Meltdown Brings Games, Comics + More to PoCo
By Erin Sommers, originally appearing in an October issue of The Record-Democrat; pokyrdnews@gmail.com
Growing up in Pocahontas, Adam Barnhardt would drive all the way to Ames to visit a comic book and gaming store.
This fall, Adam and his family are opening the kind of shop he would have loved to have here as a teen — Meltdown Games + Comics and Other Assorted Oddities.
“We’ve always played games,” Adam said of his family, which includes his wife, Kelsie, and parents Randy and Clara. “We want to spread the joy and cheer.”
Customers will be able to buy board games, comic books, miniatures and dice for role playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, Funko Pop toys, stickers and more. There will also be a Special Gumball Machine of Many Things — an assorted array of toys and prizes. Adam is even stocking manga — a style of Japanese comics and graphic novels.
He has big goals for the shop, which will offer nights for community members to play board games, Dungeons and Dragons and Pokémon. Meltdown may also offer a night for Magic: The Gathering, another role playing game.
“Thanks to ‘Stranger Things,’ Dungeons and Dragons has never been more popular,” Adam said, adding that he hopes to see new players come and learn about the games. “We’d love to have you throw your hat in the ring.” Children of the ‘90s might be excited to see the Pogs that Meltdown will have in stock, too. Adam said the game that was popular back then is trending again.
The game room will be open whenever the store is for customers to test out an assortment of the games for no charge, and customers can also rent games to see if they would enjoy owning them.
“It’s a different social scene,” Adam said. “It’s not a bar, a restaurant or club. It’s games, books, comics.”
Comics are all the rage right now, particularly with the popularity of the Marvel movie franchise. Adam has been into comics books for years, well before the Marvel movies made the characters so well known.
“I’m just thrilled to talk to people and they know the characters,” he said.
His dad, Randy, was the first collector in the family, with comic books. Randy even tried to pass his collection on to Adam at one point, but Adam declined at the time.
Adam got into collecting, too. And when he met his wife, he was excited to learn she had her own collection of Harry Potter wands.
Kelsie and Adam were living in Cedar Rapids when they decided they were ready for a smaller town lifestyle. Adam also writes articles for ComicBook.com, a job he could do in Pocahontas. Once here, they started looking at downtown and realized that it’s turned into a place that can attract shoppers. And, in the age of online sales, he’s able to ship his products globally as well as locally.
The Barnhardts are hoping to set up Pocahontas’ first Comic Con in the future, and the business sponsored two free Halloween movies, “Casper” for younger viewers and “Halloween” for older audience members at the Rialto. Adam wanted PAC alumni to know the shop has “The Farming Game,” which was a staple in Gary Vrba’s classes, available to play.
Meltdown will have one more unique feature. Adam said he’s always wanted to open a soda and candy shop, so he’ll be stocking unusual
drinks, such as Cheerwine, Ramune and other unusual soda drinks, things that local retailers won’t usually stock.
Meltdown is located on 3rd Avenue, just west of Main Street. Look for the bright green door on the south side of the street. The soft opening was Oct. 26, with a grand opening on for Nov. 4. The business will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.
