MOTHER AND DAUGHTER FRAN AND CHRIS ODOM took their love of comics books and after relocating to Battle Ground from California, opened Shadow Walker Cards and Comics in downtown in January.
Thanks in part to their entry into the Hollywood box office with the help of characters like Spider-Man, Batman and The Avengers, comic books have enjoyed a renaissance in the last decade. As a result, mother and daughter Fran and Chris Odom have taken their passion for superheroes and opened Shadow Walkers Cards and Comics in downtown Battle Ground.
It’s actually the third go-around for the 65-year-old Fran and 40-year-old Chris, who opened the doors to their new business on Dec. 18. The pair opened and operated two shops in Salinas and Castroville, CA for 10 years before they relocated to Battle Ground in 2011.
“My husband’s family is from the Portland area, so after spending most of our lives around my family in California, we decided it was time for a change of venue,” said Fran. “It’s taken us a while getting used to seeing snow during the winter.”
As a child, Chris Odom discovered comics and as a voracious reader, it wasn’t uncommon for her to come home with hundreds of new issues every week.
“They were great little stories and they turned me onto other stories and other books as I got older,” said Chris. “Even though other people told my mother to stop me reading them because they’d rot my brain.”
Fran may have gotten criticism from her fellow parents, but she never wavered in letting her daughter enjoy her passion.
“Not for a second did I worry about it,” said Fran. “She loved to read and it fueled her moving on to bigger books that kept it going.”
By also going to flea markets and amassing box upon box of different comics, the Owens opened their first shop in 1994, only to almost see it all be washed away the following year.
“In 1995, one of the dikes broke and we found our shop sitting in four feet of water,” said Chris. “Fortunately, my dad and brother had just come back from picking up some more and had them in the trunk of his station wagon, but it took another year to put the collection back together.”
In addition to comics of all sorts, the Odoms also amassed a collection of vintage action figures, Hot Wheels cars and box upon box of cards from games like Magic: The Gathering, Yugi-Oh and Pokemon.
“We were fortunate, living in northern California, that we could go to conventions like in San Diego and San Jose and get people to sign them,” said Chris. “For example, we were able to get some Darth Vader figures signed by both James Earl Jones, who supplied the voice, and David Prowse, who was in the suit, and that’s not easy to do.”
Unlike most stores, Shadow Walkers is not necessarily interested in making the most money off what they can sell.
“I’ve been to places where I’ve seen the same toys going for over $50, and what kid can afford that?” said Fran. “We want kids to be able to enjoy these things and if we can make them affordable, then both they and their parents will want to come back for more.”
The store also hosts card game tournaments for Magic, Yugi-Oh and Pokemon every week, giving players of all ages a place to go on Friday nights.
“We have our game room packed every week with people having a lot of fun, and it’s a good place for them to be,” Fran said. “People may criticize kids playing card games like this, but they teach strategy and outside-the-box thinking, as well as giving them somewhere where they can be sociable and meet new people who like to play too.”
The Odoms may be seen as unconventional owners in the comics world, but they seem themselves among like-minded people who all share their enjoyment for fantasy art and fun stories.
“We have customers from the ages of four to 80 walk in our doors, and to be honest, some are a little bit off the bubble,” said Fran. “But that’s the fun part of being a comics fan, and now they’re becoming more accepted, which makes it even better.”
Shadow Walkers Cards & Comics is located at 607 E. Main St., in Battle Ground, and the store hours are Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, noon-4 p.m. More information can be found at their website, www.shadowwalkers.biz, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, or by calling (360) 687-2097.
