Mile High Wins Jim Lee Auction for $6,700!

Chuck Rozanski, owner of Mile High Comics.com, one of the nation’s leading comic book retailers, made the winning bid of $6,700 in the auction for Jim Lee’s CBLDF In-Store Benefit Signing. Combined with Lee’s donation matching the first $2,000 of bids, this event has raised $8,700 for the Fund so far!

News of the auction’s close spread like wildfire in the comics press, with Newsarama, Pulse, and ICv2, immediately reporting on its results. Speaking to Comicon.com’s Pulse about his winning bid, Rozanski said, “I believe very much in the goals of the CBLDF. Given the current swing to the political right, I think it is just a matter of time before we see a direct assault on freedom of expression in all parts of American culture. Sadly, I believe that over the next couple of years that both comics creators, and comics retailers, will be subjected to intensifying levels of persecution for making unpopular ideas available. Without the CBLDF we would have absolutely no organized defense against the rising forces of oppression.”

Immediately following the auction’s close, Rozanski announced plans to increase his support by offering a seat at the after-signing dinner in an eBay auction benefiting the Fund. He’s also rewarding his customers with four separate contests whose winners will be flown in to Denver from anywhere in the world to attend the signing and dinner.

“Jim is one of the most classy comics professionals I have ever met,” Rozanski told the Pulse. “It surprised me not in the least when I heard that he was donating his time (and money) for the CBLDF. That is completely in character for him. He is not only a wonderful comics creator, but also a dedicated comics fan who cares deeply about the future of the comics world.”

With his winning bid, Rozanski continues a tradition of generous support for the Fund. “When I came aboard the Fund, Chuck was one of the first people to step up at a convention and say, ‘If there’s any way I can help, I’m there,’” recalls Executive Director Charles Brownstein. “When we took on Stu Helm’s case last Spring, he would make a donation every time he saw us at a show. When the Castillo case flared up prior to last summer’s Comic-Con International, he put his considerable auctioneering skills to work and earned the Fund nearly $10,000 at our Gala Art Auction. Today, as we’re preparing to appeal Jesus Castillo’s obscenity conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court, Chuck has once again stepped up and made a real difference.”

To enter Mile High’s Jim Lee contests click here

To read Pulse’s interview with Rozanski click here