Comics and Toys Arrive Halloween Party Tonight Howdy! I am at the Los Angeles Convention Center this morning, running our booth at Stan Lee's ComiKazi Expo. This weekend promises to be a very busy one, both here at the convention (where they are anticipating having as many as 80,000 attendees...) and also at all four of our Mile High Comics retail locations. That is because we have been receiving massive shipments of holiday-themed merchandise over the past few weeks, with a special emphasis on large numbers of very popular trade paperbacks and hardbacks, as well as a broad spectrum of comics-related toys. With Halloween now almost behind us, early holiday shoppers have already been flocking into our stores not only to buy potential gifts, but also to pick up the coolest comics new items for themselves before they completely sell out. In case you are wondering about the origin of this sudden surge in our retail store traffic, it mostly comes down to thousands of new fans being generated by the release of this year's movies and TV shows. CAPTAIN AMERICA and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY certainly created a major impact for us, but we are also seeing significant upticks in interest stemming from TV shows, such as AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. and ARROW. In addition, all the advance hubbub about films like BLACK PANTHER, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, and ANTMAN (just to name a few...) is also generating new store traffic. Simply put, our retail stores have not been this busy since the early 1990's! Ocean of Comics What matters most for you about this new trend is the fact that we will probably be selling through on many highly desirable comics items far more quickly over the coming days than we have in the recent past. As a case in point, we received ten copies of each SAGA trade paperback last weekend, and had sold all but three each of them by the time we left for LA, on Tuesday. That same kind of rapid 70%-80% sell-through is occurring with all kinds of cool merchandise, and while SAGA books are still available for reorder, we are already running into a few instances where our suppliers are already completely sold out, too. Taking this concept a step further, with NPR (National Public Radio) reporting that shipments from China and other far eastern countries already utilizing 100% of the capacity of most West Coast ports (especially Long Beach/Los Angeles...), it is increasingly unlikely that we will be able to maintain our usual holiday reordering patterns for our stores. That being the case, we are ordering very heavy right now on all of this year's holiday gift items, and taking delivery early so that we can lock in supplies while they're still available. That having been said, our sales are already up nearly 50% over last year at Jason St., which means that even these added shipments are disappearing quickly. I really dislike having to say this, but if ever there was a year to shop early for the holidays, this looks to be the one. 'Nuff said. I will close today's newsletter with a quick plug for a family-friendly Halloween Bash being hosted tonight by my friends LaShay and Dale at Broomfield's Chipper Lanes Bowling Alley, which is located just off 120th Ave. and Nickel St. The party will feature unlimited bowling and laser tag for only $15, plus face painting at a bargain price, and great drink specials for the adults. LaShay and Dale are fellow line members with me of this year's Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire, where we work together to raise donations for worthy local organizations, such as the Denver Children's Advocacy Center. If I were in Denver tonight, I can assure you that I would definitely be heading for LaShay and Dale's Halloween party... Happy collecting! Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. October 31, 2014 P.S. Below are the cover scans to all 19 of this year's HALLOWEENFEST special editions. Supplies on some issues are limited, so please do visit our stores early on Saturday to assure yourself of a full selection. Afterlife With Archie Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Angry Birds Comics Halloween Mini Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Giveaway (2014) #1 Betty and Veronica Halloween Mini Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Boom Studios Halloween Fright Fest Mini Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Extinction Parade Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Fathom: Adventures of Ernie Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Grimm Fairy Tales Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Hero Cats of Stellar City Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Little Battlers Experience Halloween Mini Comic (2014) #1 Marvel Comics Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Mermin: Trick or Treak Halloween Mini Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 My Little Pony Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Plants vs. Zombies Halloween Mini Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Rachel Rising Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Resident Evil: Marhawa Desire Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Scooby Doo Team-Up Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Secret Wars Halloween Comic Giveaway (2014) #1 Vamplets: Undead Pet Society Halloween Mini Comic (2014) #1 Afterlife With Archie Angry Birds Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Betty and Veronica Boom Studios Halloween Fright Fest Extinction Parade Fathom: Adventures of Ernie Grimm Fairy Tales Hero Cats of Stellar City Little Battlers Experience Marvel Comics Mermin: Trick or Treak My Little Pony Plants vs. Zombies Rachel Rising Resident Evil: Marhawa Desire Scooby Doo Team-Up Secret Wars Vamplets: Undead Pet Society Mile High Comics - Jason Street Mega-Store Mile High Comics Retail Store Locations Current Newsletter