Mega City 2, found in downtown Bakersfield near the intersection of M Street and 19th, the second shop in a small chain with their first location being in Los Angeles. Some interesting trivia about the name is that it’s actually a homage to a location in the comic series of “Judge Dread” created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.
“The store opened up right in the middle of the pandemic. They have been climbing an uphill battle financially to stay afloat but with the help of the customers and promotions, they have been able to stick around because of it.” said associate Dustin.
They sell comics of current releases from major companies like Marvel and DC as well as some independent comic companies like IDW, Dynamite and even some older out of print comics that have not been seen in the public eye for more than 20 years. The shop itself sells the main comics with a 20 percent discount of the cover price with the exception of the special variant covers that can range in price and even the artist who did the cover.
The workers curate the books on the shelves upon release date and keep them updated and organized alphabetically. For those up to date on their comics, the shop proudly displays their new releases separately, making it easy for prospective buyers to find the latest and greatest these comics have to offer.
When the customer gets the comics, the cashier takes extra precaution to ensure that the comic books are safe as they are placed in a protective bag sleeve cardboard to prevent any bending and protect against the elements. This is helpful as they do prevent any dust build up and greatly increase the comic’s lifespan. The sellers also carry specialized boxes that you can take home for personal storage purposes if you are an avid collector or looking forward to keeping up with weekly releases. If you are looking to branch out from comics, right by the entrance they house a large assortment of manga for those more interested in reading Japanese media. Some are from older franchises you may have only heard of or from your favorite manga creators as well. Some I have seen of Inuyasha, Soul Eater and even Trinity Blood.
Photo by Elijah Rosales
Across the way, there is a large white comic box that is labeled “Anime Comics” which are normal sized comics that were made before the widely known manga was standardized with some being related to anime and associated media from the ‘70s and ‘80s. When you get your singular cards from the shop, they place it in sleeves to prevent bending as well as a little bag for you to take home.
The shop itself also does sell trading card products with a variety of card games from Magic the Gathering, Lorecana, Digimon and the recently released Godzilla Trading Card Game. The store has a service to order any trading cards they have in stock and get them prepared for purchase while the customer can continue shopping for anything else in the store.
This is also a large space to explore as they even host events with trading card game related activities such as Friday Night Magic Tournaments or just casual games taking place within the shop.
“We get a lot of traffic from many students from Bakersfield College to purchase Pokemon cards mostly as well as any other events they hold throughout the week,” said associate Dustin.
When I went there, I interviewed a few customers and from what I heard was varied. “I went to get the issues of Predator kills the Marvel Universe and anything else I am looking for. I was surprised to see some spawn comics here as well. This is the best comic book shop in Bakersfield,” said Justin.
Even with stiff competition in town, this shop shines the brightest out of the others for the comic collector both young and old. Take a trip there sometime and you may find something you didn’t know you wanted when it comes to comics.
