Retailer Patrick Brower returns to the show to talk about the year that was in his Chicago-based comic shop, Challengers Comics + Conversation. Brower discusses his weird year, the year in Challengers itself, the consistent nature of 2025, what drove the year's success, Absolute Martian Manhunter's surprising heat, the performance of the Absolute Batman Annual, managing different printings, Marvel's "terrible" year, where non-Big Two comics are, the complicated environment for creators, new readers, how they're behaving, other trends from 2025, struggles from the year, systemic problems, what could be done on the marketing side, Universal Distribution, sales charts, how he's feeling about 2026, and more.