Ultra-rare 1970's Comics Portfolios Collection Frank Frazetta, Barry Smith Howdy! Repairing Pipeline at Jason St Mega Store I have two newsletters for you today. I will start off the first by letting you know that stage one of our Jason St. water line repairs is now complete. Our contractors installed the new right angle pipe, and then filled in the excavation with new asphalt. You can now hardly even tell that $4,800 of our precious working capital got dumped into that dreadful hole. Sigh... Our next stage is to repair and replace the interior pipes that froze and cracked when the previous owners of the building turned off the heat to the building, in a seriously misguided effort to cut costs. I dread the outcome of this exploration, but at least now that we have water pressure again, we can begin the process of testing each and every pipe in the building. Suffice it to say, with over 65,000 square feet of high pressure lines to check, this could get expensive... What matters for you in all of this effort on our part is that with a completely unknown set of costs staring me in the face, there is simply no way that I can end our current 20% off REPAIRS codeword sale. That means that you have at least one more weekend in which you can earn a full 20% off on all of our back issue comics, back issue magazines, CGC-graded comics, graphic novels, back list trade paperbacks, and even our entire stock of back list comics hardbacks. The 20% off REPAIRS codeword applies even, if as is the case with most of our back list books, they are already on sale on our website. This doubling of discounts provides you with a unique opportunity to build your collection and/or library at wonderfully low prices. Only new comics and books, and non-comics items, are excluded from the REPAIRS codeword sale. Gift Certificate So you know, I seriously regret having to give away even many of our best books and comics at these exceptionally low prices. At the end of the day, however, I simply have no choice. We do not have the money on hand to pay for these repairs, but they have to be done immediately. The good news is that we do have a couple of very large back issue collections scheduled to arrive next week, so whatever gaps might be created in our online inventory selection as a result of the REPAIRS codeword, we should be able to rebuild our comics selection fairly quickly. That being the case, please do not hesitate to take advantage of the 20% off REPAIRS savings over this weekend. We sincerely appreciate any help that you might be able to provide us. On an entirely different subject, I do quickly want to mention that we have holiday gift certificates available on our website. These have proven to be very, very popular in the past... We also have three free comics to offer you today. The first DETECTIVE #15, is a critical part of the "Death of the Family" storyline, the next two, AVENGERS #1 and ALL-NEW X-MEN #3 are the latest installments in "Marvel Now!" You can choose any one for free if you place a minimum $20 order with us over this upcoming weekend, or you can request all three is you place a minimum $50 order. Just ask for your free selection in the "notes" section of our online order form. Detective Comics #15 All-New X-Men #3 Avengers #1 Oh, and just so you know, all of our free copies of the new THUNDERBOLTS #1 are now gone. We did, however, manage to place the very last reorder on this amazing new title featuring PUNISHER, VENOM, ELEKTRA, DEADPOOL, and RED HULK before Marvel totally sold out, so we do still have a few copies of #1 still for sale on our website. Given that most comics retailers missed this title entirely, I will guarantee you that these will not be going down in price in the back issue market... Happy Collecting! Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. December 7, 2012 Advance Previews of next weeks comics from Archie Comics Cover Mirk-Wood Times published in 1973 by Middle Earth - cover by Neal Adams P.S. As some of you may already be aware, I have been helping other fans with their comics collections since 1969. During the intervening 43 years I have had a great many adventures, but I have to admit that the formative years of comics fandom (1960-1980) hold a special fascination for me. So much so, that I avidly collect fanzines, convention programs, and dealer catalogs from those early years. I currently own over 2,000 different items from the pre-1980 time period, so it is seldom that I am offered pieces that I do not already own. That preamble leads directly to an incredible one-of-kind collection that I was offered just yesterday. The story begins in 1973, when Dennis Wakabyashi, the owner of one of Denver's first comics shops, took on a young protege' with a love of comics art. Steve Allen was a fan of all the great creators of the early 1970's including Frank Frazetta, Barry Smith, Jeff Jones, John Severin, Frank Brunner, Mike Ploog, Howard Chaykin, and many more. Aside from simply collecting their artwork for himself, Steve also convinced Dennis to publish a portfolio of Frank Frazetta sketches that they purchased from Frank's wife, Elly, at a convention. This first "Middle Earth" portfolio was an immediate success, and because it had a print run of only 500 unsigned editions (ten copies per state...), it sold out almost immediately. In their naïveté, however, Steve and Dennis did not realize that ownership of the art did not also grant them publishing rights. As a result, a cease-and-desist letter from Frazetta soon arrived. Rather than letting this setback end their publishing efforts, Dennis, wrote back to Frazetta offering him both retroactive royalties on that first portfolio, and upfront cash for a second. When Frazetta agreed, a lifelong friendship resulted. With Frank Frazetta on board as their first artist, Steve and Dennis were able to quickly line up almost all of their favorite creators for portfolios. The period between 1973-1977 saw the publication of more than a dozen signed and numbers Middle Earth portfolios. Many more portfolios and art prints were planned, but when Steve suddenly passed away in early 1978 from cancer, the company foundered. Dennis reluctantly closed up shop, and put all of his remaining Middle Earth items into storage, where they remained until just yesterday. Middle Earth Portfolios What makes Dennis' collection especially significant is that it contained copies of almost every one of the now ultra-rare 1970's Middle Earth portfolios. More importantly, Dennis retained almost all of the #1 editions of each portfolio (!), excepting only the #1 of the incredible Barry Smith 2P, which belonged to Steve Allen. Steve's former girlfriend sold me that Barry Smith 2P #1 from his estate in 1980, and it has long been one of my most treasured personal possessions. To have all of the rest of the #1 portfolios now come into my possession is a dream come true. Sadly, I simply cannot afford to keep them all. Dennis is now in failing health, so I paid him a significant sum for his collection. Given that we have just had to lay out thousands of dollars to repair our Jason St. water pipeline, however, this incredible collection could not have arrived at a worse time. That having been said, I am going to put all of those #1 portfolios on sale today, with my reluctant goal being to sell five of them. Whichever ones do not sell, I will then keep for my own collection. In the meantime, however, if you act quickly you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase a part of comics history that few comics fans even know about, and that even fewer have ever seen. Here is a listing of the Midlle Earth portfolios that I am offering for sale this weekend: BRAN MAK MORN BY FRANK BRUNNER PORTFOLIO (1976) #1 $200.00 BRAN MAK MORN BY FRANK BRUNNER PORTFOLIO (1976) #2 $150.00 BRAN MAK MORN BY FRANK BRUNNER PORTFOLIO (1976) #273 $75.00 CONAN COLOR PORTFOLIO (1975) #1 $300.00 Bran Mak Morn #1 Bran Mak Morn #2 Bran Mak Morn #273 Conan #1 CONAN: TUPENNY BY BARRY WINDSOR SMITH PORTFOLIO (1974) #114 $400.00 ELRIC BY HOWARD CHAYKIN PORTFOLIO (1975) #1 $250.00 FLESH & FANTASY BY FRANK BRUNNER PORTFOLIO (1974) #1 $200.00 FLESH & FANTASY BY FRANK BRUNNER PORTFOLIO (1974) #14 $125.00 Conan: Tupenny #114 Elric #1 Flesh & Fantasy #1 Flesh & Fantasy #14 FLESH & FANTASY BY FRANK BRUNNER PLATE #1 S&N (1974) #1 $30.00 FRANK FRAZETTA PORTFOLIO LIMITED TO 500 #1 $300.00 INSANTY BY JIM STARLIN PORTFOLIO (1974) #1 $250.00 INSANTY BY JIM STARLIN PORTFOLIO (1974) #89 $150.00 Flesh & Fantasy #1 S&N #1 Frank Frazetta #1 Insanty #1 Insanty #89 JEFF JONES PORTFOLIO LIMITED TO 200 (1973) #1 $750.00 KUBLA KHAN BY FRANK FRAZETTA PLATE #1 S&N (1977) #1 $100.00 KUBLA KHAN BY FRANK FRAZETTA PORTFOLIO (1977) #1 $750.00 KUBLA KHAN BY FRANK FRAZETTA PORTFOLIO (1977) #2 $500.00 Jeff Jones #1 Kubla Khan #1 S&N Kubla Khan #1 Kubla Khan #2 KULL II BY MARIE & JOSH SEVERIN PORTFOLIO (1977) #1 $500.00 KULL II BY MARIE & JOSH SEVERIN PORTFOLIO (1977) #2 $300.00 KULL II BY MARIE & JOSH SEVERIN PORTFOLIO (1977) #3 $200.00 KULL II BY MARIE & JOSH SEVERIN PORTFOLIO (1977) #227 $100.00 KULL II BY MARIE & JOSH SEVERIN PORTFOLIO (1977) #336 $100.00 Kull II #1 Kull II #2 Kull II #3 Kull II #227 KULL THE CONQUERER BY J. P. SEVERIN PORTFOLIO (1973) #2 $500.00 NIGHT CAP BY MIKE PLOOG PORTFOLIO (1976) #1 $250.00 NIGHT CAP BY MIKE PLOOG PORTFOLIO (1976) #2 $200.00 NIGHT CAP BY MIKE PLOOG PORTFOLIO (1976) #3 $150.00 NIGHT CAP BY MIKE PLOOG PORTFOLIO (1976) #9 $125.00 Kull II #336 Kull #2 Night Cap #1 Night Cap #2 SHERLOCK HOLMES: STUDY IN SCARLET BY H. CHAYKIN PORTFOL (1976) #1 $300.00 SHERLOCK HOLMES: STUDY IN SCARLET BY H. CHAYKIN PORTFOL (1976) #2 $250.00 SHERLOCK HOLMES: STUDY IN SCARLET BY H. CHAYKIN PORTFOL (1976) #3 $200.00 Night Cap #3 Night Cap #9 Sherlock Holmes #1 Sherlock Holmes #2 WOMEN OF THE AGES BY FRANK FRAZETTA PLATE #1 (1977) #1 $75.00 WOMEN OF THE AGES BY FRANK FRAZETTA PORTFOLIO (1977) #1 $750.00 WOMEN OF THE AGES BY FRANK FRAZETTA PORTFOLIO (1977) #31 $400.00 WOMEN OF THE AGES BY FRANK FRAZETTA PORTFOLIO (1977) #887 $300.00 WOMEN OF THE AGES BY FRANK FRAZETTA PORTFOLIO (1977) #889 $300.00 Sherlock Holmes #3 Women of the Ages Plate #1 Women of the Ages #1 Women of the Ages #31 Women of the Ages #887 Women of the Ages #889 Because several of these portfolios are quite expensive, payment terms are available with a non-refundable 20% down payment. Contact Byron in our customer service department - back_issue@milehighcomics.com - for more details on setting up an installment plan. Enjoy! Click here to view all of the Premium New-In-Stock Click here to view all of the New In Stock Current Newsletter