80% Off BARGAINS Codeword Sale Ends Wednesday! Howdy! After a 2,000-mile journey out to Los Angeles, and back, over just the past four days, I have returned to our farm in Colorado. I have a feeling that I am going to need to take things a bit easy this week, as my energy level this morning is very low. That having been said, I'm not feeling at all bad, which is remarkable considering that I have only averaged about five hours of sleep per night during the trip, and that I had to carry 40 loads of household goods to the rental van from my daughter, Aleta's, 3rd floor apartment in LA. I guess that lifting all those long boxes full of comics for these many decades has been good for retaining my stamina... Speaking of many decades, I did want to make note of the fact that I opened the first Mile High Comics retail store on September 30th, 1974. That being the case, this upcoming Wednesday will mark my 35th anniversary of being "officially" in business. I actually started selling comics to my friends (and through a local thrift shop near where I lived in Frankfurt, Germany) in 1969 (at the age of 14), and had my first booth at an antiques fair in Colorado Springs, Colorado in February of 1970. I also began selling at comics conventions all around the country, in 1972. Taking those early transactions into account, I'm actually in my 40th year in the comics business right now. It is still nice, however, to remember the traumas and excitement that surrounded the opening of my first retail store. My entire working capital at the time consisted of $800 in cash (which I had just earned at the 1974 San Diego Convention), and my convention inventory of approximately 40 long boxes of rare comics. That ended up being just barely enough capital to allow my little store to survive, as the store only grossed $1650 in its entire first month. I stuck with it, however, and that first little comics shop in the back of a Science Fiction bookstore on Pearl St. eventually evolved into the Mile High Comics, Inc. that exists today. None of our success could ever has occurred, however, without the sometimes decades long support of comics fans just like you. Regardless of whether you've been buying from us for all 40 years like my good friend, Bob Conway (Howdy, Bob!), or just placed your first order with Mile High Comics just last week, I want you to know that I sincerely and genuinely thank you for your supporting our efforts. Your kindness is very much appreciated! My only other news note for today is a quick mention that the 70%-90% off BARGAINS codeword that went into effect for you on Friday will definitely be ending on this upcoming Wednesday, at noon. In case you were wondering, the initial response to the BARGAINS codeword sale has already caused our sales to surge over our highest projections for this weekend, so it looks like our cash balance for September 30th (the last day of the 3rd quarter) will be very impressive (please keep in mind the codeword does not apply to new comics, Dallas Stephens comics, trade paperbacks, hard covers, graphic novels, statues, or supplies). With any luck, that will help to sway our bank into supporting my making an offer on the 60,000 square foot warehouse that I am seeking to buy. Even if the bank doesn't go along, however, having extra cash in the bank on October 1st is always a good idea, as October and November are typically our two slowest months of the year. Blessedly, it looks right now like we're going to be pretty well set for the fall season, so we can concentrate on just buying and sorting even more comics. Oddly enough, this upcoming slower period is really the calm before the storm, as December and January, in direct contrast, are our two busiest months. We're going to have to really hustle to get ready! Happy Collecting! Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. Advance Previews of next weeks comics from Archie Comics Mile High Comics Sign 1974 (click on image for larger view) PS: I thought that you might like to see the very first Mile High Comics store sign. Since our first store was in the back of a Science Fiction bookstore, we were only allowed to tape this little sign inside the front window to let comics fans know that we were there. I had no money for a sign, so I traded Wonder Woman comics to one of our customers for her to paint this nifty image. If you look closely, you can see where I used whiteout to cover up the "In Rear" portion of the sign in 1976, so that we could also use it at our first street front location. We had to be very frugal and innovative in those difficult early days of Mile High Comics... Current Newsletter