Mile High Comics: A Place Where Everyone is Welcome

“Comic book retailing is the last refuge of the iconoclast and individuals who are unwilling to conform”

Chuck Rozanski

You walk through the streets of Denver, passing people who are so unlike yourself. You feel alone, like you don’t belong with these people. They are somehow different, though you can’t quite pin down why you aren’t like them. Wandering around, you stumble upon a warehouse. The sign outside reads “Mile High Comics” and all different types of people are walking through the door, both entering and leaving. Your curiosity spikes. You’ve always had a vague interest in comic books, but you never actually developed it. You walk into the store and your jaw drops. The place is huge. People from all walks of life are mulling about. You see people from the stereotypical comic lovers to people who you would think look out of place, but somehow fit perfectly in the store. The sense of not belonging while you were walking the streets instantly disappears and you feel welcome.

comic-book-crash-jb-01

It is this feeling that Chuck Rozanski, founder and owner of Mile High Comics, wants everyone to feel when they walk through the door of any of his stores. Comic books don’t always have the best reputation and many people think only a certain type of people read them. However, this is not true. The ideas and plots covered in comics are so vast that there is something for everyone. Chuck Rozanski and his store are testaments to that idea as Rozanksi makes sure to stock as many comic books as he possibly can, which is why his collection is the largest in the world. Comic books are a great part of Rozanski’s life because they gave him a sense of belonging and he wants others to know that feeling.

Coming to the United States from Germany at a young age, Rozanski only knew English from reading comic books. In this way, comic books gave Rozanski the ability to be equal with the Americans he came across so they could share a common language. Rozanski’s attitude toward comics went from appreciation to passion and that passion continues to grow throughout his life. He was able to cultivate his passion and turn it into a collection that eventually led to a business. From his parents’ basement in Colorado Springs, Rozanski began to sell back issues of comics through mail-order ads in Rocket’s Blast Comic Collector magazine, thus starting the first branch of Mile High Comics in 1969. As a fourteen year old, Rozanski expanded his business and sold comics in the Colorado Springs flea-market circuit where browsers could find anything from antiques to quirky little trinkets. The all-encompassing clientele of the flea markets taught Rozanski how to deal with people of all types, which, unknowingly at the time, prepared him for his future customers at Mile High, where all are welcome.

Rozanski in Boulder store
Rozanski in the Boulder store

The first official retail store was opened in Boulder, Colorado in 1974, when Rozanski was merely nineteen. By 1977, the store boasted four locations. The shops opened their doors to everyone. From those who just wandered in out of curiosity to those knowing exactly what they were looking for, Rozanski welcomed them all. His passion and desire to share comics with everyone is exactly what allowed his business to thrive. He put his love of comics into his business ideal, which fits nicely with Archibald MacLeish’s idea of how a bookstore should be run. MacLeish stresses that booksellers must have “opinions about the content and the value of the books they sold” (13). He also believes that “books are sold by the enthusiasm of people who know and respect them” (13). Rozanski has that enthusiasm, and so do his employees. This enthusiasm shows customers that all are welcome in the store. The employees treat every customer as equals, no matter their knowledge of comics. Rozanski has a true passion for the books he sells, which allows Mile High Comics to thrive, as outlined in the timeline below.

The biggest boost to Mile High’s future was the purchase of the Edgar Church Collection, which later became known as the Mile High Collection. This collection held about 16,000 comic books in mint condition that dated between 1937 and 1955, which represented the Golden Age of comic books. After acquiring this collection, Rozanski decided that it would be his life’s work and dedication to promote “comics as an art form, and do everything in [his] power to help the comics industry to prosper” as he writes on the history page of the store’s website. The discovery of this collection allowed him to show importance to not only the currently-published comics, but also to those published in the past. He wants all facets of the comics industry to thrive, from the big name publishers to the small unknown independents.

Rozanski presents online store

In 1997 Rozanski embarked on the endeavor to create the world’s largest online database of comics. He began to put the store’s inventory online and available for purchase, allowing customers all over the world to find his collection. Now anyone could shop the collection and the store was no longer limited to customers who were able to go to the brick and mortar stores. In 2012 the Jason Street Mega Store location opened to the public. Previously, it was just used as a storage facility, but Rozanski opened it as a retail store thanks to public demand. Rozanski was willing to open the warehouse to the public so that even more people would be able to jump into the world of comic books. He wanted to satisfy his customers and welcome more.

In this technical age where printed literature has been giving way to the newest contemporary media, Mile High Comics has managed to stay current. Though one might think that this kind of literary enterprise could never expand from its stores in the lone city of Denver, the shop’s website allows people from all over the world to order the items they are seeking online. This has generated a large portion of the bookstore’s sales and has allowed for the store to have a constant influx of profit that gives Rozanski plenty to work with while he continues to improve his business.

Just as important as the store itself is the comic book consumer that purchases the merchandise from Mile High Comics. Comic books have become a culture that fans of the genre crave more with each turn of the page. Marvel and DC Comics have become especially popular in the past few decades and their original issues are the holy grails for comic book fans. Because the well-known characters of big companies’ comics are so thrilling, fans will continue to buy anything they publish. Clifford discusses the basis of collection and what it has become in his essay On Collecting Art and Culture when he states “Collecting—at least in the West, where time is generally thought to be linear and irreversible—implies a rescue of phenomena from inevitable historical decay or loss. The collection contains what ‘deserves’ to be kept, remembered, and treasured. Artifacts and customs are saved out of time” (231). Clifford’s observations pertain to comic book culture because collectors want the stories to have a place in history, or at the very least, in our collective memory. Rozanski accepts that each fan is different and that some don’t have the same financial resources that others do. This is why he has accumulated such a large selection that he will inevitably have something for every individual’s desire and budget.  This way, the store shows its appreciation for the fans.

Their website has been widely successful, allowing Rozanski to sell over 500,000 copies of back issue orders globally. This, along with the 20,000 subscription members, has made Mile High Comics the largest distributor of comic book merchandise in the world, and there are absolutely no indications that the top collector of nerd culture will slow down anytime soon.

The remote location and warehouse architecture make the incredibly large interior of the mega store possible. Upon entering, the visitors immediately realize the store’s vast space without barriers, which welcomes everyone. Rozanski seeks to offer a collection of comics as complete as possible and there are multitudes of shelves lining the walls of the entire warehouse. Yet, in spite of this large collection, everything is out in the open and, in this store, everyone is equal. Experience the empire Rozanski created in this guided video tour.

The store offers almost anything that can make the fan’s heart beat faster. Mile High Comics further reinforces its position as the largest comic book retailer in the world by attempting to stock every comic published in the English language for at least six months. Thus, the store’s “New Comics” section fills approximately 100 feet of wall space. According to Rozanski, the order of the comics within this section is important as well. In order to give equal attention to independently published issues and big name companies like DC or Marvel, the shelves are organized alphabetically and not by publisher. This, along with the effort that is put into stocking every comic, emphasizes Rozanski’s goal to avoid any kind of hierarchy in the store. Close to these shelves, visitors can find the children’s section, which carries both toys and comic books. This area is furnished with bean bags and friendly colors so children feel “like they’re very, very welcome,” as Rozanski states in the video linked above. The store acknowledges that every customer can be equal in their passion, no matter what age they are or what they do with their life outside of the shop.

In Rozanski’s video tour, there are two parts of his store that he seems particularly proud of. The first is his gigantic department of comic-related books, which displays a collection “greater than what you would find even in an amazon.com warehouse.” This explains why a store like Mile High Comics can keep up which huge corporations. Small as it may be, it simply refuses to be swallowed by them. Moreover, ever since Chuck Rozanski’s spectacular find of the Edgar Church collection in the ’70s, his chain has been a particular treasure trove for comics from the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age. Though these include a variety of works that have since become very valuable, Rozanski still wants to share them with enthusiastic customers. Thus, he keeps the particularly prized issues in a glass cabinet located right next to the entrance for everyone to marvel at. The floor plan below offers an overview of where things are located in the store.

The store and the way it is set up tells us something significant. In spite of the masses of comics Rozanski stocks, his annual revenue of one million dollars, and the variety of stores and employees that this chain stands for, Chuck Rozanski is just a collector that loves what he has created and every new fan that he can invite to see it. In Clifford’s writings, the anthropologist says that at some point in every collector’s life, he will be encouraged to share his passion with others. According to him, “personal treasures will be made public” (219). This is exactly what seems to have happened to Rozanski. What started out as a teenager’s personal love for comics turned into the largest comic book retailer in the world. Because of his success, thousands of fans are freely able to act out their own love for nerd culture, without fearing they will be considered odd by Rozanski or other customers.

An auction in the Jason Street Mega Store

Out of the chain’s four stores, the Jason Street Mega Store has the largest retail space with 45,000 square feet. Though the team has continuously been working on filling this room with comics and merchandise, there are still vast open areas with no divisions. These have been used in the past to host events for the nerd community. With book signings, auctions, stage events, and educational meetings, the store presents its space as welcoming to as many different audiences as possible. Rozanski emphasizes that these auctions are not meant to exclude anyone. Because of this the prices are deliberately set low.

These auctions show us how much Rozanski wants visitors to thrive on the selection and the open, accepting environment they offer both enthusiastic collectors and occasional readers. His engagement and devotion invites all people equally to browse the shelves, linger, and become increasingly passionate about his field.

Rozanski clutches one of his beloved comics

Granted, anyone who walks into a Mile High Comics location will understand Rozanski’s passion for comic books and may see themselves reflected throughout his comic book stores. You may see your favorite comic book on display or happen upon a vintage collectible that you’ve been scouring for at flea markets and on the Internet. That same passion is felt within any one of Mile High Comics’s bookstores and speaks volumes about the person who aspired to make these places a reality for many fans’ fantasies.

Comic books have not remained within the original community of artists who were creating works for other artists to read.  For decades, the medium of the comic book has evolved and now has many different forms.  As such, comic books have been able to transcend the standard definitions of literature by being able to incorporate different genres simultaneously and adding illustrations to text. While the general shape remains the same (rectangles and squares are good enough, though it’d be pretty cool to see a circular comic), what an artist is able to achieve within the content of their work is more than what can be done in a codex.  Bruno Latour states that a “thing is, in one sense an object out there and, in another sense, an issue very much in there, at any rate, a gathering” (Latour 2288); and the properties of comics as things make them a matter of concern for those who harbor a love for them.

comics
For the owner of Mile High Comics, comic books are more than just his livelihood – they what he has devoted his entire life to. They sparked within him a desire to share his love and respect for the multifaceted medium that is comic books.  His massive collection of comic books collected over his lifetime is the stock on display throughout his comic bookstore locations for his customers and fellow comic book lovers to peruse and acquire. The sheer amount of comic books that line the shelves with a culture of fans and nerds doling out dollars for book after book aid in the observation that these books are more than what they seem to an outsider looking in. A comic book is a “development of social language itself” (Williams 1575); and, with this, comic books are a technology, a “means of production…[that] profoundly chang[e] and exten[d] social and cultural relationships…recognizable as deep political and economic transformations” (Williams 1574). Through passion and determination, collecting issue after issue, Rozanski has been able to garner respect as the owner of the largest comic book collection in the world. He decided against hoarding such a collection away from public eyes and worked hard to create a place where his collection could be shared with anyone. His stores do not romanticize the concept of the bookstore as others do (you won’t find any Starbucks or cushioned wingback chairs in any of the locations); however, they do narrow the focus to the comic books themselves. In this way, the consumer isn’t distracted and the attention remains on what Rozanski, and others like him, consider most important.

A comic book can bring people together, no matter how different they may be, and act as a conduit for a passionate conversation.  Literature, viewed through the lens of Chuck Rozanski, is reflected in all that Mile High Comics presents: It is an aspect of culture, sometimes a specific culture, that encourages and allows for the release of the imagination, allowing it to take hold of its consumers.  Comic books do just that as they transport their readers to different worlds, dimensions, times in history, and even stretching beyond time itself.  In return, the culture of fans that are notoriously known for discussing comic books are the lifeblood that keep the community of comic book artists, enthusiasts, and collectors alive.  Comic book literature is an exchange between the creator and the reader – an exchange of passion,  knowledge, and currency.  This exchange takes place in Mile High Comics’s bookstores and exists in great volumes within the culture thanks to Rozanski as both collector and comic book enthusiast.  He has created for himself and his peers a fantastical playground for comic book lovers of all sorts.

 

Sources

Floor Plan powered by thinglink.com

Timeline powered dipity.com 

Images in Post:

Panorama view of store <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/061113pano.jpg>

Superman http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_small/0/77/119337-8550-homage-covers.jpg

Auction <http://milehighcomics.com/images/auction0254.jpg>

Rozanski with Red Raven <http://cdn.bleedingcool.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/chuck-rozanski-site.jpg>

Black and white picture of Rozanski <http://www.milehighcomics.com/newsletter/092614email.html>

Rozanski with website <http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2010/06/08/heroes-con-2010-another-great-show/>

Outside of store <http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/03/31/teen-driver-killed-in-crash-into-comic-book-store-identified/>

Various comics <http://www.getcashforcomics.com/>

POW <http://www.prowlmagazine.com/fall-2014-vol2/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Chris-Featured-Image-2.jpg>

Images in Thinglink:

Marvel t-shirt: <http://www.8ball.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/217x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/M/a/MarvelComicsHeroesMensTShirt_AllTheGreats_12.jpg>

Storage shelves: screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Bargain tables <http://www.cabezabomba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mileofertas.jpg>

Events area <http://blogs.denverpost.com/nerd/files/2014/06/party.jpg>

Outside view and entrance: screenshot from Google StreetView <https://www.google.com/maps/@39.780347,-104.99934,3a,75y,103.87h,85.02t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seJt86k4XOQ_FsyiZM4hdiQ!2e0>

Comics-related books: screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Action figure glass cabinet <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/baraf2.jpg>

Glass cabinet with rare issues: screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age Comics: screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Websites:

Mile High Comics Website <http://www.milehighcomics.com/>

Business Insights <http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE%7CA12240225/594d30d22ee3e9f8d894602abce3feec?u=susqu_main>

Denver Post <http://www.denverpost.com/ci_20798083/chuck-rozanski-mile-high-comics-life-superheroes-and>

Highbeam <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3837136.html>

Mile High Comics History <http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/hist.html>

Mile High Comics Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_High_Comics>

Chuck Rozanski Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Rozanski>

Books: 

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Duncan, Randy and Matthew J. Smith. The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2009.

Latour, Bruno. “Why Has Critique Run Out of Steam?” The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 2nd ed. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 2282-2302. Print.

Williams, Raymond. “Literature.” Marxism and Literature. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1977. 1567-575. Print.

MacLeish, Archibald. A Free Man’s Books. Mount Vernon, New York: Peter Pauper. Print.

Articles:

“Funny Business.” People 50.11 (1998): 86. Academic Search Complete. Web.

Onôv, Alex. “Mile High Comics, La Nave De Los Tebeos.” Cabezabomba. n.d. Web. 12 April 2015.

Peterson, Eric. “Comics Industry’s Don Quixote.” ColoradoBiz 28.6 (2001): 74,74,76. ProQuest. Web.

Whitney, Daisy. “Comic Relief His Goal: Put Every U.S. Comic Book on Web.” Denver Post: E. May 04 1998. ProQuest. Web.

Youtube videos:

Rozanski, Chuck. “Mile High Comics Jason St. Mega Store Tour with Chuck Rozanski.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 5 Jun. 2014. Web. 12 April 2015.

The Organized Chaos of Collection: Mile High Comics Mega Store

Recently, I decided I needed some organization to my book collection. I own approximately 200 books that span three small bookcases and one medium-sized bookcase. The organization method I chose may seem chaotic to some, but it is perfectly organized for me. It took almost four hours to get my books just how I wanted them. I cannot imagine how long it would take to organize well over a million comic books in a 60,000 square foot space, but that is exactly the task the staff of Mile High Comics had to undertake when opening the Jason Street Mega Store to the public.

An overhead view of the store
An overhead view of the store

This warehouse store was not originally meant to be open to the public. It was meant to be just a warehouse for Mile High to store the comics to be placed on the online store and as storage space for the other locations that are solely retail stores. It was due to popular demand that this massive comic book store was opened as a place for anyone to come and enjoy. According to owner Chuck Rozanksi, it is the “largest single comics facility in the world.” Of the warehouse’s 60,000 square feet, 45,000 square feet are dedicated to retail space. The other 15,000 square feet are offices, conference rooms, and other such rooms.

Mile High Comics’ Mega Store on Jason Street in Denver is a haven for comic book lovers of all sorts. In this space, they can find almost any comic they may desire. From the well-known comics from Marvel or DC to lesser-known independents, from old to new, Mile High stocks them all. Whether you know exactly what you are looking for or you just want to browse, you could easily spend hours in this store, amazed by the sheer size of it.

As seen in the floorplan above, the organization of the store may seem somewhat unconventional, though at the same time it makes perfect sense. Everything has its place, even if it does not seem like the place has an apparent reasoning behind it. That is the beauty of a collection, which is what this store is – one massive comic book collection that just happens to be available for purchase, bit by bit. This organized chaos reflects how Walter Benjamin speaks of his book collection in “Unpacking My Library.” Benjamin says that a collection is “a disorder to which habit has accommodated itself to such an extent that it can appear as order” (60). Mile High’s Mega Store embodies this disorderly order.

When one first enters the store, the shock of its immensity hits. Where to go first may be a difficult decision. In discussing the store’s layout, I will follow the path of Chuck Rozanski in the tour he gives in this video.

An example of one of the variants created through Mile High
An example of one of the variants created through Mile High

First, he takes the viewer to the case of variants. It is in this case that the store displays the variant covers that were made possible through Mile High Comics. The company likes to support independents and small presses, and these variants are one way they are able to do that. Since these are toward the front of the store, it shows that they want to emphasize them as they are items not found in other comic books stores as they were created because of Mile High.

Taking up a very large portion of the wall and the space next to the variants are the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age comics dating between 1933 and 1982. These comics are for avid collectors and are quite pricey. Customers are separated from these comics by a long glass display case because these are so valuable. More of these comics are in this display case. Employees are stationed behind this case to help customers with the comics they desire.

Toward the back of the store is the children’s section. It’s full of bright colors and comfortable seating to entice children and make them want to explore the section and read comics. Rozanski wants young people to feel welcomed in the store, so he created this special section just for them.

The new comics line the wall opposite the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age comics. This section spans one hundred feet. This collection is believed to be the largest array of new comics in the world. The store tries to keep all comics printed in the last six months in stock here and they are constantly replenishing it.

The center of the store is lined with long tables with many boxes full of comics. These are the general comics that are great for people on a budget. This section holds comics that are priced at either one or two dollars and a vast assortment of comics can be found here. One hundred thousand of these comics are priced at one dollar each. Although these comics are cheap, they are still in great condition, often near-mint. These comics are priced so low so that anyone, no matter how much they have to spend, can come to the store and find something to purchase. It makes collecting available to all.

The new comics and the one- and two-dollar comics are all organized alphabetically. This is so all types of comics get equal attention. Instead of separating them by publisher, as many comic book stores do, Mile High Comics wants to give all comics the same status. That way independents are next to big names such as Marvel. This allows browsing customers to discover comics they never have before, which promotes a passion for all comics, not just the more traditional ones.

Some examples of the toy collectibles
Some examples of the toy collectibles

The store sells more than just comics. There is a section of various types of paraphernalia that is mostly comprised of action figures and the like. The store also has a collection of trade paperbacks and books about comics. This helps to attract yet another type of reader. For those who want to learn more about comics, this is the place to go. On display, there are approximately 50,000 books in this section.

Last, but certainly not least, is the section that holds the stock available for purchase on their website. These long, tall shelves hold 200,000 books. They have such a large stock so they can accommodate every collector’s needs.

In order to organize such a vast collection, one needs to know quite a bit about comics, which works out for Mile High because most of their employees are collectors themselves and are very passionate about comics. In Reluctant Capitalists, Laura Miller stresses the need for booksellers to be knowledgeable about what they sell. She designates a difference between “booksellers” and “staff,” with booksellers making a “career a consequently keep up with the happenings of the industry” (200) and staff just seeing it as a temporary job. With this distinction, the most employees of Mile High would fall under the category of “bookseller” because the company is more than just a job to them.

Mile High Comics is really about the collector and the passion for comic books. They take pride in having the largest collection of all types of comics. The Jason Street store reflects this pride and passion.

 

Sources

Benjamin, Walter. “Unpacking My Library: A Talk About Book Collecting.” Illuminations. Ed. Hannah Arendt. Trans. Harry Zohn. New York: Schoken, 1986. 59-67. Print.

Miller, Lauren J. Reluctant Capitalists. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Rozanski, Chuck. “Mile High Comics Jason St. Mega Store Tour with Chuck Rozanski.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 5 Jun. 2014. Web.

Images

Overhead http://www.milehighcomics.com/newsletter/073012.html

Wolverine Variant http://www.milehighcomics.com/stores/var.html

Toys http://www.angrykoalagear.com/2012/06/mile-high-comics-visit-before-denver.html

All images in ThingLink are screen grabs from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE&list=WL&index=7

Dive Into an Ocean of Comics

What do we pay attention to when we enter our favorite bookstore? For some of us, the first thing might be a staff member, walking towards us smilingly and offering their help. Others might be impressed by the atmosphere, the decor, or the amount of customers in the store. Chuck Rozanski, founder of Mile High Comics in Denver, is quite clear about what people’s impressions upon first entering his Jason Street Megastore are. The initial reaction is what he calls the “jaw-drop moment” when they realize the sheer immensity of the store. From the size of the store, we can see that what the owner strive to accomplish is completeness of their collection for the highest customer satisfaction (Rozanski “Tour”). The floor plan below might give you an indication of the magnitude of the store. If you are looking for a visual tour, I recommend Rozanski’s video on the store’s Youtube channel.

The Denver-based chain’s largest store that you can see above is 60,000 square feet big and offers 45,000 square feet of retail space. You will not be surprised to hear that the enormous building started out as a warehouse and slowly made its way to a store that’s now open daily. This space that might remind us of the large book superstores of the past, holds a lot of potential for both Rozanski and his team and the comic-enthusiastic customers. In spite of the incredible amount of comics that the store houses, there is still available space for a multitude of different events centered around comics and the nerd community in Denver. With book signings, auctions, stage events, and educational meetings, the store presents its space as welcoming to different audiences as possible. People that are drawn in this way can then immediately be charmed by the knowledgeable staff and the impressive collection (Rozanski “Tour”).

During a detailed tour around the store, Rozanski mentions his aim to stock every comic printed in the English language for six months (Rozanski “Tour”). Since I have never really read a lot of comics, I couldn’t really fathom how much this would be. One look at pictures of the store make the matter quite clear, though: Rozanski used the warehouse for a reason. The founder also addresses the difficulty of actually keeping all of these issues in stock while at the same time having the everyday business proceed. This video does a pretty good job at giving you an idea of the amount of comics in the store, and those are just the bargain books. The new comics that are emphasized in the tour take over around 100 feet of wall space, which makes this collection the largest in the world. According to Rozanski, the arrangement of the comics within the shelves is also influential on the customers’ consumer behaviors. He understands his powerful position in the comic book industry and tries to use his influence to even the market. Thus, in order to give both independent and large publishers like Marvel the same attention, the selection is sorted alphabetically and not by publisher (Rozanski “Tour”).

By grasping these differences between large and small publishers, Rozanski indirectly also references the conflict between chain bookstores and independent ones. In spite of his obvious dedication to the field, he is able to see the business aspects of the industry as well. Just recently, after 2014’s San Diego Comic Convention, the chain founder announced the end of his appearances there because of the lack of profit. In this case it is the publishers that are making it hard to compete because they sell their issues for so cheap (Melrose). If even the largest comic retailer in the world has to pull out of an event like this, this bodes ill for smaller retailers’ chances on the market. In his own store, Rozanski is allowed to ignore these differences for a while. His stock can’t even be intimidated by Internet giants like amazon.com that are heavily threatening other bookstores’ existence. He specifically says that the selection of comic-related books that they stock is “greater than what you would find even in an amazon.com warehouse” (Rozanski “Tour”). He thus successfully manages to circumvent some of the challenges that booksellers today face.

Rozanski with parts of his beloved collection.

In a different corner of the store near the new comics, there are children’s comics and toys. These shelves are complimented by beanbags and friendly colors to “make [children] feel like they’re very, very welcome” . Further, there are underground and adult publications, which are kept in the storage. Out of all of his selection, though, Rozanski’s personal pride is the large collection of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age comics. This term describes comics published between 1933 and 1982 (Rozanski “Tour”). Among these, there are special issues that are on sale for several thousand dollars, which are showcased in glass cabinets right towards the entrance of the store (Onôv). In his video tour, they are what Rozanski presents first. Just this little thing made me realize something about Mile High Comics and its founder. In spite of the masses of comics they stock, the annual revenue of one million dollars, and the variety of stores and employees that this chain stands for, Chuck Rozanski is just a collector that loves what he has created. In James Clifford’s writings On Collecting Art and Culture the anthropologist says that at some point in every collector’s life, he will be encouraged to share his passion with others. According to him, “personal treasures will be made public.” (Clifford 219). This is exactly what seemed to have happened to Rozanski. What started out as a teenager’s personal love for comics turned into the largest comic book retailer in the world.

Sulley from Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.

When considering the store, it seems as though this love for comics is what drives every aspect of the interior. Large movie posters line the walls and the floor space completely embraces its nerd status: a large Star Wars spaceship with a cardboard figure of Han Solo and several other characters find their place here. My favorite is a gigantic stuffed figure of Sulley from Monsters, Inc. that you can see in the picture (Rozanski “Tour”). This love for details makes the store more than a simple space. In Tim Cresswell’s terms, people’s relations to a space are what makes it a place. This means that the more people are invested in it, the more it is commonly seen as somebody’s place (Cresswell 7). The Mile High Comics Megastore is definitely Rozanski’s place, but by inviting everyone in and accommodating other comic lovers, he extends his “home” to other people. Though the warehouse flair still remains, it looks as though the employees are trying their utmost to make the space livelier and homier, to make this store a place to more and more people. So in the end, I think that it is Rozanski’s desire for the store selection to be as complete as possible and fully welcoming to all people that makes Mile High Comics so successful in its field.

 

Sources

Floor Plan powered by thinglink.com

Books:

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Cresswell, Tim. Place. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Print

Articles:

Melrose, James. “Mile High Comics may pull out of SDCC over exclusive variants.” Robot 6. Comic Book Resources. 28 Jul. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Onôv, Alex. “Mile High Comics, La Nave De Los Tebeos.” Cabezabomba. n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Images in Post:

Rozanski sitting on the floor with Comics <http://www.comiclist.com/media/blogs/news/redraven070510.jpg>

Sulley <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/110613chuck.jpg>

Overhead view of store <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Sc1Q5E8Jws/UaGt1clttBI/AAAAAAAAABM/M2_sFK9UjKA/s1600/fcbd2013pan.jpg>

Images in Thinglink:

New comics shelves <https://unpackingthebookstore.susqu.edu/wp-content/uploads/Bildschirmfoto-2015-03-10-um-21.52.16.png>

Marvel t-shirt <http://www.8ball.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/217x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/M/a/MarvelComicsHeroesMensTShirt_AllTheGreats_12.jpg>

Storage Shelves: Screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Comics-related books: Screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Panoramic view from upstairs <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/061113pano.jpg>

$1 comics <http://www.cabezabomba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mileofertas.jpg>

$2 comics <http://www.cabezabomba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mileofertas.jpg>

Events area <http://blogs.denverpost.com/nerd/files/2014/06/party.jpg>

Action figure glass cabinet <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/baraf2.jpg>

Outside view and entrance: Screenshot from Google StreetView <https://www.google.com/maps/@39.780347,-104.99934,3a,75y,103.87h,85.02t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seJt86k4XOQ_FsyiZM4hdiQ!2e0>

Glass cabinet with rare issues: Screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age Comics <http://gallivant.com/p/2013/08/mile-high-comics-2.jpg>

Wall with banner <http://www.cabezabomba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mile1.jpg>

Kids section: Screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Youtube videos:

Rozanski, Chuck. “Mile High Comics Jason St. Mega Store Tour with Chuck Rozanski.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 5 Jun. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Welcome to Wonderland

Prepare to be overwhelmed. Mile High Comics’ Jason Street location is a renovated warehouse home to thousands upon thousands of comic books and paperbacks, a wide array of toys and collectibles, and more merchandise than any one person would ever need.

This megastore may have 60,000 square feet, 45,000 of which is retail space, but it leaves no room for a romanticized visage of how a bookstore is expected to appear. You will not find any baristas serving Starbucks coffee nor will you find cushioned chairs with armrests gently placed in a quiet nook. The store’s layout caters to a different type of literary consumer, one who enters the store knowing full well what they like and what they plan on finding it, with or without help from the staff. In this way, the customers who step into this store are a specialized group of people as any who don’t fit within the parameters of comic book lover, enthusiast, or aficionado can be deterred and avoid the store altogether. It is not with an elitist attitude. Rather, the megastore realizes the niche that it fulfills, the specialized type of consumer it caters to on a day-to-day basis.

The store is a culmination of old and new comic books, collectible merchandise and trinkets, apparel, and more on one floor only and completely out in the open. Many of the comics can be viewed on multiple display tables soon after you enter the red door into the wonderland of a warehouse. They can be seen laid out flat, sitting upright, in packing boxes, or piled high and low. This is the general area of the store’s comics which boasts the sign “$1.00 COMICS,” no doubt a steal of a deal, and definitely a place to visit, but perhaps that’s not the reason you walked in today. Maybe you wanted to take a gander at the collectibles right next to the section housing the books about comics. Perhaps you came in to make a straight beeline toward the back of the store to peruse the new comic books section that wraps around the corner of the store, overtaking more than half the length of the wall. This way you’d be able to explore the merchandise adjacent to the new comic books, but you’d be bypassing the children’s section which is always worth a peek. You could have just wandered in by chance, knowing what you want, but you take advantage of the help desk that guards the hallowed display of Bronze, Silver, and Golden Age comic books. The only area off-limits to the public is the “back room” inventory with a look-but-don’t-touch rule. Feel free to roam all throughout the expansive store otherwise, as shown in this video.

Comic books are the lifeblood running through this space, transforming it into something beyond a place of concrete and foundation. They are things that unite a myriad of people. Bruno Latour states that “[a] thing is, in one sense an object out there and, in another sense, an issue very much in there, at any rate, a gathering,” (2288); and the properties of comics as things make them a matter of concern for those who harbor a love for them. A comic book can invite any two people together, no matter how different they may be, and act as a conduit for conversation. This conversation between fans of the same comic book, regarding the characters, the art style, or even the artist, will establish a bond between those two people. However, the scope that a comic book can bring people together expands much farther than just two people to whole dedicated followings whether that’s for the book itself or the artist. Within these followings there is a sense of commonplace amongst the members and while they vary in race, class, sex, and identified gender, their shared love equates them to simply “fans.” And with this, the fans form a society amongst each other that is exclusive to those who too love comics as much as the other members, if not moreso. Their society is welcome to and expected, in a sense, to thrive within the comic book store where the materials needed to support and fuel them can be found.

Viewing comics as objects does not detract from the sense of community that they can provide for the fan culture that absorbs them. One of the major aspects of comic books is their potentiality for being able to be collected. Serialized comic books tend to be collected for the sake of continuity while rare issues are obtained for the value, monetarily and culturally, that they possess. James Clifford discusses the act of collecting as a form of collecting culture, collecting life itself in his essay “On Collecting Art and Culture,” describing what a good collector does and what his/her collection represents. Reflective and tasteful, the good collector is able to know the history of the objects he/she is collecting while also being able to label them accordingly (219). The collection is what is valued while “any private fixation on single objects is negatively marked as fetishism,” (219) and this is true concerning comic book collecting. A major trait attributed with comic books is the act of collecting them. An entire collection holds more value than a single issue as the collection can compile the history of a comic book series, the progress of the artist, and the history of comics themselves. It is the complete cohesiveness of the series or story being told through the comic books that causes people, through sheer determination, to acquire as many that they potentially can. The megastore fulfills this desire in the best possible way by offering nearly all of Mile High Comics inventory underneath one roof. This is the reputation that the megastore does it best to uphold for its consumers and rarely does it disappoint in its endeavors.

Mile High Comics’ megastore boasts a display that takes the viewer through a chronological journey through the Bronze, Silver, and Golden Ages of comics, a history that spans nearly 50 years. The value of this collection is immeasurable because of the culture that it reflects, but also it solidifies the megastore’s claim that it is the largest comic book store in America and none can surpass it. It reflects the company’s own philosophy of remembrance for the origin of comics while the rest of the store shows where comics are headed as time moves along. The space is a testament to the importance that comic books have and will continue to have on both the art and literature worlds.

Sources:

Text:
Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Latour, Bruno. “Why Has Critique Run Out of Steam?” The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 2nd ed. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 2282-302. Print.

Images:

Courtesy of Mile High Comics’ Website <http://www.milehighcomics.com>

Mile High Comics: A Story of Passion

Everyone hopes that one day they can make a living from their passions. Chuck Rozanski, founder and owner of Mile High Comics, made his dream a reality. While the comic book industry doesn’t seem very lucrative, Rozanski shares and spreads his passion for comic books and made his mark in the industry, creating one of the most successful comic book stores in the nation.

Although Mile High Comics is dubbed “America’s Largest and Friendliest Comics Retailer,” Rozanski’s love of comics began early when he was a child living with his family in Germany. His mother used comic books to teach him English. His family moved to the United States in 1960 where his comic book passion and collection really took off.

A teenage Chuck Rozanski poses with his comic collection.
A teenage Chuck Rozanski poses with his comic collection.

His childhood love of comics did not stop when he left Germany. Quite the opposite happened, actually. Rozanski
turned his passion for comics into a business and he wasn’t stopping any time soon. The first official branch of Mile High Comics started in Rozanski’s parents’ basement in Colorado Springs in 1969. From here, he sold back issues of comics through mail order ads in comic magazines. As a fourteen year old, Rozanski was selling his comics in the Colorado Springs flea-market circuit.

Despite his various means of sales, this was not enough to satisfy Rozanski’s passions. He founded the Colorado Springs Comics Club in 1971. Rozanski was a teenager on a mission to get the world to love comics and no one could get in his way.

The early years of Mile High Comics did not pull in many profits, but that streak would soon end. Rozanski profited a nice $1,800 when he attended Multicon in Oklahoma City, his first – but certainly not his last – national comic book convention. These profits set the stage for the company to thrive in future years.

At the mere age of nineteen, Rozanski had already opened the first retail store of Mile High Comics in Boulder, Colorado. Within two years, the company had expanded to own three store locations. Rozanski had turned his childhood passion into a viable way to make a living, and at such a young age.

The way Chuck Rozanski started and continues his business fits very well with Archibald MacLeish’s idea of how a bookstore should be run. Although comics are not the typical books, the basis for a comic book store should be the same as any other type of bookstore. MacLeish stresses that booksellers must have “opinions about the content and the value of the books they sold” (13). He also believes that “books are sold by the enthusiasm of people who know and respect them” (13). Rozanski has that enthusiasm, and so do his employees. Rozanski has a true passion for the books he sells, which allows Mile High Comics to thrive.

mhc superman
The cover of the first Superman comic.

Money was not always good for Mile High Comics, but that did not allow Rozanski to give up his dreams. In December of 1977, Rozanski found the comic collection of a lifetime. This collection, the Edward Church Collection, held about 16,000 comic books in mint condition that dated between 1937 and 1955, which represented the Golden Age of comic books. This collection included a copy of the first Superman comic. No lack of money could let Rozanski pass up the opportunity to buy such a collection. This collection became known as the Mile High Collection. After acquiring this collection, Rozanski decided that would be his life’s work and dedication to promote “comics as an art form, and do everything in [his] power to help the comics industry to prosper” as he writes on the history page of the store’s website.

While this purchase set the company back financially, it allowed Mile High Comics to expand its business further than before. A mail-order operation was put into place, which soon became more prosperous than the stores themselves. In 1979, Rozanski purchased the mail-order division of Richard Alf Comics, which helped the company to expand greatly. Soon after this acquisition, Mile High Comics began to advertise in Marvel comic books. This double-page ad that listed prices of back issues was the first of its kind and gave Mile High Comics a huge burst in its sales of back issues.

The comic business was at its peak in the 1980s and Mile High Comics was climbing that mountain. By 1987, Mile High was earning $3.5 million in sales per year. Unfortunately, this high would not last. The company needed to find new ways of generating revenue. The mail-order business was just not enough for the company to keep going forward.

Technology brought a new way for Mile High to sell its comics when the mail-order method was losing steam. Rozanski brought the business online and began selling comics through the Internet. This new facet of the company brought great success and allowed the company to stop using print catalogs. The online business is still booming for Mile High Comics today.

Mile High’s collection of comics was growing so rapidly that in 1991 the first mega-store was opened in Denver. Not only was this Mile High’s first mega-store, it was Denver’s first comic book mega-store. With 11,000 square feet filled with comic books, it was any comic-lover’s paradise

In 1998, Rozanski embarked on a huge endeavor to create an online comic book database of every comic book printed in the United States. He planned for this database to contain the cover and first three pages of each of the books. Nothing would stop Rozanski from completely this daunting task. Rozanski has overcome copyright issues and difficulties in finding rare issues.

Rozanski standing in front of a wall of comic in the warehouse.
Rozanski standing in front of a wall of comic in the warehouse.

Mile High Comics’ current warehouse is 65,000 square feet and houses at least five million comic books and 250,000 trade paperbacks including graphic novels, anime, and comic collections. This is the largest collection of comic books held in one place. Rozanski prides himself on this fact, boasting in an interview with the Denver Post that his company has more comic books than Amazon.

Mile High Comics has the right clientele in the comic book industry. So many people share Rozanski’s passion for comic books. Whether they be casual readers or avid collectors, people flock to both the stores and the website, hoping to discover new comics. In an odd way, this is much like the ideas Jack Perry discusses the way Bulgarians approach books in his article “Bookstores, Communist and Capitalist.” The Bulgarians had a “positive hunger for new books” (107) and would wait in very long lines when a new book – any book – was released. Comic book fans and collectors are much like this in that they want to get their hands on any and every comic they possibly can.

Conventions are an important part of any comic book seller’s business model. Mile High Comics makes appearances at various conventions. For forty years, they have been attending San Diego Comic Con – which was founded by the very same Richard Alf whose mail-order division Rozanski purchased in 1979. However, Rozanski announced in July of 2014 that the company would probably refrain from having future appearances at San Diego Comic Con, though they will continue to attend Denver Comic Con as well as other conventions.

mhc cali store
The mega-store in Orange County, California

 

Throughout the years, Mile High Comics has had many locations. At one point in time, there were thirteen stores in Colorado as well as a mega-store in Orange County, California. Remaining today are four Colorado locations – all in and around Denver – and the one in Orange County. Orders on the website make up a large part of the company’s sales.

The success of Mile High Comics was set in motion by Chuck Rozanski’s passion for the medium, but it was able to thrive because of the dedication of a community. With a current staff of fifty comic enthusiasts and collectors, Mile High Comics is a leader in the comic sales world. However, no business could be successful without customers, and Mile High sure has those. The company boasts over 500,000 sales in back issues to customers all over the world.

Mile High Comics on Dipity.

Sources:

Websites

Business Insights http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE%7CA12240225/594d30d22ee3e9f8d894602abce3feec?u=susqu_main

Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/ci_20798083/chuck-rozanski-mile-high-comics-life-superheroes-and

Highbeam http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3837136.html

Mile High Comics History http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/hist.html

Mile High Comics Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_High_Comics

Chuck Rozanski Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Rozanski

Texts

“Funny Business.” People 50.11 (1998): 86. Academic Search Complete. Web.

MacLeish, Archibald. A Free Man’s Books. Mount Vernon, New York: Peter Pauper. Print.

Perry, Jack. “Bookstores, Communist and Capitalist.” Bibliophilia. 2001. 107-111. Print.

Peterson, Eric. “Comics Industry’s Don Quixote.” ColoradoBiz 28.6 (2001): 74,74,76. ProQuest. Web.

Whitney, Daisy.  “Comic Relief His Goal: Put Every U.S. Comic Book on Web.” Denver Post: E. May 04 1998. ProQuest. Web.

Images

Adult Rozanski http://www.denverpost.com/ci_20798083/chuck-rozanski-mile-high-comics-life-superheroes-and

California Store http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/hist.html

Superman http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_small/0/77/119337-8550-homage-covers.jpg

Teenage Rozanski http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/hist.html

 

A Haven For Nerds Through Time: The Mile High Comics History

 

“Comic book retailing is the last refuge of the iconoclast and individuals who are unwilling to conform”

– Chuck Rozanski (Duncan)

 

Mile High Comics Founder Chuck Rozanksi

 



When I was 13, I went to school, came home, read, and had little worries in the world beyond that. I read the occasional comic, but they were never my favorite. When Chuck Rozanski was 13, he decided that the world needed more comics. From his parents’ basement he founded what would later become the worlds largest comics retailer: Mile High Comics. What started as him selling at flea markets and conventions as a individual salesman, soon turned into the first brick-and-mortar store in Boulder, CO, in 1974 (Mile High Comics History). Though this store has since been taken over by Time Warp, it was still a milestone in the chain’s history (Anonymous, “Interview”).

Chuck Rozanski with today’s remainders of the Edgar Church comic collection

Since the founding of this store, Mile High Comics has gone through a lot of development. By 1977, Chuck Rozanski could already count 4 stores part of the chain. He was only 21 years old and already the leader of a growing comic empire (Mile High Comics History). December of that year, by a fortunate coincidence, Rozanski was able to purchase the Edgar Church Collection. This amazing find consisted of roughly 16,000 comic books from the “Golden Age”, the late 30s to early 50s. This brought about a change in Rozanski’s business (Duncan). With profitable sales, he was able to make enough profit to invest in a large warehouse situated in Globeville, Denver, which is mostly paired with the central Highlands, one of the trendiest and most diverse districts of the city (Denver “Highlands”).

Initially, the book lover just used this warehouse for storage. Then it went over to open one day per month, then to every weekdays, and then, in 2012, the warehouse was eventually opened to the public seven days a week. By doing this, Rozanski created “the largest single comics facility in the world” (Rozanski “Tour”) . The gigantic Jason Street Mega Store has been home to many events which it is able to host due to its huge interior. Just last December they held their so far largest auction of comics, figurines, and books that featured around 1,200 items and was directed mainly to children and other buyers on a budget (Rozanski “Update”). In addition to this vast facility and the three other stores in Denver, Mile High Comics gets a large number of online orders from all over the world (Mile High Comics History). This development has been facilitated by creation of the store’s the website in 1997 (Wayback Machine “1997”).

An overhead view of the Jason Street Megastore.

Understandably, Chuck Rozanski is very proud of this empire he created. When I called the Megastore to ask some questions, his employees assured me that had he been available, he would have talked my ear off. “He likes to talk. Look at all the reports he wrote on the website!”, is what I got from a friendly store assistant (Anonymous, “Interview”). This made me wonder about him. From the videos he posts on his Youtube channel you can see his dedication to the store and sharing the love for comic books. His passion reminded me of Christopher Morley’s quirky, book loving character Roger Mifflin. He’s a traveling bookseller in his novel Parnassus on Wheels and regards his vocation a salvation for the people. Now look at Rozanski’s quote from the beginning of the post again. Though he and Roger Mifflin might be in completely different fields of literature, you can see that they share their love for books and are eager to share it (Morley).

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts: a landmark for Denver as an intellectual and artistic metropolis.

Rozanski probably chose Denver as the home for his stores because that’s where he lived. While researching, I wondered how much his decision has shaped the location, though. When we picture Denver, some of us are going to think of the Broncos first. The well-known football team is home in Colorado’s capital. Other people, like me, who don’t know anything about sports, will probably at least have heard the nickname “Mile-High City”. What we don’t necessarily hear about is Denver’s flourishing artistic and literary influences. Alongside art galleries, museums, and concert halls, the city claims on its website that “Denver is home to a performing arts scene to rival any other city” (Denver “Arts & Culture”, “Performing Arts”). In addition there are several public, as well as private, and specialized institutions of higher learning. Maybe this is the reason why the city does not just have the standard Barnes & Noble to offer. Numerous independent bookstores were founded here throughout the 20th century. Several of these have by now branched out in the Denver area, much like Mile High Comics (Snyder).

The poster for the Denver Comic Con 2013

A possible indicator of Rozanski’s impact is Denver’s reception of comics and nerd-culture, which has been flourishing over the past few years. In 2010, the Comic Book Classroom was founded, an association whose aim it is to increase the literacy of Denver’s youth. Their reach grew in June 2012, when they hosted the first ever Denver Comic Convention (Denver Comic Con “Our Story”). In the few years after its founding, the con has already made a name for itself and has attracted more attention to Denver’s literary fan culture. This has become indispensable for the local economy and indeed, 75% of the exhibitors are local to Colorado. Chuck Rozanski and his staff have been part of this amazing project since the very first convention . In the meantime, the attendance of the event has increased from around 28,000 in its inaugural year to 87,000 in 2014 (Denver Comic Con, “What We’re About”). Because of its proximity to the Jason Street Store (by car the convention center is only about 12 minutes away), the store has been able to complement the program of the con; with its large interior, the team was able to put up a stage and host a pre-party with cosplay, performances, and book signings (Rozanski “Tour”, “Pre-Party”). Seeing not just the team’s but also the customers’ dedication to the place brings to mind Tim Cresswell. In Defining Place, the author writes about what makes a random space an actual place. According to him, places are “spaces are which people have made meaningful. They are all spaces people are attached to in one way or another”(Cresswell). This seems to be exactly what Rozanski has in mind. You can see that he does his utmost in order to render this rather plain, huge warehouse a place and not just a space. This doesn’t just apply to this store, but the entire chain.

Chuck’s own picture of his 2006 SDCC booth

Prior to the founding of this comic con, the store has been exhibiting their products at the San Diego Comic Con for many years. This very famous convention is “the largest (…) of its kind”  and the past years have regularly attracted around 130,000 people (Ewalt). In spite of a lifelong cooperation of the SDCC and Mile High Comics, Chuck Rozanski announced the end of his appearances in 2014. Already in 2006, he complained about the masses of visitors that were hard to handle. After 2014’s con, though, he is done with San Diego for good. To blame are the publishers, who apparently sell their comics for so cheap that it is impossible for vendors to compete (Mile High Comics “Final SDCC Report”). It looks like there are two sides to this, though. When reading comments from convention regulars, it becomes clear that there seems to be a lot of bad blood between customers, other vendors, and Mile High Comics. Commenting voices claim that the prices are “unrealistically high” and that they should “change their name to MILE HIGH PRICES” instead (Melrose).

Marvel’s The Avengers (2012): One of the many Superhero movies based on comics.

With many sellers putting their comics on Ebay for cheap, the question of market value of comics does come up. This question doesn’t seem of concern yet, though. According to insider Gus Lubin, “the comic book industry is on fire”. The reason is pretty obvious, and most of us have probably contributed to it: the increasing popularity of superhero movies and TV shows. Partly because of this, but also because of an increase of comic quality, the number of comic bookstores that has alternated throughout history, has not gone down over the past few years (Lubin). Specifically Mile High Comics still has four stores, even today (Mile High Comics “Stores”).

This, however, is not a concern to address at this point. Whether the comic book industry will recede or prosper in the future is hard to say now. What we can say, though, is that throughout the almost 46 years of Mile High Comic’s history, the face of both the store and Denver’s attention to comics and nerd culture has evolved greatly. The concluding timeline of important events in the store’s history visually displays the evolution it has gone through.

Kat W. on Dipity.

Bibliography:

Links:

Mile High Comics, “History”. <http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/hist.html>

Mile High Comics, “Mile High Comics Stores”. <http://www.milehighcomics.com/stores/>

Mile High Comics, “Final San Diego Comic-Con Report”. <http://www.milehighcomics.com/newsletter/072914email.html>

Denver, “Highlands”. <http://www.denver.org/about-denver/denver-neighborhoods/highlands/>

Denver, “Arts & Culture”. <http://www.denver.org/things-to-do/denver-arts-culture/>

Denver, “Performing Arts”. <http://www.denver.org/things-to-do/denver-arts-culture/performing-arts/>

Denver Comic Con, “Our Story”. <http://denvercomiccon.com/history/>

Denver Comic Con, “What We’re About”. <http://denvercomiccon.com/about/>

Wayback Machine “Mile High Comics, 5 Apr. 1997”. <http://web.archive.org/web/19970405104716/http://www.milehighcomics.com/>

Wayback Machine “Mile High Comics, 19 Jan. 2012: Retail Stores”. <https://web.archive.org/web/20120119211017/http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/maps/>

Books:

Morley, Christopher. Parnassus on Wheels. New York: Avon Books, 1983.

Duncan, Randy and Matthew J. Smith. The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2009.

Cresswell, Tim. Place. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Print

Articles:

Snyder, Nina. “Top Five Bookstores in Denver.” About Travel. About.com, no date. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

Ewalt, David M..”The Coolest Costumes of Comic-Con.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine. 25 Jul. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

Melrose, James. “Mile High Comics may pull out of SDCC over exclusive variants.” Robot 6. Comic Book Resources. 28 Jul. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

Lubin, Gus. “The Comic Book Industry Is on Fire, And It’s About More Than Just The Movies.” Business Insider. Business Insider Inc.. 26 Aug. 2014

Anonymous, “Comic-Con Co-creator Ken Krueger Dies.” BBC News. BBC, 25 Nov. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Images:

Chuck Rozanski in Front of Shelf. <http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2012/0606/20120606__20120607_C1_FE07STPEOPLE~p1.jpg>

Chuck Rozanski with Edgar Church Collection.<http://www.comiclist.com/media/blogs/news/redraven070510.jpg>

Panoramic View of Megastore. <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/061113pano.jpg>

Denver Center For Performing Arts. <http://www.denver.org/things-to-do/denver-arts-culture/performing-arts/>

Poster for Denver Comic Con. <http://denverdiatribe.com/episodes/comic-con.jpg>

Photo of SDCC booth. <http://www.milehighcomics.com/sandiego/sdcc2006/wednesday/3amigos.jpg>

The Avengers Movie Poster. <http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTk2NTI1MTU4N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODg0OTY0Nw@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg>

Images in Timeline:

Mile High Comics Logo. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Mile_High_Comics_logo.png>

Old SDCC Snapshot. <http://www.comicconmemories.com/wp-content/gallery/shel-1973-env-bw/1973-Env-B15.jpg>

Jason Street Megastore. <http://milehighcomics.com/images/jason-interior-overhead-1-thumb.jpg>

Youtube Videos:

Rozanski, Chuck. “Mile High Comics Jason St. Mega Store Tour with Chuck Rozanski.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 5 Jun. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

Rozanski, Chuck. “Mile High Comics- December 2014 Mega Store Update.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 15 Dec. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

Rozanski, Chuck. “Mile High Comics – Denver Comic-Con Pre-Party 2014 – Timelapse.” Online Video Clip. Youtube, 13 Jun. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

Interviews:

Anonymous. Personal Interview. 14 Feb. 2015.

Timeline featured by www.dipity.com

Denver’s Succession of Comic Books Through Exploring the Past

While Mile High Comics is now one of the leading powerhouses of the comic book industry today, it wasn’t always that way. In fact, the business started out as nothing more than a hobby for 13 year old boy selling comic books out of his parent’s basement. In 1969, Chuck Rozanski began flipping comic books at a local flea market in Denver. While the makings of the store were first being cultivated, Denver was experiencing a cultural-industrial change that drastically changed the outlook of the city. Traveling around the city became much more efficient when the highways I-25 and I-70 were completed in 1970, allowing traffic to flow easily from every direction throughout the city and promote the growth of the suburbs. The South Platte River flood of the 60’s also impacted the recreation of the city into an urban neighborhood after it destroyed many buildings around the southern part of the city.

Chuck_Today

After four years of buying and selling comics, Chuck Rozanski made his first appearance at a national convention; selling rare mint-conditioned comic books at a reasonable price that helped him build his trade. Once he had a gained a sizable fortune, the young entrepreneur finally opened up his first retail store in Boulder, Colorado. With the completion of the highways, and by scouting out good locations around the area, Rozanski was able to construct three more stores around Denver. While the original store is no longer in use, the other four stores are spread throughout the vicinity of the metro Denver area. One of the stores is located in Lakewood, another in Glendale, and the other is in Littleton. The last one to be built is the mega-store placed right next to highway I-70 on Jason Street.

Adolescents are obviously a targeted demographic for selling comic books, and during the 1970’s, three colleges combined for financial purposes and began educating: Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College, and the University of Colorado at Denver. With more youth coming around the country to attend these schools, Rozanski obtained a whole new group of people to advertise his distinct business to. Jack Perry states how basic American bookstores have become in his article Bookstores, Communist and Capitalist “In short, the needs and wants of the average book buyer are modernly met…The bookstores most everyone goes to nowadays are quite likely the same…and all the little idiosyncratic bookstalls we have known will before long merge into great marketing combines that will offer identical outlets in every American shopping center” (109).   His approach to selling was unique though, since there may be plenty of bookstores in the area, but he controlled the entire comic book market which presented him with more opportunities to expand in a capitalist city.

Rozanski made an ingenious acquisition that gave him full control of practically everything comic book related when he purchased Golden AgeComics, giving him the largest and highest quality comic book collection ever discovered. It was a difficult transaction to pull off because of how much it cost. But by pulling it off, it made him the most powerful figure in the comic book industry, providing him with mint copies of every comic ever published from 1938-1950. It also changed his outlook on how he sold comics, because now he could go from simply selling comics for profit, to becoming a leader of an industry in need of someone to step up and promote the unique form of literature.

Rozanski’s quest to spread the popularity of comic books is not an uncommon notion, with the publishing industry always looking for new ways to sell books. As Archibald MacLeish states in his essay A Free Man’s Books pertaining to the Nazi’s fear of books “These Nazis perpetrated their obscene and spiteful act because they knew that books are weapons and that a free man’s books such books as free men with a free man’s pride can write-weapons of such power that those who would destroy the world of freedom must first destroy the books that freedom fights with” (6). While it might be skeptical to think about comic books as weapons, the fictional universes that inhabit them provide heroes that defeat the evils of their world. These morals ingrain themselves in the minds of anyone who reads them, giving individuals  creative concepts they need to help conquer the everyday problems that they must deal with.

In the 1970’s Denver was thriving, with the oil industry paving the way for a new look on Denver. A large portion of the working class had come to rely on the oil fields nearby the city for work. After World War II, the oil industry was booming and many locals had jobs that provided a solid income with good benefits. When the tycoons of the industry fell apart and the oil boom dissipated however, many people were laid off, seriously hurting the economy of Denver, which resulted in the failure of multiple large industrial banks. Many people lost their homes and their savings when the government seized approximately $2 billion from the banks in the early 1980’s. The other businesses of the area continued to thrive however, and Mile High Comics was no exception. The store was a hit, with people flocking from all around the country to purchase comics from the industry giant.

After World War II, the city of Denver resembled a suburban neighborhood that was difficult to navigate due to everything being spread apart, but after the highways were completed, and the elite class constructed large buildings around the area, the outlook of the city took on a much more urban appearance. The creation of the Republic Plaza, the City Town Center, and the enormous 52-story United Bank Tower provided the large skyscrapers for tourists to gaze at in awe. In 1979, the Performing Arts Complex finally gave the people of downtown Denver a sophisticated location to enjoy the talents of many different artists. The reshaping of Denver’s infrastructure made it an attractive place for people to come and visit.

The new generation also took control of the city and assisted in the crafting of a ‘New Denver’. They restored the old run-down buildings of the city to provide new places for people to live in the city, and repaired the damage left by the floods of the 1960’s. In fact, they were so effective in saving the old buildings that all of the damage left by the suburban landscape had been repaired, along with the flood damage. People rushed back into the city, greatly increasing the population of Denver, along with providing a stronger commerce in the area. This only boosted the profits of Rozanski and the comic book giant that he had built.

Through all of the major changes that were occurring in Colorado through the latter half of the 20th century, it’s admirable to see that Mile High Comics has been able to fight through all of the turmoil and stay relevant despite just being another bookstore. Yet comic books became all the rage during this generational revolution that completely revamped how society saw different aspects of the culture during this time. Chuck Rozanski has received over 500,000 back issue orders from all across the globe that has proven how important reading really is to people in an age where technology has become the dominant mainstay in recent decades. Having over 20,000 subscription members that purchase from his stock on a monthly basis doesn’t hurt the cause either. Because of this and from the continued appearances at conventions in Colorado and California, Mile High Comics has been able to expand their reputation of success.  The store now boasts the largest collection of comic book merchandise in the world, and I doubt that it will be declining anytime in the near future. Here is a timeline that shows many of the important events that occurred for Mile High Comics and Denver in the latter half of the century:

Mile High Comics on Dipity.

Sources

Images-

1. City of Denver: http://orthoptics.org/file/denver-co-mountains2.jpg

2. Chuck Rozanski: http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/dkh.gif

3. Batman Comic:  http://luxurylaunches.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/batman-1.jpg

Timeline-

1. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/e8bb1e75b601aa94b7980afa4a9876fa_1M.png

2. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/10120cd8c4a7e119a5a90ec5436184eb_1M.png

3. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/d5fca29720ea7bfe8e9e0aa20b398e38_1M.png

4. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/6134d15d6474142aef37ad02dcefba1c_1M.png

5. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/afa8684adfe63e548c88e98faad65b94_1M.png

6. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/5d290302c4f9aa5c6e92bf44b513c6cf_1M.png

7. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/3760df91fc88512917770980f4c79c0b_1M.png

8. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/a66f7b859f569a078d66c8275d5f1ecf_1M.png

9. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/8762efdd2930073b079ba55271c8b554_1M.png

10.http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/6c0c28aa7f154b9441155b9c9b024f43_1M.png

11. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/70ec01de3588d67eea9711aa1b2c7664_1M.png

12. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/5f15ee9391e2906cfba80be18e5381dd_1M.png

13. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/7aabd47a4e5bc49e7d9b9e956ffa655e_1M.png

14. http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/00c885b67f5f0fb4c5d57a8fcfb8a4a9_1M.png

Texts-

1. Perry, Jack. “Bookstores, Communist and Capitalist.” Bibliophilia (2001) : 107-111. Print.

2. MacLeish, Archibald. “A Free Man’s Books An Address.” Mount Vernon, New York: The Peter Pauper Press, (1942) : 4-17. Print.

Websites-

1. Mile High Comics: http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/hist.html

2. Colorado History:  http://coloradogambler.com/colorado-history-%E2%80%94-new-denver-emerges-in-the-1970s-and-%E2%80%9880s/

3. Dipity: http://www.dipity.com/rcneff/Mile-High-Comics/#timeline

Of Basements and Back Issues: The History of Mile High Comics

When is the last time you had a comic in your hands? Do you remember what the title was, or even what the plot was about? I’m sure there are some of you who immediately thought back to your childhood for such a memory. I can say with great certainty that the last comic I picked up to read was exactly two months ago: a collection of Calvin and Hobbes. It’s a timeless series for me that I’ve been rereading my entire life. It was one of the only books with pictures that my mother would allow me to continue reading, no matter how old I was.  While I am a fan of comic books and can appreciate them aesthetically and critically, I am not so dedicated as to start my own collection or sell them for profit.

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Chuck Rozanski, President and Founder of Mile High Comics

Chuck Rozanski, founder of Mile High Comics, found his vocation as a comic book dealer at the young age of 13 and has become one of the leaders in the world of comics today by amassing the largest inventory of comics and collectibles in the world.

It was the turn of the decade in 1969 where a young Rozanski, in his parents’ Colorado basement, was selling back issues of comic books through mail order ads in Rocket’s Blast Comic Collector magazine. The following year, he would claim the title of youngest seller ever at the Colorado Springs Antique Market where he would found the Colorado Springs Comic Club soon after. It’s in 1972 when Rozanski, age 17, attended his first national convention, Multicon in Oklahoma City, and sells $1,800 in comics over the course of three days. It’s then he decides to turn comic retailing into his career, succeeding soon after by opening the first Mile High Comics store in Boulder, Colorado.
Fortune continued to smile on the newly emerging comic book retailer who owned four operational comic book stores by the time he was able to legally drink the celebratory champagne. All within the greater Denver area, the stores are located in Lakewood, Glendale, Littleton, and Jason Street. Information concerning Lakewood, Glendale, and Littleton can be found here; this blog post and future others will focus on and draw reference from the Jason Street Mega-Store.

If you’re waiting for the part in the story where things take a turn for the worst for Mile High Comics, you’re going to be waiting for a long while. It’s at this point in his life that Rozanski received a phone call that would change the course of his career for years to come. A realtor called looking for someone who would be willing to pick up a load of junk from a house to be sold on the market; he had gotten Rozanski’s name from a friend. The junk that the realtor was trying to sell was actually the collection of Edgar Church, a comic book collector and commercial artist, consisting of high quality grade comic books. The total estimates around 18,000 to 22,000 perfectly preserved comic books from the Golden Age (1933-1955) and is regarded as the most famous and most influential comic book discovery in the history of comic book collecting. Today, such a collection would have been valued around $50 million dollars, but Rozanski was able to purchase the entire collection and use it to expand his stores’ influence nationwide. The collection would eventually be sold over the course of the next two decades to collectors all over the country, dispersing not only the comic books but also Rozanski’s name and growing reputation.

 

Mile High Comics Crew

In addition to the collection assisting in helping get the name of Mile High Comics outside of the state of Colorado, Rozanski purchased Richard Alf Comics’ mail order division in 1979, expanding Mile High Comics reach in terms of mail order services. In the following year, Rozanski published a first-of-its-kind double-page advertisement in Marvel comics depicting a list of back issues he had for sale and the prices. This advertisement helped to educate non-collectors of the value of their collections while at the same time affirming that back issues were valid commodities for the collector’s market. This helped bring about a boom of business to not only Mile High Comics, but to the entire market of back issues. In 1983, Rozanski’s company buys out the New Issue Comics Express (N.I.C.E) Subscription Club, taking advantage of direct market discounts to offer collectors new comics at prices below what they would pay for at newsstands.

 

With such success already under his belt and the comic book world nearly cornered, one had to ask what else could Rozanski do to cement his authority? The first answer came in 1991 with the opening of the first comics mega-store in Denver where a great portion of Mile High Comics collection was stored in the 11,000 square feet warehouse (as shown below). The follow-up to that answer came in 1997 with the invention of the Internet and Rozanski jumping on the opportunity to list Mile High Comics inventory online, offering collectors even easier access to the largest inventory of back issue comics in the world.

While Mile High Comics can offer such an impressive collection to its consumers, Rozanski states that Mile High Comics has been blessed with thousands upon thousands of fans and their support is what has attributed to the overall success of the company. As an independent seller, he shares his glory with his consumers and it can be seen from his business that taking care of his customers and comic book fans alike is at the forefront of his mind.   While his company is comprised of four locations, one being a mega-store, Rozanski relies on his roots of 40 years within the Denver area. Within Mile High Comics physical stores, the staff are similar to their president in that they familiar with the sense of community within their respective neighborhoods and are able to use that to their advantage to connect with anyone who walks through the door. The bond that they are able to establish with comic books fans (ranging in age, sex, race, class) is what truly counts when it comes to selling their products. The environment that they create, not necessarily the space, is key to satisfying the customers’ retail needs. Comic books act as a bridge between social planes and it’s up to the booksellers to traverse this bridge to meet the consumer in the middle in order for a sale to be made (Miller).

 

When it comes to comic books as a culture, the fans are arguably the most prominent aspect. Without fans to defend its honor as a literary work or empty their pockets for near mint conditions of back issues, comic book stores wouldn’t stand much of a chance. It goes without much saying that the sweeping generalization that many in today’s society has of comic books is that they’re for children and offer almost nothing in terms of intellectual stimulation.   Truly this is not the case. While I could argue that comic books have such merit that is best saved for another time; however, you could direct your attention to works such as The Sandman or Habibi, exploring the power of the graphic novel. The world of comic books is continually innovated upon and as a medium is constantly evolving. It is thanks to not only the demand of fan culture, but shifting influence of the artists’ social environment as well.   With this dichotomy, comic books are given life as literary works that are constantly kept up to date in modern society’s sociopolitical agenda, and it is up to both sides to keep these sorts of associations going through the use of network thinking (Morley). The promise that fans will read the artist’s work given that the work the artist produces will spark some sort of reaction/emotion is the relationship that drives the comic book world. The loyalty of the fans is the blood that pumps through the comic book world. It is this realization that Rozanski continues to illustrate through his company and business practices. Mile High Comics couldn’t have become the world’s most notable comic book distributor by making enemies.

 

 

Sources

Websites

Edgar’s Comics: How an Artist’s Comic Collection Changed Comics Culture, and Became Worth $50 Million in the Process (Kickstarter Film) by Mark Seifert: <http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/12/22/edgars-comics-how-artists-comic-collection-changed-comics-culture-became-worth-50-million-process-kickstarter-film/>

Discovery of the Original Mile High Collection: <http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg12.html>

Mile High Comics History: <http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/hist.html>

The Original Mile High Collection Part II & III: <http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg13.html>  <http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg14.html>

 

Text

Duncan, Randy, and Matthew J. Smith. The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture. New York: Continuum, 2009. Print.

Miller, Laura J. “Serving the Entertained Consumer: The Multifunction Bookstore.” Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2006. 117-39. Print.

Morley, Christopher. “Escaped into Print.” Ex Libris Carissimis. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania, 1932. 45-68. Print.

 

Images in Blog Post

Calvin and Hobbes Comic Strip: <http://sploid.gizmodo.com/bill-wattersons-new-comic-strips-are-now-for-sale-1609567732>

Mile Comics Crew: <http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/staff/crew.gif>

Rozanski as Grown Man: <http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/staff/chuck.gif>

 

Images in Timeline

Chuck Rozanski as a Teen: <http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/teen.jpg>

Mile High Comic Logo: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_High_Comics#mediaviewer/File:Mile_High_Comics_logo.png>

Edgar Church/Mile High Collection and Rozanski: <http://www.majorspoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/chuck2.jpg>

Comic Books Thrive in Lakewood’s Art-Filled City

In and around Denver, Mile High Comics has four locations. There are two stores within the Denver city limits, one in the Glendale area and the mega store on Jason Street. Then there are stores in the neighboring cities of Littleton and Lakewood. The store found in the cultural and artistic hub of Lakewood, just five miles west of downtown Denver, is the center of my focus.

Although Lakewood is the fifth largest city in Colorado, it still holds the feeling of a welcoming community with over 7,000 acres of parks and 80 miles of biking and hiking trails. Lakewood holds 147,000 people in approximately 45 square miles. The area is very residential and family-friendly and is very much the typical American city and was even awarded the All-America City Award.

Lakewood holds a lot of culture and art, which is primarily located in the neighborhood of South Alameda. Within half a mile, one can find the Lakewood Cultural Center, the Lakewood Heritage Center, and the Block 7 Galleries, a cluster of around ten art galleries and studios located in Lakewood’s Belmar Shopping District. Just about a mile from these centers is the Washington Heights Arts Center in the North Alameda neighborhood. Art is clearly very important to and much appreciated by the people of Lakewood. The Block 7 Galleries host monthly art walks in which locals and tourist alike take in the art of the area.

Flag Throwers at the 2012 Festival Italiano at Belmar.
Flag Throwers at the 2012 Festival Italiano.

Lakewood boasts cultural diversity as well. The city won the first ever All-America City Diversity award in 2011 for its inclusivity. People from all walks of life are welcome in Lakewood. The city also hosts an annual Festival Italiano at Belmar. Here, festival goers can watch Italian flag throwers while eating Italian cuisine.

Belmar is not only a hub of art and culture, it is also Lakewood’s large shopping district. It encompasses 22 square city blocks and houses 76 shops of all types, from small boutiques to large chain stores. It also offers a variety of restaurants from Thai to Mexican to Italian. In the center of Belmar is a plaza that hosts concerts, festivals, and in the winter becomes an ice-skating rink. Belmar is a social and cultural center that plays a large part in life in Lakewood.

It is no surprise that a city so immersed in art and culture would be home to a branch of America’s Largest and Friendliest Comics Retailer. Lakewood flaunts its number of small businesses, 87% of which have fewer than 20 employees, so it makes sense such a store would be found here. Located in the Fairfield Commons strip mall in North Alameda just half a mile from the Belmar Shopping District, Mile High Comics has held the same manager since 1993. The store is in a quieter sector of Lakewood, but not too far from the excitement of the downtown area. Other businesses that call the same strip mall home include TJ Maxx, Planet Fitness, Starbucks, a gift shop, and various financial businesses, among others.

mile high comics
Why choose the strip mall instead of the large shopping district just half a mile south? For one, Belmar is relatively new – newer than the comic book store, but that wouldn’t stop Mile High Comics from relocating there. Well, the answer may lie in Tim Cresswell’s definition what a “place” is. According to Cresswell, “place” is a “meaningful location” (7). He also asserts that place is “a way of seeing, knowing, and understanding the world” (Cresswell 11). Strip malls are places associated with American suburbia, something to which many can relate. Being in a strip mall instead of Belmar allows Mile High Comics to retain the feeling of a “friendly neighborhood comics shop” that the shop’s website boasts having.

However, usually when you think about a comic book store, a strip mall is not the image that comes to mind. Personally, I think of strip malls as having the same old chain stores with little to no personal touches, and those types of stores can be found in the same strip as Mile High Comics. The choice of locating in a strip mall is one of business. The store is first and foremost a business, and a strip mall tends to be better for business. This goes along with Laura J. Miller’s arguments in Reluctant Capitalists. In this book she discusses the standardization of bookstores to help facilitate business. What could be more standard than the typical strip mall?

The Lakewood branch of Mile High Comics is surrounded by arts and culture, which is an ideal place for such a store to exist. If the area was not so immersed into culture, Mile High Comics may not have been able to thrive and stay in business in that location for as long as it has.

 

Sources:

Texts:

Cresswell, Tim. Place: a short introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub, 2004.

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Websites:

http://www.milehighcomics.com/stores/laked.html

http://www.denver.org/about-denver/denver-neighborhoods/belmar-lakewood/

http://www.lakewood.org/

http://www.belmarcolorado.com/

Images:

Flag throwers: http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2012/08/31/488264/10003791/en/Photo-Release-Festival-Italiano-Celebrates-the-Flavors-Heritage-of-Italy.html

Storefront: http://www.milehighcomics.com/stores/laked.html

What Does an 80 Year-Old War Veteran and a Child Who Can’t Spell Her Own Name Have in Common?

Mile High Comics - Lakewood
Mile High Comics – Lakewood

The ability to snag a 1970s mint edition of Batman vs. The Joker, hop over to T.J. Maxx to grab a pair of running shoes, and walk a few steps to get a touch-up on your nails at the salon can only begin to speak to the convenience factor in which we as modern Americans have situated ourselves comfortably.  The Lakewood location of Mile High Comics is found at 98 Wadsworth Boulevard, Denver, CO 80226 in the confines of Fairfield Commons a.k.a a strip mall.   The strip malls, Fairfield Commons and Lakewood Plaza, which overtake either side of the main boulevard that splits Lakewood in half offer a concentrated assortment of restaurants and stores that could be found anywhere else in America, but also a select few that are only found in Colorado namely Brothers BBQ and Black-Eyed Pea (both surprisingly southern-comfort restaurants).

Lakewood is a predominantly white, male-dominated area with the percentage of white men and women dominating virtually any other race at 88.5%.  There is a near split down the middle between the sexes with males populating 50.9% of Lakewood and females at 49.1% which is a good sign for sake of having a balance between the sexes. However, even two/more races at 3.5% and Asian at 2.6% clock out above black or African-American at 1.2%.  Considering the population of Lakewood, according to the U.S. Census/2013 American Community Survey, was 147,220 these percentages are even more dismal when put into such a perspective.


The area surrounding the comic book store is mostly residential. The streets end in cul-de-sacs of tended yards as far as the eye can see and none of the houses extend above the first story.  The word ‘quaint’ doesn’t even begin to describe this nestling of old-fashioned American suburbia.  That is until you get to Wadsworth Boulevard.  At this point, a bustle that can only be described as a three-lane highway overtakes the one-story homes and yards making way for commercial chains and local businesses fishing for customers.  In every driveway, at least one car can be found and rightfully so as the decision to reside in such an area calls for the use of a car.  Most of the stores cannot be reached on foot unless you think yourself lucky in the popular metropolitan game of “dodging traffic” to get across the boulevard.  If that doesn’t fit your idea of fun and you lack a car, there is the option of taking the bus, as there are lines that stop on either side of the boulevard and also in the neighboring cul-de-sacs behind the strip mall.

Finding respite from the burgeoning strip one can easily visit four parks in the area: O’Kane Park, Meadowlark Park, Bonvue Park, and Balsam Pond Park.  All are relatively large with O’Kane Park being the largest and closest in relation to the comic book store, overshadowing the nearby residential areas with its greenery and large pond.

Mile High Comics offers the residents of Lakewood something different yet familiar at the same time.  The store has been in the same location for 20 years and most reviewers note that they have been going to the store for years and have been exposing others they encounter to do the same.  Comic books will, in my opinion, always have the nostalgia factor on their side, and the seed is planted in an older generation that demographically populates the Lakewood area.

What’s interesting to note is the Colorado Christian University and the South Lakewood Elementary school are only a block away from each other and reflects not only the family-centric nature of the residential suburbia but the outside influences and ideas of higher-learning minds that are emitted into the town and its businesses.  What better customers for a comic book store to have than little children who love to read pictures and the university’s geek/nerd cultures that will shell out money they don’t have for collectibles?  The comic book store acts, in a sense, as a bridge between the generations that populate the area.  It is a space where people from all ends of the spectrum (male and female, young and old, black and white, etc.) can congregate under one roof within a culture that is shared amongst all of them and that can be fully expressed in this place specifically.  When it comes to comic books, there is a kinship not often found between booklovers of say fiction or memoir in a normal bookstore. This shop offers something for everyone, no matter who the patron may be.

 

Sources:

Text:

“I. The Midwest: An Interpretation.” The Midwest: An Interpretation. Ohio State University, n.d. Web. <https://huminst.osu.edu/i-midwest-interpretation>.

 

“Lakewood Colorado.” Lakewood.org. City of Lakewood. Web. <http://www.lakewood.org/Demographics/>.

 

“Mile High Comics – About – Google+.” Mile High Comics – About – Google+. Google, n.d. Web. <https://plus.google.com/114768911001971006724/about?hl=en&gl=us>.

 

“Mile High Comics Store Info.” Milehighcomics.com. Mile High Comics, n.d. Web. <http://www.milehighcomics.com/stores/laked.html>.

 

Images:

Mile High Comics Lakewood Store: http://www.milehighcomics.com/stores/Resources/nstored1.jpeg

Maps:
Google Maps: Mile High Comics – Lakewood

 

Google Street View: Wadsworth Boulevard – Lakewood

 

Google Street View: West Arthur Place – Lakewood