Atlantis Fantasyworld Reaches Superpowered Milestone

For nearly five decades, Atlantis Fantasyworld has been Santa Cruz’s definitive destination for comic book lovers. What started as one musician’s personal collection has evolved into a community landmark that’s weathered earthquakes, the pandemic, and the ever-changing landscape of the comic book industry. Opening in 1976, the store is now approaching its 50th anniversary—a milestone that speaks to owner Joe Ferrara’s passion and the community that has supported it.

Ferrara’s love for the medium started early. “I loved comics as a kid,” he recalls. “My mom complained to the nuns… ‘he only wants to read comics.’ And God bless them, the nuns of the ’50s said, ‘Mrs. Ferrara, he’s reading.’ ”

That early passion, and the nuns’ blessing, set the stage for a lifetime. In an era where independent bookstores have struggled, Atlantis has remained a constant presence—a place where multiple generations have discovered their first superhero and where community is built one comic at a time.

FROM STAGE TO STORE

Joe Ferrara’s path to comic shop owner wasn’t straightforward. He was a full-time musician, playing in a rock group and a folk group in high school before “playing in the clubs, the folk music and stuff, when I was 19.” His love for comics was rekindled in college. “One of my roommates,” he says, “was a guy who was literally writing comics to put himself through school… His name is Mike Friedrich.”

This got Ferrara back into the hobby, and from 1971 to 1976, he became an avid collector, “buying comics in San Jose wherever I could find them.” By the time he moved, he had “acquired 6,000 comics.”

The real turning point came on August 15, 1976, when he moved to Santa Cruz “with no intention of opening a business.” He quickly discovered the local comic scene was lacking and found himself driving back to San Jose twice a week.

That’s when his mother stepped in with a suggestion that would change his life.

“I was at my mom’s having dinner,” Ferrara recounts. He’d just told some friends his 6,000-comic collection took “one pickup to move” and that he’d “probably… sell them at a convention someday.”

“And my mom, between bites, says, ‘He’ll probably open his own store.’ Bang. That did it. That was like the tuning fork. My body just started vibrating, and starting the next day…”

He took the leap. On November 26, 1976—the day after Thanksgiving—Atlantis Fantasyworld opened its doors on Lower Pacific Avenue. “I was making a pretty good living as a full time musician and never planned to do anything else,” he says. But the store, which he initially considered a hobby, took off. Six months later, it got a massive, unexpected boost.

“Six months later we got the first Star Wars movie,” Ferrara says. “Who the hell knew that was coming?… The comic adaptation became just the hottest ticket… a new comic went from 15 to 20 to 25 cents. When I opened the store, a new comic was 30 cents.”

Even as the store grew, he kept his first love alive. In October 1976, just before the store opened, he started a singing gig at the Grape Stake (now Cafe Cruz), a job he held for 13 years until the 1989 earthquake.

SURVIVING THE BIG ONE

On October 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake devastated downtown Santa Cruz. Ferrara was in the store when the breath in the air, but people came and supported us.” It was a chaotic, communal survival. “Everybody would walk over and adjust the thermostats… until we had meetings and said, ‘Okay, we’re going to do this… If you’re in the front, wear a coat. If you’re in the middle, hey, deal with it.’ Things you don’t think of, you know?”

A New Chapter, A New Philosophy

In 1992, Atlantis moved into its current, permanent home at 1020 Cedar Street. It’s a city-owned building, part of the parking structure. Ferrara was proactive in securing the spot, having learned from his time in the tents. “I knew that I wanted to be where there was going to be easy parking,” he says, “and not on Pacific, with all the hassles.”

This new, larger space allowed him to finally implement the unique organizational philosophy he’d always envisioned. Walk into Atlantis and you’ll notice it’s not like other comic shops.

“It started out with a bunch of collectors… they were either Marvel zombies or DC… it was like Republicans and Democrats, you know, you didn’t mix,” Ferrara explains of the old-school model. “And so you walk into an average shop, and they’ll say, ‘Here’s our Marvels, here’s our DCs, and here’s all the independents over here.’ ”

He knew there was a better way. “When you go into a bookshop,” he says, “you don’t say, ‘Where do you keep your Random House books?’ You say, ‘Where’s your history section?’… So we rack by genre… we rack by content.”

This user-friendly system was designed for approachability. “If grandma’s trying to buy something for the kids,” he explains, “she doesn’t know if Superman’s a DC or a Marvel. She knows the characters”. The store’s layout reflects this: “It starts at the front with kids, and as you move through the store, it gets more sophisticated.”

“IT’S ABOUT THE INTERACTION”

For Ferrara, the store’s longevity comes down to one thing: community. He emphasizes that Atlantis is built on “interaction,” not just “transaction.” It’s a “legacy business” that now serves “second and almost third-generation customers”.

“During the holidays,” he says, “somebody will walk in the door and go, ‘Do you remember me?’ And I look and go, ‘Yeah, but the face doesn’t belong here, it belongs here’” (gesturing to a child’s height). “And then they’re bringing in their kids.”

This philosophy is summed up in the store’s official mission statement: “Everybody who walks out the door feels better than when they walked in”. “And if you can do that,” he adds, “all the other stuff takes care of itself.”

This sense of community is fostered by a dedicated, long-term staff, like 19-year veteran Trisha and 15-year veteran Nate. “If you hire the right people,” Ferrara says, “then you don’t have to worry about it… I have been blessed over the years. I’ve had some amazing, amazing people.” He personally mentored Nate on how to professionally grade back-issue comics, a skill that is crucial to the 30% of their business that now comes from buying collections.

As Atlantis approaches its 50th anniversary, Ferrara says the plan is to “thank the community” that has supported them, lining up a year of special events, publisher features, and guest writers. After all these years, he has no plans to step away.

“People say, ‘When are you going to retire?’” Ferrara laughs. “I go, ‘This is the kind of job people get when they retire! I’m not digging ditches! I’m sitting… paying bills, I’m pushing paperwork around, and I come out and say hello to visitors. That’s what docents do!’”