CHRISTMAS Codeword Ending Soon! Howdy! Chuck in his Comic's Vault (click on image for larger view) I hope that you had as nice a weekend as I did. I spent the past three days working in my comics vault, sorting (and reading) my personal collection of fanzines and Underground Comix. One thing that happens to almost all collectors is that we have periods of time when we accumulate items for our collections, and other periods when we are actually able to enjoy them. Being the leader of Mile High Comics keeps me insanely busy much of the year, so I find it to be a genuine delight when I am able to finally have a moment to breathe, and to relax and enjoy my own personal acquisitions of the previous year. In this instance, I was not just integrating new items into existing files, but also expanding and completing the primary files. As a case in point, while I had arranged over 3,000 of my Undergrounds into a single alpha-numeric sequence when I first build my vault, two full long boxes of Underground Comix that I collected during the 1970's were missed because they were on a back shelf in our storage barn. Within those two boxes were copies of some of the rarest Undergrounds ever released, such as Joel Beck's THE PROFIT. Spending yesterday perusing those two long-lost boxes was a genuine delight, as it felt just like visiting old friends... As an aside, for those of you who collect Undergrounds and fanzines, I will be trying to add more of them into our Mile High Comics database over the next year. They were really not much of a priority for us in the past, as interest in those two genres was so low as to make it hardly worthwhile. Times change, however, and many more astute fans have come to realize that some of the most unique and interesting material in all of comics history appeared in those two genres, oftentimes in publications with print runs of under 1,000 copies each. In all honesty, I don't know when I can get to this project, as my entire month of January is already pretty well booked. I will try, however, to have at least have (some) cover price variants created for ZAP and FREAK BROS, two of the most popular Underground Comix. Ironically, the later issues, and higher cover price variants, on those two titles are much harder to obtain than many of the printings from the 1970's. In case you're wondering what I'll be trying to accomplish during January, buying more comics is a big priority. I'm starting out by revising our existing Marvel buying list, which we already have online for you. There have been some issues where Pam's vigorous buying of collections of the past few months has completed sated our current needs. In a few other instances, however, we have not been receiving certain scarce back issues as rapidly as they are selling. In those cases, I am increasing our buying prices to even more generous levels. After the revisions of the Marvel buying prices are completed, the next major project that I will be tackling will be the creation of our overall DC buying list. Pam has already been buying DC's in rather large quantities based upon educated estimates, but creating a defined set of DC buying prices should make everyone much more comfortable. That enormous task should take me a couple of months, as just the typing of all of the DC titles and issue numbers will require an immense level of effort. Finally, I am going out on my first buying trip of the year on the 23rd of January, starting with a trip to the Pug Productions one-day show in East Hanover, New Jersey on January 24th. I'll be on the road for nearly two weeks on that trip visiting comics retailers and wholesaler warehouses all through the New York and New Jersey area, so I should be able to send home a truckload of great back issues. Business has been really quite exceptional of late, so we need even more comics! Before I leave the subject of buying comics, I did want to mention that our head buyer, Pam Brandle, has a full war chest with which to buy collections right now. Like most comics dealers, we are pretty well stocked on most comics printed after 1988, but we will still buy entire collections of more recent material if your collection contains at least a few of the harder-to-find issues that we are constantly seeking. On older material, we are delighted when we are offered collections of not only Marvel and DC comics, but also ACG, ARCHIE, HARVEY, DELL, GOLD KEY, EC, TOWER, WARREN, and any other pre-1988 publisher. Pam is exceptionally knowledgeable about older comics, and is authorized to negotiate on all manner of collections. We generally use Overstreet as a guide when buying older material, with our buying prices ranging from 10%-50% of Overstreet, depending on popularity. As a case in point, if you have some obscure early 1950's humor comic for which we see very little demand, 10% is the norm. On Timely's, however, where we can ask above-Overstreet prices, we are happy to pay 50%, or sometimes even more. To get an idea of what your collection might bring, just call Pam (weekdays 9-5) at 1-800-676-6423, or write to her a pam@milehighcomics.com. Pam has cash to spend! I'll close out today's newsletter with a reminder that our 40% off CHRISTMAS codeword sale is about to end. I have yet to set the final date for this once-a-year spectacular codeword sale, but I'll let you know on Wednesday. In the meantime, I've asked Lynne to list all of our New-In-Stock publishers for you at the end of this newsletter. Even during the holidays, Pam's inventory teams have managed to add tens of thousands of scarce back issues into our New-In-Stock listings. Additionally, these listings will definitely be expanding daily now that the new year has arrived, as we have a backlog of over 50,000 great comics waiting to be graded and entered. And to be clear, the 40% off CHRISTMAS discount does apply to all back issue comics and magazines that we list, except for new comics, trades, graphic novels and hardbacks, and the Dallas Stephens consignment issues. That means that almost all of the items that you can view by clicking on any of the New-In-Stock listings provided below are available to you at 40% off of the prices currently listed on our website. Happy Collecting! Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. Advance Previews of next weeks comics from Archie Comics MARVEL COMICS Marvel MARVEL ATLAS TITLES Marvel/Malibu Marvel United Kingdom Publishings DC COMICS DC DC/AMERICA'S BEST DC: Helix Press DC: IMPACT COMICS DC: Milestone Press DC: Piranha Press DC: Paradox Press DC: Vertigo Press DC/Wildstorm DARK HORSE COMICS Dark Horse Comics IMAGE COMICS Image Comics Image: Avalon Image Top Cow TPB/HC's Trade Paperbacks/Hardcovers Independent Publishers Aazurn Publishing Abstract Studio Acclaim/Valiant ACG Adhesive Comics Angel Phoenix Publishing Astronauts In Trouble Amaze Ink Angel Entertainment ANGRY DRUNK GRAPHICS Animation Magazine Antimatter Antarctic Press Ape Entertainment APL A Plus Comics Archie Comics Arcana Studio Archaia Studios Press Aspen Active Synapse Atomeka Press Atlas/Seaboard Attic Aardvark-Vanaheim Avatar Comics Awesome Entertainment BASEMENT COMICS Bear Mountain Enterprises Beckett Entertainment Berserker Big City Comics Blonde Avenger Comics Blackthorne Publishing Bloodfire Studios Blue Water Comics Bongo Comics BOOM PRODUCTIONS Boom Studios Brainstorm Comics Black Bull BUENAVENTURA PRESS Cartoon Books Cinefantastique Cinefex Chaos Comics CHECKER COMICS Charlton Comics Interview Publications Comics Zone Productions Columbia Comics Group COMIC MEDIA CPM Comics Crossgen Comics Crusade Carnival Comics Cry For Dawn Productions Cathead C&T Graphics Publications Curtis Publishing Company Dabel Brothers Productions Damage Press Double Diamond Press Devil's Due Publishing DYNAMITE Entertainment Defiant Dell Publishing Desperado Publishing Dimensions Publishing Drawn & Quarterly Eagle (British) Eclipse Enterprises Eddie Campbell Comics EIDOLON ENTERTAINMENT Epoch Eternity Comics (World/Imperial) FABBRI PUBLISHING FANTASTIC FILMS First Comics Fitzgerald Publishing Co. 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