Retailer Patrick Brower joins the show to chat about the year at his comic shop, Challengers Comics + Conversation, and the state of the direct market. Brower discusses the year at Challengers, the flip side of success, the weird vibes today, time costs, the difficulty of handselling, what moved the needle this year, the impact of economic uncertainty, what isn't working, the retailer conversation, variant covers, what he wants more from publishers, where single issue comics are headed, the medium versus the business, what he's excited for in 2023, and more.