Comic store reconnects customers with their childhood

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- When visitors enter Batcave Comics in Santa Rosas Railroad Square, they descend into a vast space filled with everything pop culture.

"We don't really think that this is just a comic book store. We think it is like a pop culture, nerd hangout...," Batcave Comics co-owner Mike Holbrook said. "You can get comics, you get toys, you can get art, you can see stuff you've never seen before. It's more of an experience than just a store."

"This is the biggest dopamine kick you can have. It's all the colors, all the sights," said longtime customer and collector Adam Giacomini. "You want to just go through every nook and cranny to see what you can find that you don't have in your collection."

According to Batcave Comics co-owner Amanda Barlow, the store boasts a 65 foot comic book wall, the largest in Northern California.

"We have graded comic books. We have X Men number one. We have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles number one, first print. We have the first appearance of Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider Man," said Barlow.

Batcave Comics also houses an equally impressive treasure trove of vintage toys from Star Wars, G.I.Joe, Transformers, Marvel and DC.

"We have the largest selection of Funko pops in the county, including Target and Walmart. We have more pops," Holbrook said.

"You have your Target, your other big places that sell toys, but you can't go there and actually talk to somebody about it," Batcave clerk Bob McGehee said.

"This is everything I never got for Christmas as a kid," said prop maker Shawn Thorsson.

Holbrook and Barlow are also dedicated to highlighting original art. Local artist Megan E. Risk has a wide array of comic and horror character artwork on display and for sale.

"I am forever appreciative of the Batcave for giving me the opportunity to show my work to people that I know are going to appreciate it," Risk said.

If youre done browsing or shopping, you can enjoy the toy prototype museum located at the front of the store.

"You can see the whole production process from the original wax sculpture all the way to a painted master. We also have the largest collection of unproduced toys," Holbrook said.

Specifically, toy enthusiasts can see the only existing copies of "The Last Starfighter" toy prototypes once made for Galoob Toys, Inc..

"Literally doesn't exist anywhere else in the world. So you have to come here to physically see it," Giacomini said.

Like many of the superheroes featured in the comic books lining the walls, Holbrook and Barlow have created their own legacy.

"We want people to know where to find us and know that we're going to be here, bring your kids in a decade later and experience the same fun you had the first time you came in," Holbrook said.

"It's a piece of history and it's a piece of our future that we should hold on to dearly because it's where all our dreamers come from," Batcave clerk Christopher Harris said. "There's a lot of things in here. They're going to inspire the young minds of our future that are going to help us create more things for us to enjoy."

For more information, visit Batcave Comics' website.