LA Fire Near Chuck's Daughter's House Howdy! As you are probably aware from my innumerable newsletters on the subject, I drive my immense cargo van to Los Angeles several times a year to purchase wholesale quantities of Manga and Anime merchandise from the 500+ vendors who have set up shop in the vast LA Toy District. What I do not often mention is that I frequently stay overnight during those journeys at my daughter, Aleta Rozanski's, house in Glassell Park, a lushly-landscaped neighborhood just northeast of downtown LA. California Fires At 6 AM this morning, Aleta called to let me know that she, and her awesome husband, Justin, had received a pre-dawn emergency evacuation order, and had fled with their elderly kitty to the coastal enclave of Manhattan Beach to await further news. As of now (9:30 AM Mountain Time) Aleta and Justin's beautiful little home is still OK, with the incredibly destructive Eaton Fire (which devastated Altadena and parts of Pasadena overnight) still over a mile away. Our fingers are crossed that the winds abate, and that firefighters can finally start gaining some measure of control over this monstrous blaze. That having been said, I feel the need today to (once again) return to the topic of climate change wreaking harm upon our world, and most specifically to the ever-diminishing number of collectibles contained within it. While most people watch news reports about natural disasters with a special concern for the perils threatening people, pets, and personal belongings, as a professional comics retailer I cannot but to also contemplate just how many comics and Pop Culture toys are being destroyed in any given event. This alternate perspective is not a reflection of any callousness on my part, as I care deeply about the well-being of people and animals (both domestic and wild), but having heard innumerable tales of woe during my 55 years of being a collectibles retailer, I cannot but to apply that lens of bitter experience to all of the news reports that I view. Shelton and Chuck (2022) As a specific case in point, one of my dear friends is Shelton Drum, the owner/founder of the wonderful Hero's Aren't Hard To Find retail store, located in Charlotte, NC. Due to a scheduling conflict with New York Pride, I have not attended one of his annual convention in several years, but his awesome Hero's Con. attracts tens of thousands of fans to Charlotte each year, with many visitors traveling from their small hometowns located in the hills of western North Carolina. Those were the same small towns that were absolutely obliterated by the floods caused by the devastating rains of Hurricane Helene in late September of this year. We know from the news reports that Helene killed over 120 people (over several states) and innumerable animals, but I cannot help to also contemplate how many comics perished during that flooding. Hundreds of thousands? Millions? Whatever the case may be, I can assure you that there are fewer old comic books in this world after the path of destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, than existed before. So here we are, four months later, and uncontrolled wildfires are this morning ripping through some of the most beautiful neighborhoods of Southern California. If the people living in that lush paradise are lucky, the fierce Santa Ana winds that have been spreading these fires will finally abate later today, and firefighters will at last be able to stop the spread of the flames. If the winds kick back up, however, things could get really ugly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. House after Hurricane Helene (Photo from Yahoo) I will close today with a quick mention that these kinds of disasters are precisely why older comics (and other collectibles) become increasingly hard to find. When you think of comic books being destroyed in a natural disaster it is easy to think of relatively modern issues of minimal value being destroyed, but the truth of the matter is that Mother Nature is quite egalitarian, destroying Golden Age and Silver Age comics just as readily as last week's dollar books. I personally know of three collectors who lost near-complete Marvel collections (as well as most post-1956 DC's) to either fires or floods. One by one, the numbers of great older comics left standing is slowly eroding away... Please, wherever you might live, be safe, and do give some thought today about ways to better protect your comics and other collectibles from environmental harm. There are no perfect solutions, but avoiding storage in basements (which are swimming pools just waiting to happen) and elevating comics stored at ground level by at least two inches is a good start. I keep my own personal collection elevated in a cinder block building that I had specially-built, but even that is no guarantee. At the end of the day, the sad truth is that it is only the luckiest of comics that eventually survive to see old age. Happy collecting! Chuck Rozanski/Bettie Pages, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. January 8, 2025 P.S. Before I get lambasted for forgetting by my dear (sweet) wife, Nanette, I do also need to mention that our annual 60% off WINTER! codeword sale is now in effect for you on all ten million-plus back issue comics and magazines that we have in stock. Only new issues, a few variants and restored comics, and our professionally-graded items are exempt. In all honesty, this is the best time of year to add to your collection, as our selections are especially diverse right now. 'Nuff said. MARVEL ALIEN LEGION (1987) (#1-18) (MARVEL EPIC) #4 ALIEN LEGION (1987) (#1-18) (MARVEL EPIC) #4 Near Mint/Mint CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #255 NEWSSTAND Very Good CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #258 NEWSSTAND Good CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #261 NEWSSTAND Good CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #274 NEWSSTAND Good CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #277 NEWSSTAND Fine CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #281 NEWSSTAND Fine CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #285 NEWSSTAND Fine CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #296 NEWSSTAND Good CONAN (1970) (#1-275) (CONAN THE BARBARIAN) (MARVEL) #241 NEWSSTAND Fair DEATH OF WOLVERINE (2014) #1 MILE HIGH Fine HEARTS & MINDS: VIETNAM LOVE STORY GN #1 Good HULK (1962) (#1-6, #102-474, #600-635)(INCREDIBLE)(MV) #377 NEWSSTAND Good INFINITY WARS: FALLEN GUARDIAN (2018) #1 ZDARSKY Near Mint/Mint INVADERS (2019) (#1-12) (MARVEL) #3 Near Mint/Mint KICK ASS (2008) (#1-8) (MARVEL ICON) #1 MCNIVEN Near Mint/Mint MS. MARVEL (2014) (#1-19) (MARVEL) (KAMALA KHAN) #3 Near Mint/Mint OLD MAN LOGAN (2015) (#1-5) (MARVEL SECRET WARS) #2 Very Fine PETER PARKER (1976) (#1-263) (SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN) #88 NEWSSTAND Good PUNISHER ARMORY (1990) #3 Near Mint/Mint RED SONJA (1977) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #6 RED SONJA (1977) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #6 Very Good RED SONJA (1977) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #7 Good RED SONJA (1977) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #12 Good RED SONJA (1977) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #13 Very Good RED SONJA (1977) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #14 Good RED SONJA (1983) (#1-13) (MARVEL) #8 NEWSSTAND Fine RED SONJA (1983) (#1-13) (MARVEL) #9 NEWSSTAND Fine RED SONJA (1983) (#1-13) (MARVEL) #10 NEWSSTAND Very Fine RED SONJA (1983) (#1-13) (MARVEL) #11 Very Good RED SONJA (1983) (#1-13) (MARVEL) #12 Very Fine RED SONJA (1983) (#1-13) (MARVEL) #13 Fine ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #32 Fine SPIDER-MAN (1963) (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) (#1-441) #137 Fair SPIDER-MAN (1963) (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) (#1-441) #168 JEWELERS Fine SPIDER-MAN (1963) (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) (#1-441) #347 Good SPIDER-MAN 2099 (1992) (#1-46) (MARVEL) #39 NEWSSTAND Very Fine SPIDER-VERSE TEAM-UP (2014) #1 Very Fine STAR WARS (2015) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #1 DFE ALTS&N Very Fine STAR WARS (2015) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #4 SKETCH CV Fine STAR WARS (2015) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #61 FIGURE VAR Fine WEST COAST AVENGERS (1984) (#1-4) (MARVEL) #1 Good WOLVERINE TPB (1987) #1 Very Good X-MEN (1991) (#1-275) (MARVEL) #4 X-MEN (1991) (#1-275) (MARVEL) #4 Very Good DC ENEMY ACE: WAR IDYLL HARDCOVER (1990) #1 Near Mint/Mint JLA (1996) #51 Very Fine JLA (1996) #107 Very Fine JUSTICE LEAGUE (2018) (#1-UP) (DC UNIVERSE) #14 VARIANT Near Mint/Mint JUSTICE LEAGUE: ODYSSEY (2018) #6 VARIANT Near Mint/Mint LOONEY TUNES (1994) (#1-UP) (DC) #247 Fine NIGHTWING (2011) (#0-30) (DC NEW52) #1 2ND PRINT Fine PRISONER: SHATTERED VISAGE TPB #1 Fine ROBIN (1993) (#0-183) (DC) #3 NEWSSTAND Very Good ROBIN (1993) (#0-183) (DC) #5 Very Fine ROBIN (1993) (#0-183) (DC) #10 Very Fine ROBIN (1993) (#0-183) (DC) #12 NEWSSTAND Fine SAGA OF RA'S AL GHUL (1988) #2 Fine SANDMAN (1988) (#1-75) (DC/VERTIGO) #41 (DC: Vertigo Press) Very Good SANDMAN (1988) (#1-75) (DC/VERTIGO) #43 (DC: Vertigo Press) Fine SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE (1993) #11 (DC: Vertigo Press) Very Fine SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE (1993) #12 (DC: Vertigo Press) Near Mint/Mint SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE (1993) #13 (DC: Vertigo Press) Very Fine SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE (1993) #26 SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE (1993) #26 (DC: Vertigo Press) Very Fine SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE (1993) #27 (DC: Vertigo Press) Very Fine SANDMAN: DOLL'S HOUSE (VOL. 2) #1 TPB (DC: Vertigo Press) Fine SECRET ORIGINS SPECIAL (1989) #1 NEWSSTAND Near Mint/Mint SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS (1976) #2 Good SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS (1976) #14 Very Good SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS (1976) #15 Good SGT. ROCK: BETWEEN HELL AND A HARD PLACE HC (2003) #1 (DC: Vertigo Press) Good SHOWCASE '94 #3 Very Good SHOWCASE PRESENTS: MEN OF WAR TPB (2014) #1 Very Good SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SGT. ROCK TPB (2007) #1 Good SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SGT. ROCK TPB (2007) #2 Very Good STARMAN (1994) (#0-81) (DC) #0 NEWSSTAND Very Good SUGAR AND SPIKE (1956) #72 Good SUPER DC GIANT (1970) #26 Fair TEEN TITANS ANNUAL (1982) #3 Good TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT (1986) #14 Very Good TRANSMETROPOLITAN: BACK ON THE STREET TPB (VOL. 1) (1998) #1 3RD PRINT (DC: Vertigo Press) Very Fine WATCHMEN DELUXE EDITION HC (2013) #1 10TH PRINT WATCHMEN DELUXE EDITION HC (2013) #1 10TH PRINT Near Mint/Mint WORLDS FINEST (1941) (#2-323) (DC) (WORLD'S FINEST) #226 Good DARK HORSE COMICS CHOKE GASP: BEST OF 75 YEARS OF EC COMICS HC (2019) #1 Very Fine IMAGE COMICS INVINCIBLE FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (2020) #1 Fine MAXX (1993) #16 NEWSSTAND Fine OUTCAST (2014) (ROBERT KIRKMAN & PAUL AZACETA) #19 SDCC2016 Fine SPAWN (1992) #5 NEWSSTAND Good SPAWN (1992) #8 NEWSSTAND Good SPAWN (1992) #61 Very Good STARLIGHT (2014) (#1-6) (IMAGE) #4 C Near Mint/Mint INDEPENDENTS ADOLESCENT RADIOACTIVE BLACKBELT HAMSTERS (1986) #8 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine ADOLESCENT RADIOACTIVE BLACKBELT HAMSTERS (1986) #9 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine AIRBOY (1986) (#1-50) (ECLIPSE) #5 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine AIRBOY (1986) (#1-50) (ECLIPSE) #11 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine AIRBOY (1986) (#1-50) (ECLIPSE) #49 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine AIRBOY (1986) (#1-50) (ECLIPSE) #50 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine ALIEN ENCOUNTERS (ECLIPSE) (1985) #3 ALIEN ENCOUNTERS (ECLIPSE) (1985) #3 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine ALIEN WORLDS (PACIFIC) (1982) #1 (Pacific Comics) Good ALIEN WORLDS (PACIFIC) (1982) #2 (Pacific Comics) Very Good ALIEN WORLDS (PACIFIC) (1982) #3 (Pacific Comics) Very Good ALIEN WORLDS (PACIFIC) (1982) #5 (Pacific Comics) Very Good ALIEN WORLDS (PACIFIC) (1982) #9 (Pacific Comics) Fine ALL NEW EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: IRIS (2013) #1 MILE HIGH (Aspen) Very Fine ALL NEW SOULFIRE (ASPEN) (2013) #1 MILE HIGH (Aspen) Very Good ATLAS AT WAR HC (2020) #1 (Dead Reckoning) Very Fine AZTEC ACE (ECLIPSE) (1984) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine AZTEC ACE (ECLIPSE) (1984) #12 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint CALIFORNIA GIRLS (1987) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine CALIFORNIA GIRLS (1987) #2 (Eclipse Enterprises) Good CROSSFIRE (1984) #6 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine CROSSFIRE (1984) #7 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine CROSSFIRE (1984) #9 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine CROSSFIRE (1984) #10 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint CROSSFIRE (1984) #11 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine CROSSFIRE (1984) #12 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine CROSSFIRE (1984) #14 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine DESTROYER DUCK (1982) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fair DNAGENTS (1983) #1 DNAGENTS (1983) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine DNAGENTS (1983) #10 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint DNAGENTS (1983) #14 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine EC ARCHIVES: FRONTLINE COMBAT HC (2008) #1 (Gemstone) Very Fine ECLIPSE EXTRA (1985) #9 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint ECLIPSE MONTHLY (1983) #7 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint ESPERS (1986) (#1-5) (ECLIPSE) #4 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint ESPERS (1986) (#1-5) (ECLIPSE) #5 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint ESPERS (1986) (#1-5) (ECLIPSE) #5 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine GRENDEL: DEVIL'S LEGACY COLLECTION (1988) #1 TPB (Comico) Good JOHNNY NEMO MAGAZINE (COMIC SIZE) #3 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine LASER ERASER & PRESSBUTTON (1985) #2 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: TEMPEST (2018) #2 A ONEILL (IDW Publishing) Near Mint/Mint LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: TEMPEST (2018) #2 A ONEILL (IDW Publishing) Very Fine MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST WAR COMICS TPB (2007) #1 2ND PRINT (Carroll & Graf) Very Good MR. MONSTER (ECLIPSE) (1985) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine MR. MONSTER (ECLIPSE) (1985) #2 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine MR. MONSTER (ECLIPSE) (1985) #3 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine MR. MONSTER'S HIGH-OCTANE HORROR 3-D (1986) #1 W/OGLASSES (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint MS. TREE (1983) #5 MS. TREE (1983) #5 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine NEW DNAGENTS (1985) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine PROWLER (1987) (#1-4) (ECLIPSE) #4 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine RADICALLY REARRANGED RONIN RAGDOLLS ONE-SHOT (2019) #1 A EASTMAN (Kevin Eastman Studios) Near Mint/Mint ROM (2016) (#1-UP) (IDW Publishing) #1 SDCC2016 B (IDW Publishing) Fine ROM (2016) (#1-UP) (IDW Publishing) #1 SDCC2016IN (IDW Publishing) Very Fine ROM (2016) (#1-UP) (IDW Publishing) #1 SDCC2016IN (IDW Publishing) Fine SABRE (ECLIPSE) (1982) #8 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint SCOUT (#1-24) (1985) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine SCOUT (#1-24) (1985) #4 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine SCOUT (#1-24) (1985) #7 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint SCOUT (#1-24) (1985) #16 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Good SCOUT (#1-24) (1985) #23 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine SCOUT HANDBOOK (1987) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine SCOUT: WAR SHAMAN (ECLIPSE)(#1-16) (1988) #4 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT (1985) (#1-6) (ECLIPSE) #3 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Good STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN (SPECTRUM WAR) (2015) #2 POPE (IDW Publishing) Near Mint/Mint STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN (SPECTRUM WAR) (2015) #3 STOTT (IDW Publishing) Near Mint/Mint STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN (SPECTRUM WAR) (2015) #4 LAMING (IDW Publishing) Near Mint/Mint STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN (SPECTRUM WAR) (2015) #6 A (IDW Publishing) Near Mint/Mint STAR*REACH CLASSICS (1984) #1 STAR*REACH CLASSICS (1984) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine STRANGE DAYS (1984) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine STRANGE DAYS (1984) #2 (Eclipse Enterprises) Near Mint/Mint SUN RUNNERS (1984) #5 (Pacific Comics) Very Fine SURGE (DNAGENTS) (1984) #4 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine TALES OF TERROR (1985) #12 (Eclipse Enterprises) Good TALES OF TERROR (1985) #12 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Good TALES OF TERROR (1985) #12 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #8 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #8 (Mirage Studios) Good TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #8 (Mirage Studios) Fine TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #9 (Mirage Studios) Good TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #9 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #9 (Mirage Studios) Very Good TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #11 (Mirage Studios) Fine TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #11 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #15 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #15 (Mirage Studios) Fine TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #15 (Mirage Studios) Good TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #15 (Mirage Studios) Very Good TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #18 (Mirage Studios) Near Mint/Mint TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #18 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #22 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #23 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #30 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #33 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #37 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #37 (Mirage Studios) Fair TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #40 (Mirage Studios) Near Mint/Mint TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1984) (#1-62) (MIRAGE) #45 (Mirage Studios) Good VALKYRIE (1987) (#1-3) (ECLIPSE MINI-SERIES) #1 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Fine ZOMBIE TRAMP (2014) #1 MILE HIGH (Danger Zone) Very Good ZOMBIE TRAMP (2014) #11 MILE HIGH (Danger Zone) Very Good ZOT! (1984) #19 (Eclipse Enterprises) Very Good ZOT! (1984) #20 (Eclipse Enterprises) Fine Current Newsletter