Rare 1970's Variant Edition Comics Arrive Howdy! We are all breathing a big sigh of relief here at Mile High Comics, as our first major holiday weekend of this year set all-time sales records. We had hoped that our start to this year's Christmas gift-buying adventure would start off well, but the waves of happy families and individual fans who inundated our Jason St. Mega-Store on Saturday and Sunday were darn near overwhelming. Truth be told, as the crowds in the Mega-Store grew steadily into the hundreds on Saturday it actually strained our upper capacity limits. As a case in point, we had upwards of twenty people standing in line at our cash registers after the end of our very well-attended no-minimum-bid "Stocking Stuffers" auction. Blessedly, our valiant Mega-Store retail staff resisted their visceral urges to run screaming from the building, so in the end, everything turned out wonderfully. Yay! Our Jason Street Mega-Store In case you are wondering, I am sharing this very positive Mega-Store news with you because it helps to guarantee that Mile High Comics will still be here to serve you for yet another year. Simply put, when I sold off our 56th Ave. legacy headquarters building in 2016, I used all of the proceeds from that real estate transaction to pay off nearly all of our Mile High Comics bank debt. I then scrimped and saved throughout 2017 and 2018, and finally managed to obliterate the last vestiges of that crushing financial burden (which peaked at upwards of two million dollars) that I had labored under for over four decades. I cannot even begin to express to you in words just how good that wiping out that onerous debt burden made me feel. It was beyond exhilarating! Fast-forward five years from when I was finally able to kiss our pernicious bankers good-bye, and Mile High Comics is now a totally self-funding company. We do still have our building mortgage, but otherwise absolutely everything we have in our gigantic 65,000 square foot building is paid for, and we are almost entirely debt-free. No commercial loans, no line of credit, just our normal weekly bills (which my beloved wife, Nanette, watches like a hawk), and a couple of payments for collections. As far as I know, there are very few (if any) comics retailers who are as financially stable as we are here at Mile High Comics. Chuck outside our Jason Street Mega-Store That having been said, being a popular culture retailer is never, ever, easy. A key operating paradigm of retailing is that you have to utilize your best instincts to invest in products that you think your clients will want to buy, but with absolutely no guarantees that they will actually do so. In some instances you guess wrong, and your passions do not match up at all with your customer's desires. In others, macroeconomic events over which you have no control (such as the Great Recession of 2008-2010) crush people's inner sense of security, and thus greatly lessen their appetite for non-essentials. Truthfully, so many things can go wrong when you are a retailer that it is difficult to not live in a constant state of anxiety, especially when you have bankers micro-analyzing your every success, and criticizing your every failure. In a nutshell, those factors are why the attrition rate among (all) retailers is so harsh that the United States Small Business Administration statistics reveal that 90% of retail start-ups fail in the first five years, with only one out of twenty making it to the ten-year point. Simply put, trying to guess right year-after-year is so incredibly fraught that almost no one makes it through alive. In great measure, that explains why I am so proud of the fact that here at Mile High Comics that we will be celebrating our 54th anniversary in February, while also remaining debt-free. We are among the fewer than 1% of American retailers (of all categories) that have made it through more than 50 years of economic turmoil completely unscathed. We are truly (truly!) grateful for our blessings. Chuck with the latest haul of Manga/Anime items Returning to the topic of our weekend results, we not only set overall Mega-Store sales records (up 16% over last year), but I was delighted to note that almost the entirety of our year-to-year gain resulted from a vast increase in our sales of the Manga and Anime products that I just finished picking up in California. While our sales of those imported Japanese popular culture items may seem tangential (at best) to our core mission of providing dedicated comics fans throughout the world with a vast array of back issues from which to choose, the reality is that our Mega-Store sales of non-comics items greatly subsidize our overall operating costs (such as our $8,000/month in utilities) that would otherwise be quite difficult for us to bear. I want to slightly pause now, before I leave you with the misimpression that our Mega-Store is the focal point and/or catalyst for all that is good at Mile High Comics. In point of fact, precisely the opposite is true, as I was only able to fund my purchases of those cool Manga and Anime products that I picked up during my three epic journeys to the LA Toy Market because of the kind assistance and support that I received from those of you who ordered back issues and trade paperbacks from us during the critical period of November 15th-December 10th. Pam did put a few of her advance orders for her Japanese ephemera on our company credit card (which we will pay off by the end of the month), but all of the rest of our purchasing of Manga and Anime products in California was paid for on the spot. Simply put, I kept right on buying cool stuff until ALL of my money ran out, and then (each time...) I then immediately hit the road back to Denver. Chuck in the LA toy market In a nutshell, that is why it was so important for all of us that this past weekend be successful. I took every cent that I could rustle up (including that $20 bill that I keep hidden in my wallet...) and invested it in all that cool stuff that thought our Mega-Store clients would want to purchase. The fact that my gut instincts have (once again) been proven to be correct means that all of the financial stretching that I undertook, as well as my driving 6,000 miles to pick it all up, was totally worthwhile. Hallelujah! I will close today by asking that you please do not forget in all of this discussion of retail sales that our continuing flow of online orders from you, and all of the other comics fans who comprise our worldwide clientele, remain critical to our future survival. Yes, our Mega-Store is now half of our financial equation, but an equally-important second half is the steady stream of support that we receive from those of you living far away from Colorado. Neither element of our company could survive and/or thrive without the other, so making sure that they work in harmony is my greatest single challenge as a manager. That is why I want to personally thank you for all your kindness and support during 2023. Your financial support has been very much appreciated. Some of the items we just got in Friday My final topic for today is a quick reminder that our annual 60% off CHRISTMAS! codeword sale remains in effect for you on all ten million+ back issue comics and magazines, excepting only new issues, a few variants and restored comics, and our professionally-graded items. While our annual stocking up of our Mega-Store for our Christmas sales is now pretty much done, our next big financial challenge is already looming. In just ten weeks (February 29th), we are supposed to pay our first 1/2 of our 2023 property taxes on our Jason St. Mega-Store. We have yet to receive this year's bill (they are mailed out in the last week of December), but last year's first half was $76,000. Suffice it to say, I would very much appreciate any additional support that you might be able to provide. Those taxes are not an insurmountable hump for us to traverse, but getting them paid would most certainly make my sleeping much easier. Happy collecting! Chuck Rozanski/Bettie Pages, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. December 18, 2023 WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #32 (British edition) P.S. Will took us out on a limb Friday, and purchased a truly fantastic collection of 200+ rare variant edition comics, including the very first WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #32 (British edition). All are available to you right now at 60% off when you utilize the CHRISTMAS! codeword, but all allocation will be done strictly on a first come, first served, basis. We only have ONE copy of each of these incredibly rare comics, so being hesitant to place your order for one, or more, of these rare variants immediately might prove detrimental. Just saying... MARVEL AMAZING MARY JANE (2019) #1 NYCC 2019 AMAZING MARY JANE (2019) #1 NYCC 2019 Fine AMAZING MARY JANE (2019) #1 RAMOS VIRG Very Fine AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) (#1-58, #500-700.5) (MARVEL) #601 2ND PRINT Very Fine AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) (#1-58, #500-700.5) (MARVEL) #606 NEWS 3.99 Very Good AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2017) (#789-801) (MARVEL LEGACY) #800 MOEBIUSVIR Very Fine CAPTAIN MARVEL (2014) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #1 YOUNG BABY Very Fine CAPTAIN MARVEL (2014) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #1 YOUNG BABY Fine CAPTAIN MARVEL (2014) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #1 YOUNG BABY Very Good DAREDEVIL (1964) (#1-380) (MAN WITHOUT FEAR) (MARVEL) #131 Fine DAREDEVIL (1964) (#1-380) (MAN WITHOUT FEAR) (MARVEL) #131 BRITISH Fine DAREDEVIL (1964) (#1-380) (MAN WITHOUT FEAR) (MARVEL) #133 30 CENT CV Very Good DAREDEVIL (1964) (#1-380) (MAN WITHOUT FEAR) (MARVEL) #168 BRITISHSGN Fine DEADPOOL (2016) (#1-36) (MARVEL) #7 YOUNG BABY Near Mint/Mint DEADPOOL (2016) (#1-36) (MARVEL) #7 YOUNG BABY Very Fine ETERNALS (1976) (#1-19) (MARVEL) (JACK KIRBY) #1 Fine ETERNALS (1976) (#1-19) (MARVEL) (JACK KIRBY) #1 30C CGC6.5 Fine ETERNALS (1976) (#1-19) (MARVEL) (JACK KIRBY) #1 BRITISH ETERNALS (1976) (#1-19) (MARVEL) (JACK KIRBY) #1 BRITISH Fine ETERNALS (1976) (#1-19) (MARVEL) (JACK KIRBY) #2 30C CGC7.0 Fine FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) (#1-416) (MARVEL) #55 BRITISH Very Good INFINITY GAUNTLET (2015) #1 YOUNG BABY Near Mint/Mint INFINITY GAUNTLET (2015) #1 YOUNG BABY Very Fine INFINITY GAUNTLET (2015) #1 YOUNG BABY Fine IRON MAN (1968) (#1-332) (INVINCIBLE IRON MAN)(MARVEL) #2 Very Fine MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #93 Fine MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #93 NEWSSTAND Very Good MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #93 NEWSSTAND Good MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #93 Very Good MS. MARVEL (1977) (#1-23) (MARVEL) (CAROL DANVERS) #1 Good MS. MARVEL (1977) (#1-23) (MARVEL) (CAROL DANVERS) #1 BRITISH Very Good NYX (2003) (#1-7) (MARVEL) #4 2X SIGNED Fine SHE-HULK (1989) (#1-60) (SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK)(MARVEL) #60 CGC 9.6 Near Mint/Mint SPIDEY SUPER STORIES (1974) #23 SPIDEY SUPER STORIES (1974) #23 Good STAR WARS (1977) (#1-107) (MARVEL) #107 NEWSSTAND Good TRANSFORMERS (1984) (#1-80) (MARVEL) #79 NEWSSTAND Very Good TRANSFORMERS (1984) (#1-80) (MARVEL) #80 NEWSSTAND Fine VENOMVERSE (2017) #1 MCFARLAB&W Near Mint/Mint WEREWOLF BY NIGHT (1972) (#1-43) (MARVEL) #32 BRITISH Fine X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #35 BRITISH Very Good X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #94 Fine X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #100 Fine X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #101 BRITISH Good X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #222 NEWSSTAND Fair X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #244 NEWSSTAND Very Good X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #266 NEWSSTAND Fine X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #266 NEWSSTAND Good X-MEN (1991) (#1-275) (MARVEL) #100 DFE S&N Very Fine DC BATGIRL ADVENTURES (1998) #1 NEWSSTAND Very Good BATGIRL ADVENTURES (1998) #1 BATGIRL ADVENTURES (1998) #1 Very Fine BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #608 NEW YORK Good BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #613 NEWSSTAND Good BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #663 NEWSSTAND Near Mint/Mint BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #666 NEWSSTAND Very Fine BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #668 NEWSSTAND Very Fine BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #685 NEWSSTAND Fine BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #686 NEWSSTAND Very Good BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #686 ROSS NEWS Very Fine BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #700 NEWSSTAND Good BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES (1995) #25 NEWSSTAND Fine BATMAN ADVENTURES (1992) #12 NEWSSTAND Very Good BATMAN ADVENTURES (1992) #12 Very Good BATMAN ADVENTURES (1992) #25 BESTWESTRN Good BATMAN ADVENTURES (1992) #28 BATMANLOGO Very Good BATMAN ADVENTURES (1992) #28 NEWSSTAND Fine BATMAN ADVENTURES (2003) #7 NEWSSTAND Very Good BATMAN ADVENTURES (2003) #16 NEWSSTAND Good BATMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL (1994) #1 NEWSSTAND BATMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL (1994) #1 NEWSSTAND Near Mint/Mint BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM-TALES OF MADNESS (CATACLYSM) (1998) #1 Good BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY (PAUL DINI) (DC VIDEO GAME) (2011) #1 NEWSSTAND Very Fine BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY (PAUL DINI) (DC VIDEO GAME) (2011) #2 NEWSSTAND Fine BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY (PAUL DINI) (DC VIDEO GAME) (2011) #3 NEWSSTAND Fine BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY (PAUL DINI) (DC VIDEO GAME) (2011) #4 NEWSSTAND Very Good BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY (PAUL DINI) (DC VIDEO GAME) (2011) #5 NEWSSTAND Very Good DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE (2015) #1 LEE CGC9.6 Near Mint/Mint DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE (2015) #3 LEE Near Mint/Mint DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE (2015) #4 LEE Fine DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE (2015) #5 LEE Very Fine DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE (2015) #6 LEE Near Mint/Mint DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE (2015) #8 LEE Near Mint/Mint DC PRIDE: TIM DRAKE SPECIAL (2022) #1 Fine DC PRIDE: TIM DRAKE SPECIAL (2022) #1 Near Mint/Mint DC PRIDE: TIM DRAKE SPECIAL (2022) #1 VARIANT Near Mint/Mint DC PRIDE: TIM DRAKE SPECIAL (2022) #1 VARIANT Very Fine DC PRIDE: TIM DRAKE SPECIAL (2022) #1 VARIANT Fine DC PRIDE: TIM DRAKE SPECIAL (2022) #1 Very Fine DEMON (1990) (#0-58) (DC) #14 Near Mint/Mint DETECTIVE COMICS (1937) (#0-881) (DC) #737 NEWSSTAND DETECTIVE COMICS (1937) (#0-881) (DC) #737 NEWSSTAND Very Fine DETECTIVE COMICS (1937) (#0-881) (DC) #871 2ND PRINT Very Fine DETECTIVE COMICS (1937) (#0-881) (DC) #881 NEWSSTAND Very Fine GOTHAM CITY SIRENS (2009) #1 2ND PRINT Good GOTHAM CITY SIRENS (2009) #23 NEWSSTAND Very Good GOTHAM CITY SIRENS (2009) #23 Very Good GOTHAM CITY SIRENS (2009) #24 NEWSSTAND Very Good GOTHAM CITY SIRENS (2009) #24 Very Fine GOTHAM CITY SIRENS (2009) #25 Near Mint/Mint GOTHAM CITY SIRENS (2009) #26 NEWSSTAND Good JUSTICE LEAGUE (2018) (#1-UP) (DC UNIVERSE) #1 CHEUNGPENC Very Fine JUSTICE LEAGUE (2018) (#1-UP) (DC UNIVERSE) #1 LEEPENCILS Fine JUSTICE LEAGUE (2018) (#1-UP) (DC UNIVERSE) #2 LEE B&W Very Fine JUSTICE LEAGUE (2018) (#1-UP) (DC UNIVERSE) #7 LEEPENCILS Very Fine JUSTICE LEAGUE (2018) (#1-UP) (DC UNIVERSE) #9 LEEPENCILS Very Fine DARK HORSE COMICS DARK HORSE PRESENTS (1986) (#1-157) #61 Near Mint/Mint STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES - A TALE OF JANGO & BOBA FETT (2010) #4 NEWSSTAND Good IMAGE COMICS GEN-13 (1994) (#0-5) (IMAGE) #1 1/2 LTD ED GEN-13 (1994) (#0-5) (IMAGE) #1 1/2 LTD ED Very Fine GEN-13 (1994) (#0-5) (IMAGE) #1 NEWSSTAND Very Fine GEN-13 (1995) (#1-36) (IMAGE) #11 EUROPEAN Near Mint/Mint HACK SLASH: BACK TO SCHOOL (2023) #1 B SEELEY Very Fine HACK SLASH: BACK TO SCHOOL (2023) #1 C CASELLI Near Mint/Mint HACK SLASH: BACK TO SCHOOL (2023) #1 D SEELEY Near Mint/Mint HAUNT YOU TO THE END (2023) #5 A MUTTI Near Mint/Mint HAUNT YOU TO THE END (2023) #5 A MUTTI Very Fine INDEPENDENTS FRIGHT NIGHT (1988) #17 (Now Comics) Fine FRIGHT NIGHT (1988) #17 (Now Comics) Very Good FRIGHT NIGHT (1988) #17 (Now Comics) Very Fine GRIMM SPOTLIGHT: ZODIAC VS. HYDRA (2023) #1 A RIVEIRO (Zenescope Entertainment Inc) Near Mint/Mint GRITS N GEARS (2022) #5 A SB (Blood Moon Comics Llc) Very Fine GUNBREED (2023) #2 A GONZALEZ (Blizzard Entertainment) Near Mint/Mint HEAD (2002) #1 (Eros Comix (Fantagraphics)) Fine HEAD (2002) #1 (Eros Comix (Fantagraphics)) Near Mint/Mint HEAD (2002) #1 (Eros Comix (Fantagraphics)) Very Fine HEAD (2002) #1 (Eros Comix (Fantagraphics)) Very Good HEAVY METAL (1977) (MAGAZINE) #8802 SPRING HEAVY METAL (1977) (MAGAZINE) #8802 SPRING (Heavy Metal) Good JONTAR (1986) #3 (MATURE MAGIC PUBLICATIONS) Near Mint/Mint JONTAR (1986) #3 (MATURE MAGIC PUBLICATIONS) Fine JONTAR (1986) #3 (MATURE MAGIC PUBLICATIONS) Very Fine JONTAR (1986) #3 (MATURE MAGIC PUBLICATIONS) Very Good MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER (1991) (#0-64) (VALIANT) #0 W/OUT CARD (Acclaim/Valiant) Near Mint/Mint MR. MONSTER (ECLIPSE) (1985) #2 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine MR. MONSTER (ECLIPSE) (1985) #2 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint MR. MONSTER (ECLIPSE) (1985) #2 (Eclipse Enterprises) Good MR. MONSTER (ECLIPSE) (1985) #2 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine SLEEPING BEAUTY: NIGHTMARE QUEEN (GRIMM UNIVERSE) (2023) #1 A VITORINO (Zenescope Entertainment Inc) Near Mint/Mint SLEEPING BEAUTY: NIGHTMARE QUEEN (GRIMM UNIVERSE) (2023) #1 A VITORINO (Zenescope Entertainment Inc) Very Fine TICK (2009) (#1-10) (NEW ENGLAND COMICS) #100 (New England Big Foot Studio) Fine TICK (2009) (#1-10) (NEW ENGLAND COMICS) #100 (New England Big Foot Studio) Near Mint/Mint TICK (2009) (#1-10) (NEW ENGLAND COMICS) #100 (New England Big Foot Studio) Very Fine VAMPIRELLA (MAGAZINE) (1969) #1 VAMPIRELLA (MAGAZINE) (1969) #1 (Warren Publishing Company) Good VAMPIRELLA (MAGAZINE) (1969) #3 (Warren Publishing Company) Fine VAMPIRELLA (MAGAZINE) (1969) #113 (Warren Publishing Company) Good Special Bonus Book - ULTIMATE X-MEN: ULTIMATE COLLECTION TPB (2006) #2 *Sale $5.00* Current Newsletter