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Where you get your comic books and all your geek swag is very important in the comic book community. If your local area doesn’t have a decent comic book store, fanboys and fangirls might as well move elsewhere and find a better location. One location I’ve been a fan of for 15 years is my local comic book store ‘Tate’s Comics’.

‘Tate’s Comics’ is a local Lauderhill, FL, favorite, even outside of the comic book crowds. For over 25 years, ‘Tate’s Comics’ has been running the game in the South Florida comic book scene. The Lauderhill location is 6,000-square-feet of all your favorite comics, graphic novels, anime, toys, statues, collectibles, Japanese snacks, art, and more groovy items.

Tate Ottati has said numerous times that “Tate’s turned into the best decision of his life.” Tate’s wife, Amanda, (who started out as a regular customer) is responsible for the upstairs art gallery. According to their website, Amanda’s love of anime is the reason the store stocked in anime merchandise.

When I was seven-years-old, that was the first time I stepped foot into a comic book store. From the moment I went to ‘Tate’s’, I knew it would be a local favorite for years to come. Opening the doors, scanning the room, every inch of the store is colorful, bold, loaded with my favorite characters and new characters in worlds to explore. Going up-and-down rows of comic books, almost like a maze. Running my fingers on the spine of each graphic novel, they were physical, even if the stories inside of them weren’t true. The shelves are a collage of stories, each story taking the physical form of a book with its own unique size and color.

Even if you’re not a big fan of comics, ‘Tate’s Comics’ has something for everyone. Take family pictures with the huge Hulk statue, munch on some Japanese munchies, or see some of your favorite childhood toys like, ‘He-Man’, or ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’. Even celebrities like Rick Ross and Brian Posehn had to make a quick stop at ‘Tate’s Comics’.

Tate’s also keeps locals busy with their yearly events. Some of their events are ‘Star Wars Family Fun Day’, ‘Halloween Sales’, and one of my favorite events, ‘Not at Comic-Con’. ‘Not at Comic-Con’ takes place in July and you don’t have to make the Pilgrimage to San Diego for a good time. The event has a cosplay parade, awesome prizes, free stuff from the staff, and if you wear a cape, you get 10 percent off your entire purchase. Your cape can be a towel, pillowcase, or one year I even saw a guy use a black trash bag with a Batman logo sticker on it.

If you’d like to see more of this place, check out the video below.

So what is your local comic book store hangout and which places would you recommend? I’m always interested in hearing about new comic book places. Thank you all so much for checking this out and I hope you all have a great day as always.

Nile Fortner

Nile@comicattack.net