Dragon Ball Figures: A Special Mile High Comics Story of Thanksgiving

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A Special Mile High Comics Story of Thanksgiving

Howdy!

I just finished reading a very enlightening article in today's New York Times about the rapid transformation of America's retail world. I was fascinated to learn that a giant Macy's department store here in Colorado has "gone dark," which means that it has been converted to an online-only fulfillment center. This conversion of large retail spaces into warehouses is apparently an accelerating trend all across America, where online sales are booming, while COVID-inspired caution is greatly diminishing foot traffic in physical stores.

Whenever I read about such trends, I pause to reflect upon my own decision-making here at Mile High Comics. Starting with the beginning of the Great Recession (2008/2009), I found myself forced to totally alter our operating plan. As much as I dearly loved our wonderful California Mega-Store, for example, I shut it down. I then began encouraging our overall headcount of staff at the company to diminish, mostly through quiet voluntary attrition.

California Mega-Store

At the same time as I was making these oftentimes painful retrenchments, in 2011 I gutted my own personal Golden Age comics collection (via a Heritage auctions) in order to be able to purchase our 65,000 square foot Jason St. building. While we were dead broke in those days, and oftentimes teetering on the edge of insolvency, my steadfast belief in the future of comics fandom never wavered. Selling the last of my own collection of old comics was the equivalent of Humphrey Bogart's decision to burn the deck planks of his little steamship in the African Queen. Come hell, or high water, I was going to cross that finish line...

MILE HIGH RED RAVEN #1

In a nutshell, purchasing Jason St. proved to be my single most prescient decision since that fateful day in 1974 when I voluntarily relinquished my full scholarship to college, to instead live in a beat-up 1963 Chevrolet Impala. While sleeping in that old car while traveling to comic book shows all around the nation was oftentimes miserably uncomfortable, it was also tangible proof that I was fully committing to selling old comic books for a living for the rest of my life. In that very personal commitment, I have never wavered.

To clarify why my 2011 decision was so important, buying Jason St. not only provided us with desperately-needed storage space, but also the potential for an ancillary retail element that would help us to cover our massive storage costs. Simply put, low cost storage is an critically-needed requirement for stocking a website that offers over one million variables (!) of comic book titles, issue numbers, and grades. At a purchase price of only $24 a square foot, Jason St. seemed an ideal solution.

Chuck in the empty Jason Street

Thanks to purchasing our massively wonderful new 65,000 square foot building, I foolishly thought that our storage problems were forever solved. Wrong. To my complete surprise, the "ancillary" retail element of Jason St. exploded in popularity, almost from the first day. While my original plan had been to only open the building to the public one day a month for a special sale, Google Maps (without ever consulting with us...) started posting 4600 Jason St. as our primary address. That caused dozens of eager fans to start knocking on our (locked) Jason St. door, every single day.

As a direct result of our subsequent decision to open to the public, we had to start setting up a counter and retail displays, which quickly took over half of the building. At the same time, our (latest) commercial bank was not only dinging us for ridiculously high interest and fees on our $1.7 million dollar company operating loan, but also being just plain nasty to us by implying that we were idiots to keep selling old comic books. That is why, when an opportunity presented in 2016 to sell our original 56th Ave. warehouse for $1.6 million, I took it.

Emptying out the 56th warehouse

While (almost completely) paying off the jerks who ran our commercial bank was a sheer delight, the logistic nightmare of trying to shoehorn our corporate offices, and the 6,000,000+ comics and magazines that we had stored in 56th Ave., into Jason St. was incredibly daunting. To facilitate the move, I rented (and drove) a 26' Ryder box truck, and then personally supervised the loading and unloading of over 100 truckloads over a six-week period. All facts considered, that ridiculously difficult move went really smoothly.

The Start of moving to Jason St.

In our final week in 56th, however, it became clear to me that we were just not going to be able to fit everything left to move into Jason St., at least until some epic rearranging could be accomplished. That was when I made the fateful decision to rent seven 53' storage trailers for our remaining fixtures and bulk overstock. Sadly, it was one of those storage trailers that was pillaged by thieves last summer, and is the huge mess of torn boxes and dumped comics that I am trying to unscramble today.

The Start of moving to Jason St.

Returning to the topic of today's New York Times article, while made for totally different reasons than the pandemic, all of my decisions of the past twelve years have actually prepared us quite well for today's radically-altered retailing world. Our little "ancillary" retail store has benefitted enormously from the closure of 56th Ave., as our entire website inventory is now immediately available to our thousands of monthly Jason St. visitors. At the same time, our online clients have greatly benefitted, because Jason St. has proven to be the single greatest source of outstanding comics, book, toy collections in the 50-year history of Mile High Comics. Lower operating costs, vastly more storage, and even more available comics and book options on our website. Win-win-win...

I really do not have any room left for more digressions in today's newsletter, so I will leave you with the simple assurance that Mile High Comics is now stronger, and more financially secure, than at any other time in our 50 years of serving our worldwide constituency of dedicated comics fans. Truth be told, that unprecedented financial security makes this week's 50% off BLACKFRIDAY! codeword sale on almost all of our ten million+ back issues comics and magazines a bit unnecessary, but my loyalty and dedication to those who helped us to survive the hard times is both profound, and unwavering. I thank you sincerely for helping us not only to survive, but also to be able to continue to enjoy our lifelong comics retailing dream. You are wonderful!

Happy collecting!

Chuck Rozanski/Bettie Pages,
President - Mile High Comics, Inc.
November 24, 2020

P.S. Below are some of this week's Marvel Premium New-In-Stock arrivals. The 50% off BLACKFRIDAY! codeword applies to all except new issues, a few variants, and our professionally-graded titles.

MARVEL

5 RONIN (2011) #1 VARIANT

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) (#1-58, #500-700.5) (MARVEL) #610

AMERICA (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) (AMERICA CHAVEZ) #12

BLACK BOLT (2017) #3

CAPTAIN MARVEL (2017) (#125-129) (MARVEL LEGACY) #129

DAREDEVIL (2017) (#595-612) (MARVEL LEAGCY) #604

DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #2

DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #2 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #3 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #4 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #5 Very Fine
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #6 Very Fine
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #7 Fine
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #8 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #9 Fine
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #10 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #11 Fine
DEADPOOL MAX (2010) #12 Fine
DEADPOOL MAX (VOL. 2) (2011) #1 Fine
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP (2009) (#883-899) #883 Fine
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP (2009) (#883-899) #884 Fine
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP (2009) (#883-899) #885 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP (2009) (#883-899) #886 Very Fine
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP (2009) (#883-899) #887 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL VS. OLD MAN LOGAN (2017) #2 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL VS. OLD MAN LOGAN (2017) #3 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL VS. OLD MAN LOGAN (2017) #4 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL VS. OLD MAN LOGAN (2017) #5 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL VS. PUNISHER (2017) #1 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL VS. PUNISHER (2017) #2 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL VS. PUNISHER (2017) #3 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL: ASSASSIN (2018) #1 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL: ASSASSIN (2018) #3 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL: ASSASSIN (2018) #4 Near Mint/Mint
DEADPOOL: PULP (2010) #3 Fine
DEADPOOL: PULP (2010) #4 Near Mint/Mint
DEATH OF THE INHUMANS (2018) #1 Near Mint/Mint
DEATH OF THE INHUMANS (2018) #2 Very Fine
DEFENDERS (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #1 Near Mint/Mint
DEFENDERS (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #2 Near Mint/Mint
DEFENDERS (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #3 Near Mint/Mint
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2017) (#287-300) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #287 Very Fine
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2017) (#287-300) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #288 Near Mint/Mint
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2017) (#287-300) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #291 Near Mint/Mint
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2017) (#287-300) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #292 Near Mint/Mint
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2017) (#287-300) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #293 Near Mint/Mint
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2017) (#287-300) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #295 Near Mint/Mint
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2017) (#287-300) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #298 Near Mint/Mint
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2017) (#287-300) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #300 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY AFTERNOON (1994) #1 Very Fine
DISNEY AFTERNOON (1994) #5 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY AFTERNOON (1994) #8 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY AFTERNOON (1994) #9 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #1 Fine
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #2 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #3 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #4 Very Fine
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #5 Very Fine
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #6 Very Fine
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #7 Very Fine
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #8 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #9 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #10 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #11 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #12 Very Fine
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #13 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #14 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #15 Near Mint/Mint
DISNEY COMIC HITS (1995) #16 Very Fine

DOCTOR STRANGE (1988) (#1-90) (MARVEL) (DR. STRANGE) #75 DELUXE

FF (2013) (#1-16) (ALLRED) (MARVEL) #16

HULK (2017) (#709-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY)(INCREDIBLE HULK) #712

HULK (2017) (#709-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY)(INCREDIBLE HULK) #712 Near Mint/Mint
HULK (2017) (#709-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY)(INCREDIBLE HULK) #713 Near Mint/Mint
HULK (2017) (#709-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY)(INCREDIBLE HULK) #714 Near Mint/Mint
HULK (2017) (#709-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY)(INCREDIBLE HULK) #716 Near Mint/Mint
HULK (2017) (#709-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY)(INCREDIBLE HULK) #717 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE (2018) #1 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: ADAMANTIUM AGENDA (2018) #2 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: ADAMANTIUM AGENDA (2018) #3 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: ADAMANTIUM AGENDA (2018) #4 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: CLAWS OF KILLER (2018) #1 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: CLAWS OF KILLER (2018) #2 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: MYSTERY MADRIPOOR (2018) #1 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: MYSTERY MADRIPOOR (2018) #2 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: MYSTERY MADRIPOOR (2018) #3 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: WEAPON LOST (2018) #1 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: WEAPON LOST (2018) #2 Near Mint/Mint
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: WEAPON LOST (2018) #3 Near Mint/Mint
I AM GROOT (2017) #5 Near Mint/Mint
ICEMAN (2017) (#1-11) (MARVEL) #1 Near Mint/Mint
ICEMAN (2017) (#1-11) (MARVEL) #6 Very Fine
ICEMAN (2017) (#1-11) (MARVEL) #7 Near Mint/Mint
ICEMAN (2017) (#1-11) (MARVEL) #8 Near Mint/Mint
ICEMAN (2017) (#1-11) (MARVEL) #9 Near Mint/Mint
ICEMAN (2017) (#1-11) (MARVEL) #10 Near Mint/Mint
ICEMAN (2017) (#1-11) (MARVEL) #11 Near Mint/Mint
IMMORTAL HULK (2018) #3 Very Fine
IMMORTAL HULK (2018) #4 Near Mint/Mint
INFAMOUS IRON MAN (MARVEL NOW) (2016) #7 Near Mint/Mint
INFAMOUS IRON MAN (MARVEL NOW) (2016) #9 Near Mint/Mint
INFAMOUS IRON MAN (MARVEL NOW) (2016) #12 Near Mint/Mint
INFINITY (2013) #6 Near Mint/Mint
INFINITY COUNTDOWN: ADAM WARLOCK (2018) #1 Near Mint/Mint
INHUMANS: JUDGEMENT DAY (2018) #1 Near Mint/Mint
INHUMANS: ONCE & FUTURE KINGS (2017) #4 Near Mint/Mint
INHUMANS: ONCE & FUTURE KINGS (2017) #5 Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2017) (#1-11) (RIRI WILLIAMS) #6 Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2017) (#1-11) (RIRI WILLIAMS) #7 Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2017) (#593-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #594 Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2017) (#593-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #595 Near Mint/Mint
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2017) (#593-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #596 Near Mint/Mint
IRON FIST (2017) (#1-7) (MARVEL) #2 Near Mint/Mint
IRON FIST (2017) (#1-7) (MARVEL) #3 Near Mint/Mint
IRON FIST (2017) (#1-7) (MARVEL) #5 Near Mint/Mint
IRON FIST (2017) (#73-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #73 Very Fine
IRON FIST (2017) (#73-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #74 Near Mint/Mint
IRON FIST (2017) (#73-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #75 Near Mint/Mint
IRON FIST (2017) (#73-UP) (MARVEL LEGACY) (2017) #77 Near Mint/Mint
IRON MAN (1968) (#1-332) (INVINCIBLE IRON MAN)(MARVEL) #225 HASBRO Fine
IRON MAN: THE IRON AGE (1998) #1 Near Mint/Mint
JEAN GREY (2017) #1 Near Mint/Mint
JEAN GREY (2017) #3 Near Mint/Mint
JEAN GREY (2017) #4 Near Mint/Mint
JEAN GREY (2017) #8 Near Mint/Mint
JEAN GREY (2017) #9 Near Mint/Mint
JESSICA JONES (#1-UP) (MARVEL) (2016) #7 Near Mint/Mint
JESSICA JONES (#1-UP) (MARVEL) (2016) #8 Near Mint/Mint
JESSICA JONES (#1-UP) (MARVEL) (2016) #9 Near Mint/Mint
JESSICA JONES (#1-UP) (MARVEL) (2016) #10 Near Mint/Mint
JESSICA JONES (#1-UP) (MARVEL) (2016) #13 Near Mint/Mint
JESSICA JONES (#1-UP) (MARVEL) (2016) #15 Near Mint/Mint
JESSICA JONES (#1-UP) (MARVEL) (2016) #16 Near Mint/Mint
KINGPIN (2017) (#1-UP) (RUNNING W/ THE DEVIL) (MARVEL) #4 Near Mint/Mint
KINGPIN (2017) (#1-UP) (RUNNING W/ THE DEVIL) (MARVEL) #5 Near Mint/Mint

LEGENDARY STAR-LORD (2014) #9

MIGHTY THOR (2015) (#1-23) (FEMALE THOR) (JANE FOSTER) #20

NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. (1988) #6

REALM OF KINGS: IMPERIAL GUARD (2009) #4

SHANG-CHI: MASTER OF KUNG-FU SUPER ISSUE (2009) #1

SPIDER-MAN (1963) (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) (#1-441) #416

SPIDER-WOMAN (2009) (#1-7) (JESSICA DREW) (MARVEL) #6

THOR (2007) (#1-12, 600-621) (MARVEL) #604

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN (2000) #129

VENOM SUPER SIZE SPECIAL (PLANET OF SYMBIOTES) (1995) #1

VENOM SUPER SIZE SPECIAL (PLANET OF SYMBIOTES) (1995) #1 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM SUPER SIZE SPECIAL (PLANET OF SYMBIOTES) (1995) #1 Very Fine
VENOM: ALONG CAME A SPIDER (1996) #1 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: ALONG CAME A SPIDER (1996) #4 Very Fine
VENOM: CARNAGE UNLEASHED (1995) #1 Very Fine
VENOM: CARNAGE UNLEASHED (1995) #2 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: CARNAGE UNLEASHED (1995) #3 Fine
VENOM: CARNAGE UNLEASHED (1995) #4 Fine
VENOM: DARK ORIGIN (2008) #1 Very Fine
VENOM: DARK ORIGIN (2008) #2 Very Fine
VENOM: DARK ORIGIN (2008) #3 Very Fine
VENOM: DARK ORIGIN (2008) #4 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: DARK ORIGIN (2008) #5 Very Fine
VENOM: ENEMY WITHIN (1994) #1 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: FUNERAL PYRE (1993) #1 Fine
VENOM: FUNERAL PYRE (1993) #2 Fine
VENOM: NIGHTS OF VENGEANCE (1994) #1 Fine
VENOM: NIGHTS OF VENGEANCE (1994) #2 Fine
VENOM: NIGHTS OF VENGEANCE (1994) #3 Fine
VENOM: NIGHTS OF VENGEANCE (1994) #4 NEWSSTAND Very Good
VENOM: SEPARATION ANXIETY (1994) #1 NEWSSTAND Fine
VENOM: SEPARATION ANXIETY (1994) #2 Very Fine
VENOM: SEPARATION ANXIETY (1994) #3 Very Fine
VENOM: SEPARATION ANXIETY (1994) #4 Very Fine
VENOM: SINNER TAKES ALL (1995) #1 Very Fine
VENOM: SINNER TAKES ALL (1995) #2 Fine
VENOM: SINNER TAKES ALL (1995) #3 Fine
VENOM: SINNER TAKES ALL (1995) #4 Very Fine
VENOM: SINNER TAKES ALL (1995) #5 Very Fine
VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT (2015) #6 Fine
VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT (2015) #7 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT (2015) #8 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT (2015) #9 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT (2015) #10 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT (2015) #11 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT (2015) #12 Near Mint/Mint
VENOM: THE MACE (1994) #1 Fine
VENOM: THE MACE (1994) #2 NEWSSTAND Fine
VENOM: THE MACE (1994) #3 Fine
VISION (2015) (#1-12) #6 Near Mint/Mint
VISION (2015) (#1-12) #7 Near Mint/Mint
VISION (2015) (#1-12) #8 Near Mint/Mint
VISION (2015) (#1-12) #12 Near Mint/Mint
WAR MACHINE (2008) #12 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS (2009) #1 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS (2009) #2 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS (2009) #4 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS (2009) #5 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS (2009) #6 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS: ASCENSION (2009) #1 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS: ASCENSION (2009) #2 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS: ASCENSION (2009) #3 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS: DARKHAWK (2009) #1 Near Mint/Mint
WAR OF KINGS: DARKHAWK (2009) #2 Near Mint/Mint
WEAPON X (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #1 Near Mint/Mint
WEAPON X (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #2 Near Mint/Mint
WEAPON X (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #3 Near Mint/Mint
WEAPON X (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #4 Near Mint/Mint
WEAPON X (2017) (#1-UP) (MARVEL) #5 Near Mint/Mint
WEB OF SPIDER-MAN SUPER SPECIAL: PLANET OF SYMBIOTES (1995) #1 Fine

WEST COAST AVENGERS (1985) (#1-102) (MARVEL) #51

X-MEN BLUE (2017) #6

X-MEN BLUE (2017) #6 Near Mint/Mint
X-MEN BLUE (2017) #7 Near Mint/Mint
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #1 Near Mint/Mint
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #1 Very Fine
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #2 Near Mint/Mint
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #3 Very Fine
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #4 Near Mint/Mint
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #5 Near Mint/Mint
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #6 Near Mint/Mint
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #7 Near Mint/Mint
X-MEN GOLD (2017) #8 Near Mint/Mint
X-STATIX (2002) #4 Near Mint/Mint
X-TERMINATORS (1988) #1 Near Mint/Mint
X-UNIVERSE (1995) #1 Near Mint/Mint
YOUNG ALLIES (2010) #1 Near Mint/Mint
YOUNG AVENGERS (2013) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #12 Near Mint/Mint
YOUNG AVENGERS (2013) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #14 Near Mint/Mint
YOUNG AVENGERS (2013) (#1-15) (MARVEL) #15 Very Fine
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS (2008) #2 Fine
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS (2008) #3 Fine
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS (2008) #4 Very Fine

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Mile High Comics, 4600 Jason Street, Denver CO 80211, USA

Dragon Ball Figures

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

A Special Mile High Comics Story of Thanksgiving

MARVEL

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