How Do You Build A Utah Comic Book And Board Game Universe From Scratch?

Every creative in Utah has the notebook. The one with characters, plots, world building, and half-finished mechanics that never became a real product. Jesse Conger, owner of Good Days Entertainment, sat down with Peter Anthony on the Utah Business Spotlight Podcast to answer the question every Utah writer, illustrator, game designer, and creative founder is quietly asking. How do you build a Utah comic book and board game universe from scratch without a big studio, a distributor, or a permission slip?

Jesse Conger's answer is not motivational. It is operational. Good Days Entertainment is the studio behind The Legendary Stratos League comic series and the connected board game Escaped Death Race 2182. Read the story. Play the finale. It is one universe with two products designed to feed each other, and it was built by one Utah founder who finally decided the idea would not stay in the notebook anymore.

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Who Is Jesse Conger And What Is Good Days Entertainment

Jesse Conger did not come out of a comic book house or a game publisher. He came from construction, years of competitive gaming and poker, and one of the top sales careers in the country. That path matters because Good Days Entertainment runs like a business, not a hobby. Jesse Conger writes, edits, art directs, produces, markets, and runs customer support. Every hat the company wears is a hat he wore first, which is why the operating decisions inside Good Days Entertainment are unusually disciplined for an independent studio.

The Origin Of The Name Good Days

The name is not a marketing exercise. Good Days was a philosophy Jesse Conger lived by long before it became a company name, and it now anchors every product and campaign decision inside Good Days Entertainment. A comic issue ships when it earns a good day. A Kickstarter campaign launches when the audience is ready for a good day. The name is the filter.

The Legendary Stratos League And Escaped Death Race 2182

Jesse Conger walks Peter Anthony through the flagship universe. The Legendary Stratos League is the comic series. Escaped Death Race 2182 is the tabletop board game that plays out the finale of that universe. The two are not adjacent products. They are one experience split across two mediums. A collector reads the story in the comics. A player then sits down at the table and plays the finale of that same story. Read the story. Play the finale. That is the entire design intent.

"Read the story. Then play the finale. That is the whole Good Days universe in one sentence."

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The Real Production Reality: 30 Artists, 12 Issues

Jesse Conger is transparent about the production side most first-time creators never see. Good Days Entertainment coordinated 30 artists across 12 comic issues. That means style guides, character sheets, panel breakdowns, editorial passes, revisions, deadlines, contracts, and payment cycles. It is a full production pipeline, and Jesse Conger ran it while also writing the story and running the business. For any Utah creative thinking about launching a comic series, the pipeline itself is the moat.

The Truth About Kickstarter Marketing

Kickstarter is not a funding platform. It is a marketing and manufacturing platform disguised as a funding platform, and Jesse Conger is direct about that. Pre-launch email lists. Community building. Ad spend windows. Backer tiers. Fulfillment expectations. Most first-time campaigns underestimate every single one of them and end up in a hole. Good Days Entertainment ran its campaigns with a real plan, and that discipline is why the universe continues to expand instead of stalling after the first release.

Leaving A Top Sales Career To Move To Utah And Go Full Time

This is the moment every creator is waiting to hear. Jesse Conger walks Peter Anthony through leaving one of the top sales seats in the country to build Good Days Entertainment full time in Utah. The math looks reckless on paper. The math looks completely different when the idea will not let you go. Utah was the right city because the creative community, the cost structure, and the geography of building an independent comic and board game studio all lined up. Jesse Conger's honest framing is that the internal decision to commit was the hardest part, not the art and not the game.

Wearing Every Hat, On Purpose

Jesse Conger did not delegate before he understood the work. Good Days Entertainment scaled the way real creative businesses actually scale. Founder does the reps. Founder documents the reps. Founder then hands the reps to a specialist. That order matters because it protects the tone, the world building, and the standard of the universe. For Utah founders, that sequence is a working template.

Breaking Old Patterns And Advice To Younger Creators

Peter Anthony closes the episode with the creator question. Jesse Conger's advice is direct. Take the shot while the idea is still burning. Break the old patterns that keep the notebook closed. Ship the work. The version you are afraid to release is the one your audience is actually waiting for. That message is the entire operating philosophy of Good Days Entertainment condensed into one paragraph.

What Utah Creators, Collectors, And Founders Should Take Away

• Good Days Entertainment is a Utah based independent creator of original comic books and board games.
• The flagship universe is The Legendary Stratos League comic series and the connected board game Escaped Death Race 2182.
• Read the story in the comics. Play the finale on the table. It is one experience across two products.
• Jesse Conger coordinated 30 artists across 12 comic issues, running a real production pipeline.
• Kickstarter is a marketing and manufacturing platform, not just a funding source, and campaigns need a real pre-launch plan.
• Jesse Conger left a top national sales career to move to Utah and build Good Days Entertainment full time.
• The hardest part of the transition was internal, not creative. Commit first. Ship second.
• The full universe, active campaigns, and product lineup live at gooddaysgames.com.

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