I believe the children are our future

This past week, my friends, Patrick Brower and W. Dal Bush opened Chicago's first comic store for young readers. This was a labor of love and a long time coming. Let's face it, your "typical" comic store has a clientele of ALL ages, and it's time that someone focused on the younger crowd. A former employer of mine once told me "It doesn't matter what you put on the children's rack, kids will buy anything!!! They don't care!!" Boy, is THAT wrong. I've come to notice from all my years in comic retailing that kids DO care about what they buy. And now they have a place all there own. Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, children of all ages-SIDEKICKS IS HERE!!



A lot of love and careful planning went into this store, which is located INSIDE Challengers Comics +  Conversation located at 1845 N Western Avenue in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. The space was originally The Rogues Gallery, but has now been converted into a fantastic place where kids can come and know that they have their OWN comic book store. There's tiny little chairs where they can sit, read and check out what comics that they'd like to buy, and for any parents that are concerned, this-just like Challengers-is NOT your typical comic store. It's well lit, clean, organized and features a very friendly staff that is ready to answer any questions that might come up.
-For people that will miss The Rogues Gallery, fear not, while the month long art exhibits won't be going on anymore, Challengers will STILL HAVE ART SHOWS. They'll be one night only shows, but they have some great stuff planned for the future, so sign up for their newsletter to keep yourself in the know.
-I've said this a million times, and it's always dismissed, but I can't stress enough on how proud I am of my two "brothers" for what they've accomplished since opening Challengers. They've won countless awards, are MULTIPLE Eisner nominees and just plain all around great guys. This year they celebrate 5 years of being in business, with all signs pointing to them being awesome and providing Chicago with the BEST comic store experience for countless years to come. And hey, they were smart enough to bring on yours truly last year, so you KNOW they're doing something right!! ;)
-So, grab your kids, nieces and nephews, and anyone else and get over to Sidekicks and let them have some fun. They'll love it and they'll love you for bringing them there.

-I thought some of you might enjoy some "before & after" pictures of Sidekicks. These never before seen pics show the transformation from The Rogues Gallery to Sidekicks.
                                                                         BEFORE:

                                                                   After: