Mile High Comics a popculture fortress
Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s new series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we will offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems). Head to theknow.denverpost.com to find all of our Staff Favorites.
Pre-pandemic, Mile High Comics was one of my favorite places to visit on the weekends. I’d load my son (now 8) into the car and head down Interstate 25 to an unassuming street off the Pecos exit (4600 Jason St.). There, a hidden fortress of pop-culture media greeted and taunted us, much like the warehouse at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Turns out, Mile High Comics is still that way. It’s the only indoor place I felt comfortable visiting during the first year of the pandemic, owing to its lofty ceilings, wide aisles and 45,000-squarefoot layout. I’m a collector and lover of physical media, and that’s all this place is: Comic books (10 million or so) and trade paperbacks (300,000), but also toys, cards, posters and other collectibles laid out in an unfussy way.
Yes, it’s the biggest comics retailer in the United States. But it’s also a locally owned, thoughtfully run, inclusive business (it formerly hosted all-ages drag shows, pre-pandemic) that has been wheeling and dealing since the late 1960s. Owner Chuck Rozanski and his staff make most comics retailers look like noobs.
I know where I’m spending my tax refund.