Alpharetta man batarangs Guinness World Record for most Batman memorabilia

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Brad Ladner knows a thing or two about Batman.

“Hey Siri,” he says into his phone. “Iron Man sucks.”

Suddenly, the lights come on, and his bat cave springs to life, showing a stunning amount of memorabilia.

Ladner is the world’s foremost Batman memorabilia collector, with Guinness Books of World Records verification.

“It’s around 19,160 if I had to put a number to it,” Brad estimated.

That’s a lot of Batman from a lot of different eras.

“This is the 1980s Batman section with things from all across the world,” he explained, pointing to a crowded corner of the room.

That corner includes a Batman arcade, Batman roller skates, and Batman candy, which isn’t edible after 40 years.

“It’s crazy to have this much stuff,” Brad said.

But as a child, Ladner had nothing but Batman after a fire burned down his family’s home.

“Firefighters went into my room, and they could only get one thing out safely before the house burned down,” Brad said. “The one thing I requested was my Batman collection, which was just one box.”

He has a lot of comic book boxes now. The collection jumps from rare to unusual.

“For the Batman Animated Series, I have a box of shrimp-flavored chips that have never been opened,” he said.

That might go perfectly with some Batman peanut butter or Batman strawberry preserves that Ladner keeps nearby.

“It’s never taken over our life, Mindy Ladner, Brad’s wife, explained. “It all lives in our basement. So, I’m okay with that.”

A bigger problem? Brad’s son, Harry.

“I’m not a huge fan of Batman,” Harry said.

He gives Spiderman a higher rating.

“10-point 10!” he exclaimed.

Brad’s cool with that. He’s got the world record, a supportive family, and 2,000 square feet of Batcave. What more can a man ask for?

“To me, it’s still just a hobby,” he said. “It’s still just a portion of my time and a portion of my life.”