Chuck Talks About Collecting

Chuck Talks About Collecting

Howdy!

After a really good health day yesterday, I am back to being a bit under the weather this morning. I am still on a very positive upswing, however, so if I maybe over exerted a little yesterday, no big deal.

Little Chuck photo 1959, With my grandmother
and grandfather at the traveling "Holiday on Ice"
show in Frankfurt, winter 1959.

Anyhoo, what I wanted to write about today is my personal passion for collecting. To begin, I was born as one of those people who are borderline hoarders, having a compulsion to hold on to every material object that comes my way. In great measure this propensity was passed on to me by my German grandfather, who raised me until I was 5 years old. My Opa survived the Second World War (and the starvation years of 1945/1946) by salvaging whatever he could from bombed out houses and businesses in our little village in Bavaria.

As a case in point, our family bomb shelter consisted of a huge culvert pipe that he pulled into our back yard with horses, and then buried four feet deep in our hof. Cut salvaged boards then formed a small platform inside, which is where my Oma, my mother (aged 8), and my uncle Christoph (aged 5) would cower whenever the British and American bombs dropped. That crude shelter is actually why I am here with you today, as our community shelter up the street became a tomb for many of our neighbors after suffering a direct hit. Had we have not had our own backyard shelter, my mother would most likely have perished inside that doomed building.

Young Chuck

Even though I was not born until ten years after the war ended, most of my childhood memories are about the pain and suffering of that dreadful period, and of the extreme deprivation afterwards. It is not something that you read about in the textbooks, but during the bitterly cold fall and winter of 1945/46, it was the official policy of the Allied Nations (Britain, USA, France, & the Soviet Union) to withhold food and medicines from German civilians. It is estimated that over one million civilians starved to death during that awful time. Those who survived, like my grandfather and my mother, were scarred for life. They could never again willingly waste a bit of food, or throw away anything that might have future value. Simply put, hoarding (or a lack thereof) sometimes determined who lived, and who died.

Long story made a bit shorter, I have worked my entire life to channel my own inculcated hoarding propensities into both my business, and my personal life. On the business side, I began stashing away my overstock comics all the way back in 1969 (when I was a mere 14 years old), and have never stopped adding to that strategic reserve for the past 56 years. When I started selling comics professionally at the Colorado Springs Antiques Fair on February 6th, 1970, I already owned over 7,000 back issues. Today, that number has grown to exceed ten million, and may even be approaching fifteen million. There are simply too many now for us to even be able to count them... Yow!

Younger Chuck and Nanette sorting through comics

That having been said, to this very day I keep right on with encouraging Will and Pam to buy even more collections. The truth of the matter is that we may already have the largest inventory of back issue comics ever assembled in the history of mankind, but the harsh reality is that more new comics are being published every week, and there are still many thousands of older issues where we have absolutely zero copies in stock. Only by continually purchasing even more back issue collections every day can we possibly mitigate those deficiencies.

In many regards, it is our continual purchasing of collections that provides you with the greatest opportunities to purchase great back issues via our website for a pittance. As you have probably already noted from my previous newsletters, we have a 70% off SWEETHEART! codeword sale in effect right now. In addition, whenever Will and Pam purchase a collection, they are authorized to take issues that are redundant to our existing stock and immediately downgrade them to fill whatever grade(s) that we are missing in our online listings. That is precisely why those who order comics from our website in the far less-expensive grades of Fair/Good/Very Good are so often surprised by receiving issues that are actually in VF/NM. They are extras to us, so we let the go at 70% off of those already steeply-discounted prices.

SECRET WARS (1984) (#1-12) (LIMTED SERIES) (MARVEL) #8

Returning to the subject of hoarding, I personally worry endlessly about the future availability of great back issues. Not only do natural disasters, fires, and flooded basements steadily reduce the number of surviving copies, but the great generational shift of "Boomer" collectors passing on their lifetime accumulations on to younger collectors seems to (finally) be waning. In our Jason St. Mega-Store Will and Pam are being offered a vast number of collections of 1990’s comics these days, but 1985 and earlier issues are simply no longer as available as they once were. Just saying...

Returning to my own hoarding, I just returned from my trip to California with seven large storage containers filled with even more pottery for inclusion in my beloved Pueblo Treasures Museum. I am actually clueless about the origin of at least 50 of these new acquisitions for my museum, as they came from the collection of a deceased Tucson doctor who practiced in the South American country of Columbia during the 1960’s and 1970’s. He purchased many older (pre-1492) artifacts from sellers in the local markets, but left little in the way of documentation as to when they were made, and/or by whom.

Chuck in his beloved Pueblo Treasures Museum yesterday

My challenge is now to research these wonderful 600+ year-old artifacts, and to try to thus recover their origins and provenance. This research will be hard work, but at the same time I believe that taking on this arduous task clearly illustrates my deep commitment to my museum, and to my collection. To my way of thinking, being a collector requires an ongoing love affair with the objects that bring us such great inner fulfillment and joy. I can but hope today that your happiness is equally enhanced when you receive your latest package from Mile High Comics. Collectors who help collectors. That is who we are, and while it may sound a bit trite, helping to make your life just a little bit more joyous is what we seek to accomplish every day.

Happy collecting!

Chuck Rozanski/Bettie Pages,
President - Mile High Comics, Inc.
February 5, 2026

MARVEL

AMAZING FANTASY #1000 (2022) #1000 SHATCGC9.8

AMAZING FANTASY #1000 (2022) #1000 SHATCGC9.8 Near Mint/Mint

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) (#1-58, #500-700.5) (MARVEL) #638 CGC 9.2 Near Mint/Mint

AVENGERS (1963) (#1-402) (MARVEL) #16 CGC 3.0 Good
AVENGERS (1963) (#1-402) (MARVEL) #87 CGC 4.5 Very Good
AVENGERS (1963) (#1-402) (MARVEL) #111 CGC 6.5 Fine

BLACK GOLIATH (1976) #2 Near Mint/Mint

CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #227 Very Fine
CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) (#100-454) (MARVEL) #318 NEWSCGC9.4 Near Mint/Mint

CAPTAIN MARVEL (1968) (#1-62) (MARVEL) #1 Good
CAPTAIN MARVEL (1968) (#1-62) (MARVEL) #2 Very Good

CRYSTAR (1983) (#1-11)(SAGA OF CRYSTAR CRYSTAL WARRIOR) #1 Near Mint/Mint

DARTH VADER (2015) (#1-25) (STAR WARS) (MARVEL) #1 CAMPBEL9.8 Near Mint/Mint

FRANKENSTEIN (1973) (#1-18) (FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER) (MV) #2 CGC 9.2 Near Mint/Mint

GHOST RIDER (2022) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #7 UNKNOWN9.6 Near Mint/Mint

GI JOE (1982) (#1-155) (MARVEL) #20 Good
GI JOE (1982) (#1-155) (MARVEL) #20 Fine
GI JOE (1982) (#1-155) (MARVEL) #20 Very Fine
GI JOE (1982) (#1-155) (MARVEL) #20 Very Good

HUMAN FLY (1977) (#1-19) (MARVEL) #1 CGC 9.0 Very Fine

HUMAN FLY (1977) (#1-19) (MARVEL) #18

HUMAN FLY (1977) (#1-19) (MARVEL) #18 Very Good

INTERNATIONAL IRON MAN (2016) #1 HIP HOP Near Mint/Mint

JOHN CARTER (1977) (#1-28) (WARLORD OF MARS) (MARVEL) #15 Very Good
JOHN CARTER (1977) (#1-28) (WARLORD OF MARS) (MARVEL) #17 Fine
JOHN CARTER (1977) (#1-28) (WARLORD OF MARS) (MARVEL) #19 Very Good

KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #161 Fine
KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #162 Very Fine
KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #163 Very Good
KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #165 Very Good
KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #166 Very Good
KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #167 Very Fine
KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #168 Very Good
KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #170 Fine
KID COLT (1962) (#103-229) (MARVEL) #171 Very Good

MARVEL SUPER ACTION (1977) #1 CGC 4.5 Very Good

MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL (1977) #22 NEWSSTAND Good

MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) (#1-150) (MARVEL) #1 Good
MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) (#1-150) (MARVEL) #67 Near Mint/Mint
MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) (#1-150) (MARVEL) #95 NEWSSTAND Very Fine

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #37 Near Mint/Mint

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #43

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #43 Very Fine
MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #67 Very Fine
MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) (#1-100) (MARVEL) #68 Very Fine

MARVEL VS. CAPCOM: INFINITE (MARVEL CUSTOM EDITION) (2017) #1 Very Fine

MASTER OF KUNG FU (1974) (#15-125) (MARVEL) (SHANG-CHI) #92 Very Good
MASTER OF KUNG FU (1974) (#15-125) (MARVEL) (SHANG-CHI) #115 Near Mint/Mint

MICRONAUTS (1979) (#1-59) (MARVEL) #48 Fine

MICRONAUTS ANNUAL (1979) #2 Fine

MOON KNIGHT (1980) (#1-38) (MARVEL) #1 Good
MOON KNIGHT (1980) (#1-38) (MARVEL) #1 Fair
MOON KNIGHT (1980) (#1-38) (MARVEL) #1 Very Good

MOON KNIGHT (2014) (#1-17) (MARVEL) #1 Near Mint/Mint
MOON KNIGHT (2014) (#1-17) (MARVEL) #2 Near Mint/Mint

NOVA (1976) (#1-25) (RICHARD RIDER) (MARVEL) #21 Near Mint/Mint

POWER MAN/IRON FIST (LUKE CAGE, POWER MAN #1-49) (1972) #87 Very Good

PRINCESS LEIA (STAR WARS) (2015) #1 ROSSCGC9.8 Near Mint/Mint

ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #1 NEWSSTAND Fine

ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #1 NEWSSTAND

ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #1 NEWSSTAND Good
ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #2 NEWSSTAND Very Fine
ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #10 Fine
ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #34 Very Good
ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #35 Good
ROM (1979) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #37 Fine

SECRET WARS (1984) (#1-12) (LIMTED SERIES) (MARVEL) #8 Fine
SECRET WARS (1984) (#1-12) (LIMTED SERIES) (MARVEL) #8 Good
SECRET WARS (1984) (#1-12) (LIMTED SERIES) (MARVEL) #8 Very Fine

SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS ANNUAL (1965) #1 Fair
SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS ANNUAL (1965) #4 Good

SPIDER-MAN (1963) (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) (#1-441) #63 Good

SPIDER-MAN 2099 (1992) (#1-46) (MARVEL) #1 CGC 9.6 Near Mint/Mint

SPIDER-MAN 2099: EXODUS (2022) #2 CGC 9.6 Near Mint/Mint

STAR WARS (1977) (#1-107) (MARVEL) #5 CGC 6.0 Fine

STAR WARS (2015) (#1-75) (MARVEL) #2 6TH CGC9.6 Near Mint/Mint

THOR (1962) (#83-125 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, 126-502) #338 NEWSSTAND Near Mint/Mint
THOR (1962) (#83-125 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, 126-502) #338 NEWSSTAND Very Fine
THOR (1962) (#83-125 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, 126-502) #338 NEWSSTAND Fine

THOR (1962) (#83-125 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, 126-502) #338 NEWSSTAND

THOR (1962) (#83-125 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, 126-502) #338 NEWSSTAND Very Good
THOR (1962) (#83-125 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, 126-502) #338 NEWSSTAND Fair
THOR (1962) (#83-125 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, 126-502) #399 CGC 9.4 Near Mint/Mint

TRANSFORMERS (1984) (#1-80) (MARVEL) #1 Very Fine
TRANSFORMERS (1984) (#1-80) (MARVEL) #2 Fine
TRANSFORMERS (1984) (#1-80) (MARVEL) #3 Fine
TRANSFORMERS (1984) (#1-80) (MARVEL) #4 Very Fine
TRANSFORMERS (1984) (#1-80) (MARVEL) #5 Fine

VENOM: FUNERAL PYRE (1993) #1 CGC 8.5 Very Fine

WARLOCK SPECIAL EDITION (1982) #5 Good

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) (#1-129) (MARVEL) #1 Very Good

WOLVERINE (1982) (#1-4) (MARVEL LIMITED SERIES) #1 Very Good
WOLVERINE (1982) (#1-4) (MARVEL LIMITED SERIES) #2 Good
WOLVERINE (1982) (#1-4) (MARVEL LIMITED SERIES) #3 Fine
WOLVERINE (1982) (#1-4) (MARVEL LIMITED SERIES) #3 NEWSCGC3.0 Good
WOLVERINE (1982) (#1-4) (MARVEL LIMITED SERIES) #4 Good

X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #95 Fair
X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #144 Fine
X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #144 Very Fine

X-MEN (1963) (#1-113, UNCANNY X-MEN #114-544) (MARVEL) #150

X-MEN AND THE TEEN TITANS (1982) #1 Very Fine

X-MEN ANNUAL (1970) #2 CGC 3.5 Q Very Good

YOUNG AVENGERS (2005) (#1-12) #4 CGC 9.4 Near Mint/Mint

DC

ABSOLUTE BATMAN (2024) #5 CONCGC9.6S Near Mint/Mint

ADVENTURE COMICS (1938) (#32-503) (DC) #467

ADVENTURE COMICS (1938) (#32-503) (DC) #467 Very Good

ADVENTURES OF BOB HOPE (1950) #16 Fair

ALL-STAR SQUADRON (1981) #13 NEWSSTAND Near Mint/Mint

BATMAN (1940) (#0-713) (DC) #442 CGC 9.4 Near Mint/Mint

BATMAN (2011) (#0-52) (DC NEW52) #40 MOVIESTYLE Very Good

BATMAN INCORPORATED: LEVIATHAN STRIKES (2011) #1 CGC 9.8 Near Mint/Mint

DC COMICS PRESENTS (1978) #51 Fine
DC COMICS PRESENTS (1978) #52 Fine

DC SPECIAL (1968) #7 Very Fine
DC SPECIAL (1968) #9 Good
DC SPECIAL (1968) #11 Very Fine

FIRESTORM (1982) (#1-100) #5 Very Fine

FROM BEYOND THE UNKNOWN (1969) #1 Fine
FROM BEYOND THE UNKNOWN (1969) #2 Fine
FROM BEYOND THE UNKNOWN (1969) #3 Good
FROM BEYOND THE UNKNOWN (1969) #4 Good
FROM BEYOND THE UNKNOWN (1969) #5 Good

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS (2009) (#1-26) (DC) #1 CGC 9.6 Near Mint/Mint

GREEN LANTERN (1990) (#0-181) (DC) #49 DCUNIVERSE

GREEN LANTERN (1990) (#0-181) (DC) #49 DCUNIVERSE Good

JONAH HEX (1977) #17 Good
JONAH HEX (1977) #23 Near Mint/Mint
JONAH HEX (1977) #65 Fine

JUSTICE LEAGUE (2018) (#1-UP) (DC UNIVERSE) #28 CON FOIL Very Fine

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK (2011) (#0-40) (DC NEW52) #40 MOVIESTYLE Very Fine

KAMANDI (1972) #15 Near Mint/Mint
KAMANDI (1972) #19 Very Fine
KAMANDI (1972) #22 Very Fine
KAMANDI (1972) #23 Very Fine
KAMANDI (1972) #24 Very Fine
KAMANDI (1972) #56 Near Mint/Mint

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (1980) (#259-354) (DC) #290 Near Mint/Mint
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (1980) (#259-354) (DC) #292 Very Fine

MEN OF WAR (1977) #11 Very Fine

METAL MEN (1963) (#1-56) (DC) #41 Fair
METAL MEN (1963) (#1-56) (DC) #42 Fine
METAL MEN (1963) (#1-56) (DC) #43 Very Fine
METAL MEN (1963) (#1-56) (DC) #44 Very Good

MYSTERY IN SPACE (1951) (#1-117) (DC) #75 CGC 5.5 C1 Fine

PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #2

PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #18

PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #18 Fair
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #24 Good
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #27 Very Fine
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #28 Good
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #29 Very Fine
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #30 Very Fine
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #31 Good
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #32 Very Fine
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #38 Good
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #40 Good
PHANTOM STRANGER (1969) (#1-42) #41 Good

SHOWCASE (1956) (#1-104) (SHOWCASE PRESENTS...) (DC) #83 Fair
SHOWCASE (1956) (#1-104) (SHOWCASE PRESENTS...) (DC) #84 Fair
SHOWCASE (1956) (#1-104) (SHOWCASE PRESENTS...) (DC) #87 Very Fine

STRANGE ADVENTURES (1950) (#1-244) (DC) #226 Fine

STRANGE SPORTS STORIES (1973) (#1-6) (DC) #1 Very Fine

SUPER DC GIANT (1970) #20 Very Fine

SWAMP THING, SAGA OF (1982) #37 (DC: Vertigo Press) Very Good

TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #207 Good
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #208 Near Mint/Mint
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #209 Very Good
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #210 Near Mint/Mint
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #211 Very Fine

TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #213

TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #213 Very Good
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #214 Very Fine
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #216 Very Good
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #218 Near Mint/Mint
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #219 Very Fine
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #220 Near Mint/Mint
TARZAN (1972) (#207-258) (DC) #221 Very Fine

TEEN TITANS (2016) (#1-UP) (DC REBIRTH) #12 CGC 9.4 Near Mint/Mint

TIME WARP (1979) #3 NEWSSTAND Very Fine

UNEXPECTED (1956) (TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED #1-104) #138

WARLORD (1976) (#1-133) (DC) #16 Near Mint/Mint
WARLORD (1976) (#1-133) (DC) #30 Very Fine
WARLORD (1976) (#1-133) (DC) #37 Very Fine

WEIRD WAR TALES (1971) (#1-124) (DC) #68 Very Fine

WEIRD WESTERN TALES (1972) #24 Near Mint/Mint
WEIRD WESTERN TALES (1972) #25 Fine

WONDER WOMAN (1987) (#0-226) (DC) #77 CGC 9.8 Near Mint/Mint

DARK HORSE COMICS

ALIENS SPECIAL (DARK HORSE) (1997) #1

ALIENS SPECIAL (DARK HORSE) (1997) #1 Very Fine

PREDATOR (1989) (#1-4) (DARK HORSE) #1 2ND PRT Good

IMAGE COMICS

DARKNESS (1996) (#1-40) (IMAGE TOP COW) #7 VARIANT (Image Top Cow) Near Mint/Mint

DARKNESS (2002) (#1-24) (IMAGE TOP COW) #1 HOLOFOIL (Image Top Cow) Very Good

INVINCIBLE (2003) #95 Fine
INVINCIBLE (2003) #97 Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE (2003) #100 B Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE (2003) #100 D Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE (2003) #103 Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE (2003) #144 A OTTLEY Near Mint/Mint

SPAWN (1992) #138 Good
SPAWN (1992) #139 Good
SPAWN (1992) #140 Good
SPAWN (1992) #156 Good
SPAWN (1992) #300 K CAPULVIR Fine

WITCHBLADE (1995) (#1-185, #500) (IMAGE) #25 PRISM VAR. (Image Top Cow) Fine

INDEPENDENTS

A PLUS (1977) #5 (Megaton Comics) Good

BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY (GOLD KEY) (1963) #21

BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY (GOLD KEY) (1963) #21 (Gold Key) Good
BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY (GOLD KEY) (1963) #22 (Gold Key) Good
BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY (GOLD KEY) (1963) #26 (Gold Key) Very Good
BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY (GOLD KEY) (1963) #30 (Gold Key) Good
BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY (GOLD KEY) (1963) #36 (Gold Key) Very Good

CODY STARBUCK (HOWARD CHAYKIN) (1978) #1 (Star Reach Publication) Very Fine

ELRIC OF MELNIBONE (1983) #3 (Pacific Comics) Very Fine

GHOST STORIES (1962) #25 (Dell Publishing) Very Fine
GHOST STORIES (1962) #26 (Dell Publishing) Fine
GHOST STORIES (1962) #30 (Dell Publishing) Fine
GHOST STORIES (1962) #32 (Dell Publishing) Very Fine
GHOST STORIES (1962) #34 (Dell Publishing) Very Fine
GHOST STORIES (1962) #35 (Dell Publishing) Very Fine

LAUGH (1946) #322 CGC 7.5 (Archie Comics) Very Fine

PHANTOM LADY (1994) (VEROTIK) #1 CGC 9.6 (Verotik) Near Mint/Mint

PRESIDENT EVIL MAKE AMERICA TASTE GREAT AGAIN (2016) #1 (Antarctic Press) Fine

TWILIGHT ZONE (1962) (#1-91) (GOLD KEY) #29 (Gold Key) Very Fine

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