Comic Shenanigans

Heroclix

Episodes

Episode 400: Tangents!

Sunday Aug 21, 2016

Sunday Aug 21, 2016


Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 400, Adam Chapman is joined by an array of guests for a super-sized episode clocking in at over 5 hours long!  This is going to take some time to get through!  
First up, listener/guest AJ REECE returns to discuss the recently released Superior Foes of Spider-Man Heroclix set (recorded just prior to its release on August 8th).
Next, guest LEON ORELLANA returns to the show to open a case of Superior Foes of Spider-Man Heroclix (recorded on the day of its release on August 10th).
The third guest to join the show is Amazing Spider-Talk's DAN GVOZDEN, as he chats about the current state of the Spider-Titles (recorded on August 10th).
Fourth up is frequent co-host PAUL SKOREZ, as we talk first about the upcoming slate of new MARVEL NOW books, as we peruse the recent catalog, and then move on to discussing DC REBIRTH a bit.  This is the largest chunk of the show, clocking in at nearly 3 hours on its own (recorded on August 15th).
Last, but most certainly not least, is TIBOR MATE, returning to the show to make another anniversary-episode appearance. This time around we discuss Star Trek: Discovery, and discuss other various iterations of Star Trek as well (recorded on August 21st).
Download it now!
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http://www.podbean.com/patron/crowdfund/profile/id/mzvwg-3c

Friday Dec 11, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For this special text-only edition of Talkin'
Heroclix, we had the distinct pleasure to interview Wizkids President
Justin Ziran for the show. 
This is the second of three parts to this special edition version of the Comic Shenanigans show, in this exclusive text-only format. In this second part, we discuss more of the design and tournament-related aspects of Wizkids' business.  In this installment, Justin calls in some help, as his R&D Team and Tournament Team get in on the question answering!
Once you've read the following interview, head over to http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=554422,
where you can post about your reactions to the questions, and post
follow-up questions. Justin will be stopping by the thread here and
there to answer questions and respond to some of the feedback to the
answers below.  Please keep it civil and respectful, that's my only
request.  On with the show!************************************************************************************************
Ben Reilly asks: “Are
there plans to release more “holiday” figures like Krampus and the Christmas
Elf?”
JAZ: Yes, we plan to
continue to make the holiday figures, like the Abominable Snowman released this
December.  As with any of our plans, if
people generally like them we like to do more of them.
 Matt Miller asks:
“Will there be a Dr. Strange movie set?”
 JAX: Not this
go-round. We are always looking for opportunities to create new versions of all
the characters that everyone loves, but at the moment we do not know enough
about the movie itself to be able to create a set for it.
 Matt Miller asks:
“When can we expect a new physical PAC and rule book?”
 R&D Team: This is
a project that we’ve been spending quite a bit of time on, and what we’ve
learned is that if you have a deadline for it you either need to compromise on
the scope or you risk making mistakes. 
Instead of having a firm date, we’re going to focus on the process.  What we can tell you is our plans are by
mid-2016 to start talking with the Heroclix fans about the details and get
their feedback before everything is locked down.  We are going to try to smooth out the wording
throughout, clarify the turn and action order sequence and remove advanced rule
ideas from the rulebook found in starters while making it easier to understand.
Some mechanics will be tweaked, but we are going to make tweaks, not wholesale
changes, to how the game functions.
 Matt Miller asks:
“What can we expect for this year’s tournament season?”
 Tournament Team: We’re
really excited to be expanding our regional event, the Wizkids Open, to more
stores in the U.S. as well as
branching off to some other countries, with our bigger player bases including Canada, Mexico,
Chile, and several countries
in Europe. 
These events will allow players to win some great exclusive prizes and
earn qualifications for their National Championship events. Speaking of
National Championships, we’re happy to report that the U.S. National Championship
will be taking place sometime in April and will be in New Jersey (exact date and location TBA).
Following the National Championship events, we’ll be returning to the Origins
Game Fair in June to hold our yearly World Championships.
 Additionally, the
remainder of this event season is shaping up to be our biggest and best yet
with the advent of the Side Event Challenge. 
The Side Event Challenge allows players to earn points through playing
in side events in order to win fantastic prizes. The players who earn the most
points each day and across the entire event will earn bundles of convention
exclusive prices and products that aren’t available anywhere else!
 Matt Miller asks:
“Will there by a TMNT con-exclusive in 2016?”
 JAZ: Long Answer:
C’mon now. Short Answer: Yes, maybe even more than one.
 Matt Miller asks:
“Will there by any more retail Brainiac Skull ships made/sold?”
 JAZ: Yes, and it is
available December 16th (U.S.) at local game & comic
stores. Other territories may lag a bit. Quantities are limited but we based
our print run on past variants and we should be OK.
 Matt Miller asks:
“Which is your favourite clixed character?”
 JAZ: Ziran the Tester
– of course.
 Spideyguy51 asks:
“When will we see a TMNT dial preview?”
 JAZ: We should start
sometime in February.
 SpyderNick88 asks:
“How is Wizkids working to expand the audience of the game?”
 JAZ: Big question with
a long answer but I’ll try to touch upon the big topics.
 There are two groups
we focus on:
 1. Comic Book/Gamer
audience: Shops in the local game/comics shops. Predominantly, males 18-35
years old (if you are reading this, this is probably you). The majority of the
consumers in this group are gamers. We know we have collector-only segments as
well, and hybrid gamer/collector and collector/gamer.
 2. Comic Movie-aware
audience: Shops in larger chains (Target/Wal-Mart) and might know about local
comics/game shops but probably doesn’t shop there; enjoys gaming, loves comic
movies. Males ages 12-25.
 For Audience #1: We’re
keenly focused on this audience and work with Diamond Comics and our distributors
around the world to make sure we are well represented in comics & game
stores. In the U.S.,
we’re outlining a program where each new comics/game store has an introductory
Heroclix/Dice Masters section within the store.
 To explain how we grew
Audience 1, we should review the expansion of WizKids OP and HeroClix OP.
 Six years ago, the
player base size and game store penetration was such that we believe anything
more than a monthly event was overkill. 
Obviously, there were pockets of HeroClix hotness where weekly or even
daily play could have been supported.  We
thought the best course of action was to let the retailers make that judgment
call. In the end, the retailer is our eyes and ears and we’ve had good results
when we left tactical decisions to the stores that are actually interfacing
with the players.
 About three and a half
years ago, we launched Storyline OP, which triggered tremendous growth in our
player base, attendance and general interest in the line. Our weekly attendance
numbers exploded. By all measures we had done something special. However, as
with all things in business, there were some issues that we needed to deal with
– the kids were big (20-player kits) and the program was expensive, despite our
efforts to sell it at our minimum price; stores that had small HeroClix groups
felt tempted to sell the OP kits.
 We found that the
smaller stores couldn’t participate in a cost-effective way. You were paying
for a 20-person kit and only seating 6 players, so by the time you ran your 2nd
event most prizes had been awarded and you were sitting on a decent amount of
OP product.
 We spent a good amount
of time working with retailers and observing player feedback and took our first
pass at some changes.
 We reduced the size of
the Storyline OP kit from a 20-player kit to a 10-player kit. We also
introduced a VERY low cost monthly OP program. Lastly, we reduced the contents
in the release day OP kits to make them an easy starting point for stores
without a large dollar commitment. We knew we’d lose some of the release day
excitement but we also knew we were going to move to a pre-release model in the
coming year or so.
 Results: More stores
can fit in Storyline OP into their store’s budget.
 More stores are
running weekly organized play using the monthly kits and the amount of content
in the monthly kits stretches much further and covers the gaps between sets.
 The results have been
great, although our players per store metric actually dropped. What
happened?  Using fictitious numbers: if
we had 200 players playing in 10 stores (20 players per store) before the
changes, we now had 350 players playing in 30 stores (12 players per store). It
looks like we shrunk when you look at an individual store, but when you look at
the total number of players, we grew quite a bit. That’s understandable because
there are more stores running events and the player base has spread out into
those stores. 
 Our challenge over the
coming years is to grow the players per store number on the larger number of
stores running events.
 We’ve doubled down on
the WizKids Event System, and it’s come a long way since early versions. The
database is still relatively new, and as we build the data on stores and
players, we’ll be relying on it almost exclusively to make decisions with
respect to our games (e.g. who gets pre-releases, Storyline OP, OP and product
allocations, etc.). You’ve probably noticed we’re tracking player data as well.
Eventually, we’ll be able to award invitations, byes and prizes to standout
players in the community.
 If it isn’t already
obvious, we’re moving a lot of our decision making toward the factual data
coming out of the WES. That should actually help on a variety of fronts and
remove a lot of the “fog of retail” when it comes to allocations.
 All of that said, if
you, your store and your events aren’t in the WES, there is a good chance that
we don’t know about you.  By example,
when a store calls me and says they need 3 OP kits, my first question is: “Are
your players and events recorded in the WES?” If they are, it becomes much
easier to validate and respond to the request. 
If they are not, it’s a much longer process and the answer will likely
not be in the store’s favour.  When you
consider how valuable the content of a Storyline OP kit is relative to what the
store pays, you realize what lengths people will go to in order to get an extra
kit.  The overwhelming majority of stores
play by the rules and we’re trying to make sure they reap the rewards of being
great WizKids stores.
Back to the original
question: We have a lot of programs in the hopper to get HeroClix in front of a
comic-aware customer that doesn’t necessarily shop at the game/comics store.
You’ll see more of these programs in the future.  The key to these programs is migrating them
from a mass-market store to their local game and comic stores.  Part 2 of that equation is making sure that
the comic/game store runs a quality event and is welcoming of the new
player.  In the future, you’ll see WES
programs that incentivize that sort of environment.
 From a rules
perspective, we’ve got some work to do (see the earlier answer above), but one
of our goals is lowering the learning curve to a new player by introducing
concepts and ideas as they need them rather than everything all at once. We want
to keep all the great decisions while not scaring off the new player.  There’s also some legacy edge cases that
cause a lot of rules questions that we’d like to address (this is only a few  very specific rules).
 TO BE VERY CLEAR –
We’re not going to 2.0 the game, it’s not good for business.  We are looking at changes that we think the
majority of the audience is going to appreciate, understand and embrace.
 RavenProject asks:
“How doesWK plan to use the information collected through the WES?”
 JAZ: See above
 Wilx asks: “Does
WizKids plan to expand its official tournament presence to more conventions?”
 Tournament Team: Yes
and no. As you’ve probably noticed, we’re expanding our regional, store-based
events programs.  These events have been
very popular and it seems like the WizKids Opens are a format that stores and
players are digging, and we are going to try to grow those so that they’re
happening more often.
 Tyroclix asks: “In
SM/WW, there seemed to be a design change to make the lower rarities contain
less complex powers?  Will that remain
going forward? Was this done to make the game more accessible for newer
players?
 R&D Team:
Essentially yes.  Hand in hand with our
long-term goals with the PAC and Rulebook was a long hard look at dial design,
especially at the commons and uncommons. 
A new (or existing) player should be able to field an easy-to-pilot team
and have a good time at their local store or at home with their friends.  They may not be the most competitive team,
but they’ll quickly grasp the game, what their team needs to do and have a good
time.
 Phantalien asks: “Are
there plans to release starters to big box stores?
 JAZ: So here is how it
works (very simplified). In mass-market stores you have to earn and maintain
your “slot.” In order to do that, you have to sell multiple copies of your
“widget” per week and hopefully generate enough dollars to hold off any
competitors. Our typical HeroClix starters are $25-$30 dollars and don’t fit
well into the impulse game aisle. The shopper in that aisle is looking to spend
$1-$10 dollars. We’ve tried placing starters and they just don’t sell.  Yes, I know it is counterintuitive to have a
booster pack for sale without a starter… WE AGREE.
 We’re considering a
couple options (mostly in my head) but to date we have not  been able to come up with something that
sells enough units per week without resorting to a channel exclusive. We’re
grateful for having our mass space and we know we get a small percentage of those
shoppers to Google HeroClix and show up at their FLGS/FLCS.  We’re hoping we can solve this one over time
with something creative products (e.g. Extreme HeroClix).
 Short Answer: We don’t
have plans at this time.
 Undying Red Comet
asks: “If Neca has rights for Godzilla, is there any chance of Godzilla
heroclix?”
 JAZ: So, we have the
rights to Godzilla (and only Godzilla, not Mothra, Rodan, or any other “bad
guy”).  It just didn’t make sense to
release only various versions of Godzilla on the platform.  Also remember, we wanted to slow down the
product a bit as there was so much coming out every month.  However, based on the response we saw, we’re
looking additional rights for Godzilla, but I have nothing to report as of now.******************************************************That's all for Part 2 of our interview with
Justin Ziran. Over the next month, we'll have more from the interview as
we delve more into the game itself, as questions will get answered by
Justin and the design team!
Respond to the interview at this thread: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=554422

Monday Dec 07, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For this special text-only edition of Talkin' Heroclix, we had the distinct pleasure to interview Wizkids President Justin Ziran for the show.  There will be 2 or 3 parts to this special edition verison of the Comic Shenanigans show, in this exclusive text-only edition. In this first part, we discuss the more business-centric aspects of Wizkids' business.  Future installments will focus more on the game of heroclix itself, and will involve Justin and his design/ R & D team answering listener and hcrealms user-submitted questions.Once you've read the following interview, head over to http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8529387#post8529387, where you can post about your reactions to the questions, and post follow-up questions. Justin will be stopping by the thread here and there to answer questions and respond to some of the feedback to the answers below.  Please keep it civil and respectful, that's my only request.  On with the show!**************************************************
Comic Shenanigans: We
have lots of listener questions, so I’m going to turn the questions over to the
Hcrealms community, as well as listeners of the show. I understand you may have
to decline answering many of them, or give a base “no comment”.
 Nathan Struk asks: “To
What Extent has Marvel restricted the ability to make X-Men or Fantastic Four
heroclix?”
JAZ: Marvel, and for
that matter, all licensors ask us to support their current initiatives because
they spend millions of dollars to promote and expose their property to new
consumers.  Being good partners, we
support them where we can and at the same time represent our interest and
opinions as well.  Marvel has been
particularly good with giving us space to explore the IP as we see fit.  A good example is the forthcoming Uncanny
X-Men set releasing this spring.
 Short answer: It is
always a discussion.  Sometimes it is a
short discussion, sometimes it is a long discussion, but in the end we get to a
point that is mutually agreeable.
Nathan Struk asks: “To
what extent do you think Wizkids owes transparent operations/conduct to the
fans of the product?”
JAZ: In our industry
(hobby games), you have a lot of passionate people (fans) as end users,
retailers, distributors and even employees. 
The demand for more information at all levels is enormous.  Having managed many product lines and
businesses, all with passionate fans, I’ve seen companies spend so many
resources being transparent only to realize that the underlying business was
faltering. They took their eyes off the ball. 
I am VERY careful to
assign our employees to the projects that move the company forward. As we’ve
grown, we’ve  been able to do a lot more
of our core business with the same amount of people and that has provided the
opportunity for us to dedicate more resources to marketing and Organized Play
(both of which are useless without a solid product). My personal view is
transparency is important and companies should be as transparent as they can,
provided they keep the business healthy. In all honesty, transparency is
healthy for business right up until the point where it consumes the business.
What do I mean by
“consumes the business”? Keep in mind that collectively, the community has
unlimited time and unlimited requests for information, while the company has
limited time and limited information (in some cases).  When we came from Topps to NECA we decided to
focus on the product and communicate factual information in a timely fashion,
with varying degrees of success. We’ve come a long way in 6 years, with new
websites, a new event system, new e-mail distribution lists, and more employees
committed to our communication programs. 
We still have a lot of room to grow as well.  I just want to be responsible about
everything we do so that we’re here for many years to come and continue to
provide good product to our consumers. 
With all of that in mind, we’re trying to push more information out
there in a way that works for our business. 
We haven’t structured ourselves to be the company with all its employees
on the message boards.  However, we’re
coming up with ways to share information, insights and facts with the consumers
and retailers in a scalable way. (Meaning that as we grow, the demands of
providing the information don’t grow disproportionately.) 
Short answer: Yes we can
be more transparent but that requires resources. In a business where margins
are thin, it’s hard to carve off a large section of staff to be community
managers and still stay focused on the 
business and product.  We’ve seen
very positive responses to the new programs and we’ll continue to expand
programs like the Design Insight series of articles. 
Nathan Struk adds:
“Thanks for the recent rules changes, as well as the Rules articles. The
increased transparency has been great as a longtime fan of the game.”
JAZ- You are welcome!
This is an example of how we’re going to try to improve transparency.  We have a lot of good ideas rooted in sound
reasoning.  We’re going to share that with
people more openly as we move forward. However, be aware that it may have some
starts and stops as we learn what the right balance is. We do think it’s
important and hope to build consistency over time.
AJ Reece asks: “How
large is the team at Wizkids, and specifically the team that works on Heroclix?”
JAZ: There are about
20 people +/- working on the Wizkids business. 
We also share a few resources (logistics, finance, legal) with our
parent company, NECA. Pound for pound we’re probably one of the more productive
companies on a per employee basis.  When
we talk with other companies in the industry we find that they have many times
the number of people running similar parts of our business, but our  business is unique in terms of cash flow and
cost expenditures. For those who might say “If you scaled up your business
you’d get more money to support it”- We’ve been down the overstaffed company
before (in previous incarnations of WK) and it actually causes more issues than
it solves.  Given the how the business
works, we think the current staffing formula is best. However, we have
identified areas that need some attention and we’re taking steps to get them
handled.
AJ Reece asks: “How
has Wizkids been able to keep the price of a standard booster relatively the
same price since the carded era, and stem the tide of inflation?”
JAZ: The previous
questions answer some of that, but first and foremost, we try to be responsible
shepherds of the business. Part of that is leveraging our position as the
largest 1.5” figure and dice manufacturer in the world across our businesses.
Secondly, we don’t hire irresponsibly and try to keep resources focused on
products.
Price increases are
challenging for consumers and the manufacturers. Every increase puts the
product that much farther out of reach. Also, it may be useful to let some of
your followers know that every dollar at retail results in only a fraction of
that revenue ending up towards our business.
We try to exhaust every possible option at our
disposal before we raise prices.
In my view, price
increases are the lazy person’s way of getting profitable. Sometimes a price
increase is necessary but often it masks underlying issues with the business
(over staffing/too many people, lack of control of one’s supply chain, cost
creep).
 I’ve been asked
several times over the past year if we should raise prices. My first questions
are have we pushed back on our suppliers, have we challenged our belief that we
need expensive component X, Y, or Z? I am not saying price increases aren’t
part of life, they are. We owe it to the customers to make sure we exhaust
every option available to use before we increase cost. It’s good for us and
it’s good for the customer.
AJ Reece asks: “Will
the sales of TMNT be used as an indicator for future non-comic properties, or
are these side sets going to happen regardless, to some degree (such as Lone
Ranger, etc)”
JAZ: Yes, but… We’re
always going to try new things. Some projects are no-brainers (like TMNT) but
some are more speculative (Street Fighter). In the past, we were trying a lot
of different things. Some were surprise hits, like Street Fighter, and some not
so much. Given the rapid expansion of the product line, we decided to cut back
both on properties and even some SKUs (primer displays, etc). We were hearing
and seeing some signs of this and made the decision to slow down the expansion
of the platform. It has allowed us to circle back and start tackling some of
the items we’ve been wanting to tackle for a couple years.
Hcrealms user Wilx
asks: What does it take to get a new property into Heroclix?  If Turtles does well could we see expansion
into more properties?
 JAZ: It depends, and
honestly there are too many factors to give a meaningful answer. In the end, we
look for depth of content, fanbase, appropriateness and a lot of financial
criteria. Sometimes we take a more strategic approach where we ask ourselves
“Do we want to be in the Kaiju (Godzilla) space?” and move past a lot of
questions I outlined above.
 Matt Miller asks: “Are
there plans to cover this year’s Worlds matches on Twitch?  If so, will there be colour commentary?”
JAZ: The intent is
there; we’re just deciding how to handle it this year, internally or
outsourced. If we can figure out how to do this in a cost-effective manner
we’ll do it in house. If it pulls too much focus, we’ll outsource this to a
community group or contractor and yes, I would like to see colour commentary,
as 50 minutes of technical Heroclix talk can cause brain damage.
Matt Miller asks:
“What is next for heroclix technology-wise? 
More tab app type stuff,
or a new HCOnline?”
JAZ: No TabApp, which
was a novel attempt at broadening the appeal of the platform to a younger
audience that ultimately failed to catch on. Our latest trial was Extreme
Heroclix – we supersized two figures and placed them in a new retail channel.
The intent was and is to see if a non-gamer will purchase a figure and find
their way to a local game store. I know many of the fans didn’t understand the
initiative; in some ways, that was by design. If we wanted to sell to existing
players we would have put them at the game stores. 
So far, Extreme
Heroclix is our best selling SKU we’ve EVER placed at Toys R Us (even going
back to Topps era Wizkids). While I know some existing players have purchased
them, I am confident a lot of new consumers have dabbled in the line as
well.  We’re still working the math on
the supersized line. If we can make the financials work, we’ll sharpen the
message… “Buy at chain X and go to play at your friendly local game store
(FLGS).” We’ll probably expand the offering to something that makes sense for
the game and lastly, we’ll figure out how to pull in our loyal partners the
game stores into the program.
On a side note, while
I was explaining the program to a group of FLGS retailers a couple of ideas
came up. 1: A few savvy retailers asked to create a demo kit using the larger
figures, saying it would make a new customer’s first experience with the game a
lot easier and more eye-catching. 2: If we continue to see success we could
release a series of figures for local games stores as well as the figures for
the larger chains. 
Matt Miller asks:
“Which is a better chili garnish, cheese-its or fritos?” 
JAZ: Cheez-Its –
Costco sized. 
SpyderNick88 asks:
“When will the print and play materials be updated for 2015 sets?”
JAZ: There are a lot
of complicated licensing issues when it comes to print-n-play. If it was easy,
we’d be all over it. If I could outsource it to a 3rd party or help
the community do it without exposing people to a lot of legal risk, I would. In
the end, we’re still working through issues and I can’t really discuss anything
as we don’t have really actionable info. What I can say is that we’ve stopped
updating print-n-play materials and we’ll have to stop the community from doing
it as well- trust me, it is in everyone’s best interest.*********************************That's all for Part 1 of our interview with Justin Ziran. Over the next month, we'll have more from the interview as we delve more into the game itself, as questions will get answered by Justin and the design team!Respond to the interview at this thread: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8529387#post8529387

Saturday Dec 05, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 326 join Adam Chapman as he welcomes AJ Reece back to the show to talk some Heroclix!We take a look at some of our favourite heroclix figures from the recent Superman / Wonder Woman set, and also look towards the future heroclix releases of 2016!This episode was recorded Friday December 4th 2015.
Download it now!
If you want to help support Comic Shenanigans, follow this link!
http://www.podbean.com/patron/crowdfund/profile/id/mzvwg-3c

Episode 306: Talkin' Heroclix

Thursday Sep 17, 2015

Thursday Sep 17, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 306, join Adam Chapman and returning co-host Nathan Struk for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
Once again we talk about Heroclix on the Podcast!  This time around we discuss the recent Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD set, going through the best and worst of this larger than normal heroclix set.  
Join us as we break down the dials, talk about the playability of the characters, and much much more!
This episode was originally recorded Wednesday September 2nd 2015.
Download it now!

Friday Aug 07, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 294, join Adam Chapman and returning co-hosts AJ Reece & Nathan Struk for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
Once again we talk about Heroclix on the Podcast!  For the first half of the episode, AJ and Adam discuss Age of Ultron Brick 1 from months 1 and 2 of the Age of Ultron Storyline event.  For the second half, Nate and Adam discuss Age of Ultron Brick 2, to be used during months 3 and 4 of the Age of Ultron storyline event.
Join us as we break down the dials, talk about the playability of the characters, and much much more!
This episode was originally recorded Thursday July 30th and Sunday August 2nd 2015.
Download it now!

Sunday May 10, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 268, join Adam Chapman and returning co-host Nathan Struk for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
Once again we talk about Heroclix on the Podcast, as
Nate returns to discuss the newly released Avengers Assemble set.Join us as we break down the dials, discuss the sculpts, and find weird new reasons to both love and complain about Heroclix.
This episode was originally recorded Sunday May 10th 2015.
Download it now!

Saturday Mar 21, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 254, join Adam Chapman and returning co-host Nathan Struk for yet another all-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
For the second week in a row we talk about Heroclix on the podcast!  This episode is a sequel to episodes 10 and 16 from 2012, when we looked at our favourite dials and sculpts from the beginning of Heroclix with Infinity Challenge all the way up to the just-released Marvel and DC 10th Anniversary clix.  This time around, we look at our favourite dials and sculpts from Batman up to Justice League: Trinity War!
This episode was originally recorded Monday March 16th 2015.
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Friday Mar 13, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 252, join Adam Chapman and returning co-host Nathan Struk for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
Once again we talk about Heroclix on the Podcast, as Nate makes his first appearance on the show since episode 218 in November.  We talk the recently monthly OP kit dials, look towards the future, and speculate on what Wizkids has in store for players in the rest of 2015. 
This episode was originally recorded Wednesday March 11th 2015.
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Friday Feb 20, 2015

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 246, join Adam Chapman and returning co-host Leon Orellana for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
For the second time, it's somehow been twenty-six episodes since we last discussed Heroclix on the podcast, so without further ado we finally present another Talkin' Heroclix episode!  Leon joins the show once more to discuss the new Justice League Trinity War set!  We go through all the dials for the upcoming set, and discuss the highs and the lows of the new set.
This episode was originally recorded Thursday February 19th 2015.
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Monday Nov 24, 2014

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 220, join Adam Chapman and returning co-host Leon Orellana for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
It's been twenty-six episodes since we last discussed
Heroclix on the podcast, and now finally we present another Talkin'
Heroclix episode!  Adam and Leon discuss the new Flash set, going through the dials.  Due to a technical glitch, only 20 minutes of the original episode survived, with the remaining forty or so minutes handled by Adam solo. 
This episode was originally recorded Monday November 17th and Monday November 24th 2014.
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Friday Aug 22, 2014

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 194, join Adam Chapman and returning co-hosts Leon Orellana & Nathan Struk for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
It's been twenty two episodes since we last discussed Heroclix on the podcast, and now finally we present another Talkin' Heroclix episode!  Adam, Nathan and Leon tear into two cases of Guardians of the Galaxy (comic set), discuss the pulls, the sculpts, the powers, and much more!  And just when you think the podcast is almost over, there's a cameo by a longtime friend, supporter and sometime guest of the show, Tom Kerr!This episode was originally recorded Wednesday August 13th 2014.
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Friday Jun 06, 2014

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 172, join Adam Chapman and returning co-host Leon Orellana for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!
Although by now it's been out for quite some time, Adam and Leon still haven't cracked into their two counter-top displays of X-Men: Days of Future Past.  That means it's time for some Talkin' Heroclix opening action!Along the way, Adam regales Leon with stories of the television show Cheers, the first place the name Logan was uttered in an X-Men comic, and how the death of Aunt May was later retconned.  That's right, it's an episode chock full of mighty Comic Shenanigans tangents as only Adam can deliver them!This episode was originally recorded Wednesday May 28th 2014.
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Monday May 19, 2014

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 166, join Adam Chapman and returning co-host Nathan Struk for a brand-new Talkin' Heroclix episode!The DEADPOOL Heroclix set has come out, and that means it's time for Adam and Nate to discuss their favourites of the set!  Listen as we discuss our favourite pieces and dials for the new set, celebrate certain inclusions, as well as lament exclusions.  Nate joins us via Skype this time around, and makes his first appearance on the show in 2014!  Please forgive any technical issues, we hope you enjoy the content packed into this one! This episode was originally recorded Sunday May 18th.
Download it now!

Saturday Mar 01, 2014

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 148 join Adam Chapman and returning guest Leon Orellana as they bring you another new episode of Talkin' Heroclix!  Leon
makes his first appearance on the podcast since November's episode 120.  Leon
and Adam open a case of Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes together, discuss
Leon's pulls, the highs and lows of the set, and go through the collation and some of the dials.  There's also some discussion regarding upcoming Heroclix sets, and then we drift into talking about some upcoming comic book movies. Download it now!

Episode 142: Talkin`Heroclix

Friday Feb 07, 2014

Friday Feb 07, 2014

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 142 join Adam Chapman for the second ever solo edition of Talkin' Heroclix, as well as the first Heroclix-centric episode of 2014!  For this episode Adam turns the focus on the recent release of the Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes Gravity Feed, discusses some figs from the upcoming full set, and talks a bit about X-Men: Days of Future Past.Download it now!

Monday Dec 30, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 130 join Adam Chapman and returning guest Nathan Struk as they bring you the first new Talkin' Heroclix in over a month!  It's the end of 2013, so we count down our Top 10 favourite Heroclix pieces from this year, reflect on the year's sets, and look forward to next year's releases! This episode features the debut of "Raspy Adam."Download it now!

Friday Nov 22, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For episode 120 join Adam Chapman and returning guest Leon Orellana as they bring you another new episode of Talkin' Heroclix!  Leon makes his first appearance on the podcast since May's episode 74.  Leon and Adam open a case of Invincible Iron Man Heroclix together, discuss Leon's pulls, the highs and lows of the set, and go through the dials for this newly released set.  There's also some discussion regarding the newly released AVX starter sets.There's also the return of "Sad Adam", making his first appearance on the show since episode 50!  Download it now!

Episode 112: Talkin' Heroclix

Tuesday Oct 22, 2013

Tuesday Oct 22, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For Episode 112, join Adam Chapman for a special new episode of Talkin' Heroclix!  Adam Chapman welcomes  Nathan Struk back
into the studio for the new episode, as we discuss Invincible Iron Man, AVX, and beyond!  There's many tangents and general shenanigans to be had!
This episode was recorded on October 19th 2013.
Download it now!

Episode 110: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Oct 09, 2013

Wednesday Oct 09, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For Episode 110, join Adam Chapman for a special new episode of Talkin' Heroclix!  Adam Chapman welcomes new guest Mike White
into the studio for the new episode, as we discuss Invincible Iron Man, Arkham Origins, Days of Future Past, War of Light, Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy, with many other divergent tangents thrown in!This episode was recorded on October 7th 2013.
Download it now!

Episode 104: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Sep 18, 2013

Wednesday Sep 18, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For Episode 104, join Adam Chapman for a special new episode of Talkin' Heroclix!  Adam Chapman welcomes Nathan Struk
back to the studio for the new episode, as we discuss Wolverine and the
X-Men, the upcoming Avengers Vs. X-Men event, future heroclix releases,
the trading fervor that took over Nate for collecting the Wolverine and
the X-Men chases, and much more!This episode was recorded on September 13th 2013.
Download it now!

Sunday Aug 25, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For Episode 102B, join Adam Chapman for a bonus episode of Talkin' Heroclix!  Adam Chapman welcomes Nathan Struk to the show over Skype, as Comic Shenanigans tries doing a podcast over Skype once more!This episode features Heroclix talk, tangents involving comics, movies, Ben Affleck as Batman, and much more!
This episode was recorded on August 23rd 2013.
Download it now!

Thursday Aug 22, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the one hundred second episode, join Adam Chapman for the newest episode of Talkin' Heroclix!  This time around, it's not just any Talkin' Heroclix episode, but the Clixmas episode! Sadly, originally scheduled participants Leon Orellana, Tom Kerr, Nathan Struk and Amber Struk were unable to attend the recording of the podcast, which means Adam tackles the episode all on his lonesome!Wolverine and the X-Men has finally been released, so strap in and listen to the tales of fun and lunacy that pervade yet another special Clixmas Day!  This episode was recorded on August 21st 2013.
Download it now!

Episode 092: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Jul 03, 2013

Wednesday Jul 03, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the ninety-second episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guest Tom Kerr as they sit down to talk Heroclix.  We talk about the newest Wolverine and the X-Men previews, talk about our recent experiences playing in a Fear Itself Month 1 tournament, talk about the Penguin Resource Dial, and much more!This episode was recorded Tuesday July 2nd 2013.
Download it now!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com!

Episode 086: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Jun 12, 2013

Wednesday Jun 12, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the eighty-sixth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guest Nathan Struk as they sit down to talk Heroclix.  We talk about the newest Fear Itself dials, talk about the upcoming Fear Itself events, that have started across North America, discuss upcoming sets, and more!
This episode was recorded Monday June 10th 2013.
Download it now!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com!

Episode 078: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday May 15, 2013

Wednesday May 15, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the seventy-eighth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guests Nathan Struk and Tom Kerr as they sit down to talk Heroclix.
The first half of the episode focuses on news from the last month, as we look at Teen Titans previews, Fear Itself previews and WizKids Convention Exclusives.  In the second half, we break down and review the rules changes that came from the updated PAC
This episode was recorded Monday May 13th 2013.
Download it now!
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Comic Shenanigans now has its own app for iPhone and iPod. Go to comicshenanigans.podbean.com/mobile/ on your iPhone or iPod, click the Quick Launch icon to add the app to your Home Screen.   Coming soon- Comic Shenanigans app for Android!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com!

Episode 070: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Apr 17, 2013

Wednesday Apr 17, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the seventieth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guests Nathan Struk and Leon Orellana as they sit down to talk Heroclix.
For this new episode of Talkin' Heroclix, we talk recent Teen Titans dial previews, Shuma Gorath, NECA selling exclusives online through their eBay store, the nature of convention exclusives, and our hopes for the new 2013 PAC.
NOTE: This episode was recorded Monday April 15th, before the release of the new updated 2013 PAC and Rulebook.  For our thoughts on the changes brought about by the new PAC and Rulebook, check out the next episode of Talkin' Heroclix on Wednesday May 15th.
Download it now!
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Comic Shenanigans now has its own app for iPhone and iPod. Go to comicshenanigans.podbean.com/mobile/ on your iPhone or iPod, click the Quick Launch icon to add the app to your Home Screen.   Coming soon- Comic Shenanigans app for Android!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com!

Episode 066: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Apr 03, 2013

Wednesday Apr 03, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the sixty-sixth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guests Nathan Struk, Leon Orellana and Tom Kerr as they sit down to talk Heroclix.
The first two hours focus on news from the last month, as we look at Teen Titans previews, and discuss the newly released information regarding the upcoming Fear Itself event.  In the last hour, we discuss the nature of the heroclix tournament scene, talking about heroclix etiquette, good sportsmanship, and many other heroclix-related tangents along the way.  Join us for this fun-filled new episode of Talkin' Heroclix!
This episode was recorded Monday April 1st 2013.
Download it now!
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Comic Shenanigans now has its own app for iPhone and iPod. Go to comicshenanigans.podbean.com/mobile/ on your iPhone or iPod, click the Quick Launch icon to add the app to your Home Screen.   Coming soon- Comic Shenanigans app for Android!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com!

Episode 056: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Feb 27, 2013

Wednesday Feb 27, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the fifty-sixth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guests Nathan Struk and Tom Kerr as they sit down to talk Heroclix.  We start the episode off by discussing the upcoming Teen Titans set, particularly the recent previews of the team dials.  In a new instalment of Comic Accuracy, we discuss the most comic book accurate renditions of Bizarro and Abomination.  We also discuss our Top 3 Unclixed figures!  Join us for a fun-filled new episode of Talkin' Heroclix!
This episode was recorded Saturday February 23rd 2013.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com

Wednesday Feb 06, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the fiftieth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guests Nathan Struk and Leon Orellana as they sit down to talk Heroclix, specifically Clixmas (aka release day for the new Heroclix set Amazing Spider-Man). For the first half of the episode, it's just Adam and Nathan as they discuss the rest of the dials for the Amazing Spider-Man set, as well as their excitement for the new set.  For the second half, Adam, Leon and Nate reconvene after purchasing their cases of Amazing Spider-Man, and discuss their pulls, and how they end up ranking the set as a whole.
No new installments of Know Your Clix, Would You Rather and Comic Accuracy this time around, as we instead focus on Clixmas!
This episode was recorded Wednesday February 6th 2013.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com

Episode 048: Talkin' Heroclix

Tuesday Jan 29, 2013

Tuesday Jan 29, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the forty-eighth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guests Nathan Struk and Leon Orellana as they sit down to talk Heroclix.  This month, the big topic of discussion for heroclix fans has been the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man set.  Adam, Nate and Leon go through all of the currently spoiled dials, to discuss the highs and lows of the new set.  We also discuss the nature of heroclix spoilers, and the disbursement of heroclix leaks to the heroclix community.  No new installments of Know Your Clix, Would You Rather and Comic Accuracy this time around, as we focus on the sheer volume of new Amazing Spider-Man dials and information.
This episode was recorded Saturday January 26th 2013.
At the time this recording was made, not all of the dials for Amazing Spider-Man had been leaked.  Stay tuned for Episode 050, which will be recording on February 6th, release date for the Amazing Spider-Man set.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com

Episode 040: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Jan 02, 2013

Wednesday Jan 02, 2013

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the fortieth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guests Nathan Struk and Leon Orellana as they sit down to talk Heroclix.  Besides recent heroclix news, we discuss our favourite Relics, go through Chaos War for a new segment of "Would You Rather", talk Chaos War's SR Loki and Galactic Guardians' Giganto for "Know Your Clix", and finally finish up with a new installment of "Comic Accuracy", focusing on Superman and Thor.
This episode was recorded Tuesday January 1st 2013.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com

Tuesday Dec 18, 2012

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the thirty-sixth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guest Nathan Struk as they talk about recent heroclix news.  They also premiere a new segment called "Comic Accuracy", as well as new installments of "Know Your Clix" and "Would You Rather", with Adam and Nate discussing the Galactic Guardians for the latter.
This episode was recorded Monday December 17th.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com

Wednesday Dec 12, 2012

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the 34th episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guest Nathan Struk as they talk about their Top 3 Favourite Game Mechanics/Effects from Heroclix, as well as discuss the potential of having additional non-comic properties join the Heroclix game.  Additionally, there's new installments of "Know Your Clix" and "Would You Rather", with Adam and Nate discussing the Superman Fast Forces and Superman base set for the latter.
This episode was recorded Monday November 26th.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com

Tuesday Nov 20, 2012

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the 28th episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guest Nathan Struk as they go through and discuss recent heroclix news and dial previews from the Batman and Streets of Gotham sets!  The new segment "Would You Rather" is introduced, and enjoy a new installment of "Know Your Clix."
This episode was recorded Monday November 19th.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com

Wednesday Oct 31, 2012

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the 22nd episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guest Nathan Struk as they go through and discuss recent heroclix news and dial previews from the Batman and Streets of Gotham sets!  The new segment "Know Your Clix" is introduced!  Adam and Nathan discuss their top 3 favourite monster/Halloween-themed heroclix figures!
This episode was recorded Sunday October 28th.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com

Tuesday Oct 09, 2012

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the sixteenth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his special guest Nathan Struk as they discuss their Favourite Heroclix Dials! From Infinity Challenge to the Marvel / DC 10th Anniversary sets, they go through each set, highlighting their own particular favourites!  Strap yourself in, because this is a long one!
This episode was recorded Monday-Tuesday October 1st-2nd.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com!

Episode 014: Talkin' Heroclix

Wednesday Oct 03, 2012

Wednesday Oct 03, 2012

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the fourteenth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guest Nathan Struk as they go through recent heroclix news, and talk about upcoming DC and Marvel sets, including Batman, Amazing Spider-Man, Titans and Wolverine and the X-Men.   This episode was recorded Monday October 1st.
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com!

Friday Sep 21, 2012

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!
For the tenth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his special guest Nathan Struk as they discuss their Favourite Heroclix Sculpts! From Infinity Challenge to the Marvel / DC 10th Anniversary sets, they go through each set, highlighting their own particular favourites!
Comic Shenanigans is now on Facebook!
Got questions or feedback for Comic Shenanigans?  Drop us a line at comicshenanigans@gmail.com!

Monday Sep 10, 2012

Welcome to the Comic Shenanigans Podcast!  For the eighth episode, join Adam Chapman (comic reviewer for Comics & Gaming Magazine, cXPulp.com) and his guest Nathan Struk to talk about recent comics and heroclix.  This episode features spoiler-heavy discussion for the new MARVEL HEROCLIX: 10TH ANNIVERSARY set, which comes out on Wednesday September 12th.  This episode was recorded Wednesday September 5th.

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