mart was located. Befuddled looks then led t...