Want free tickets to see Dir En Grey in concert?!

As a super-special sponsor, TATE'S will be giving away free tickets to this event!
How do you get free tickets??
There are three different ways to win and 10 pairs of tickets up for grabs!!

1) Send an email to us at emailus@tatescomics.com and simply tell us why YOU should get the free tickets!!

2) Come into TATE'S dressed in your j-rock inspired finest!
Your photo will be taken at the store, posted online and the best dressed will be chosen!

3) Visit the TATE'S booth at Anime Supercon in Miami, October 31st and November 1st and enter in-person to win!
There will be a random drawing with entries received during Supercon on Saturday night after the amazing Smash Bros 3000 Supershow! For more information on Anime Supercon, visit their website at animesupercon.com

Everyone is welcome to enter all three ticket giveaways... if you can!
Each winner will receive two free tickets to the concert.
Entry deadline Friday, October 31, 2008 at 9pm.
All winners will be notified by email on Sunday, November 2nd and tickets must be picked up at TATE'S!
If you have any questions, just ask!

Finally all the Halloween Sale photos are online for your viewing pleasure. :-) Thanks to everyone who came out to the sale, it was a lot of fun and the weather didn't end up being TOO bad.



Links below to the galleries...
Costumed Customers
Costumed Tate's Staff
Halloween Sale Photos


Also, the same photos can be found on our Flickr account and there you can leave comments and notes! Photos on Flickr

Best Comic Book Store
Tate's Comics
4566 N. University Dr.
Lauderhill 33351
954-748-0181
www.tatescomics.com
When Tate Ottati opened his comic book store, he wanted it to be an alternative to the cutthroat, high-priced comic book retailers in town. The then-17-year-old high-schooler used money he'd invested in Marvel stock to buy the place. Now, almost 15 years later, Tate's has become the one-stop shop for a person's comic book needs, already winning the honor of best comic book store twice. But it doesn't sell just comic books — there are toys, videos, and all kinds of collectibles. This year, Tate's expanded its already mammoth shop by adding another 2,800 square feet of space devoted to an assortment of vinyl toys, Greek statues, giant metal skulls, novelty books, and graphic novels. Tate's new Bear and Bird gallery, which made headlines when it opened in February, showcases alt-art with themes like customizable Munny dolls and pop prints by artists like Skot Olsen and Terribly Odd. Rounding out the one-stop-shopping experience is Tate's Gaming Satellite store a couple of doors down, which offers all kinds of gaming equipment, tournaments, and snacks.


Best Boutique
Bear and Bird
4566 N. University Dr.
Lauderhill 33351
954-748-0181
Inside the Lauderhill staple Tate's Comics, girls jog up a sturdy wooden stairway to a living-room-sized wooden loft where a metal sign on the wallpapered perimeter reads: "Bear and Bird." The space radiates vibes of being part boutique, part girly clubhouse. Toward the front, sterling-silver necklaces dangle in two vintage armoires. In another corner, plush jester-colored couches form a nook in which to relax and gossip. Bear and Bird's owner, Amanda Magnetta-Ottati, is sweeping the floor with a Scottie dog broom, and hundreds of its little bristle feet shimmy across the ground. Other brooms are stacked in the corner, each waiting for a new owner to take them to a good home, while metal toy robots (reissues resembling the rigid, original '50s tin windups) angrily stare down the silk-screened T-shirts on the opposing shelf. But this boutique serves as more than a home for personality-rich trinkets and accessories. It's also a gallery space. Amanda's ambitious goal is to bring new alternative eye candy to the B&B each month, and that's led to innovative shows like the popular "For Love of Munny." In it, local and national artists customized hundreds of Munny dolls into both the adorable and the gruesome. Other scheduled exhibits include May's "Sideshow Show," August's "Sex and Science," and September's "What a Fun Guy: The Mushroom Show." The combination of art and merchandise, seclusion and accessibility, and all-around good taste makes this little boutique a peaceful hideaway. So let the boys play with monster magazines downstairs; you've got some shopping to do.

Don't miss it! :-)

DIR EN GREY with Fair to Midland

at Revolution in association with TATE'S!

Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 7pm

For directions and info: www.jointherevolution.net

From rending of flesh to banshee screams, from cosmic wailing guitars to pounding rhythmic beats, Dir en Grey is probably the most exciting Japanese export since Nintendo. Dir en Grey is a Japanese rock band formed in 1997. Dir en Grey gave their first performances outside of Japan, touring China, Taiwan, and South Korea. In Shanghai, fans became excited to the point that authorities attempted to cancel a planned second concert. In 2005, Dir en Grey played their first shows in Europe. Their concerts in Berlin and Paris (as part of the It Withers and Withers tour) sold out without any sort of promotion, save for newsletters by import record stores and internet-based word of mouth. In early 2006, the first concerts in the United States took place. All dates sold out in a very short amount of time. Most recently Dir en Grey performed on Korn..s Family Values tour, where their popularity in the U.S. continued to soar. This is a concert not to be missed.

Tickets are on sale now at all TicketMaster Outlets!

As a sponsor, TATE'S will be giving away tickets to this event!
Make sure you sign up for our mailing list!

Check out lots of photos from the Skywalkers parade!

Tate and I had the pleasure of being Balloon Handlers in the Skywalkers Parade on Miami Beach during Art Basel. We got there Thursday, December 7th at 11am ready for action.

It was an amazing experience. When we first arrived only a few of the smaller balloons were inflated. We oohed and ahhed over them - so bright and pretty and fun! Soon the time came for us to assist in the inflation of our balloon, Fuji-san by Misaki Kawai and got to witness the birth of so many others. Our balloon was quite large and had many people working on it. Turns out they were all AWESOME and we all bonded for life.

For a few hours we sat on a tarp in the sand holding onto Fuji-san's strings to keep him from escaping. We all chatted and drank our free Smart Water and sweated a bit. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Not too windy, which would have been a disaster for the parade!

We had the plesure of meeting Friends With You, Sam and Tury who were most gracious and appreciative of our efforts. Everyone was very excited and happy to be there. Lots of touristy folks couldn't believe their eyes. Children loved it... it will certainly be a part of their childhood memories! We also met David Choe who painted a crazy Scion truck thing. It had a drum kit in the back with David rode along and played during the parade.

Once the parade finally started (I think the Wrapped Phantasm took a very long time to inflate) we trucked along the sand with ease. We all were surprised at how smoothly it went for us! The fine men who designed/built the balloons had warned us that Fuji-san was an untested design and could be difficult to handle. Nope! Either we were all very advanced balloon handlers or Fuji-san just liked us all very much!

There was a crazy tree balloon in front of us that seemed out of control most of the time. He wanted to escape for sure! Directly behind us was ZoZo (the universe itself) who took his sweet time getting where he was going. :-)

Lots of folks came out to see the spectacle of the parade! At one point all of us Fuji-san handlers saw Ron English in the crowd and we yelled out "Hi Ron!" he looked a little stunned and gave us a hesitant wave hello. The walk was long and short at the same time. We were sorry to have it be over, but also completely exhausted from the sun shining down on us for hours!

As we "parked" Fuji-san to get deflated another phase of fun began. Helium sucking, funny talking and balloon jumping commenced. It was quite a spectacle to see it all come down as well... we all went on to the hip, happening after party where we gratefully gobbled up little, tiny appetizers and drank free drinks.

Many, many artists were there as well. It was a really nice crowd, everyone was jovial and triumphant! All in all it was a magnificent experience, one none of us will ever forget. Thank you sincerely to Friends With You for creating such an event! Hip Hip Hooray!!

Lots of details and information can be found here:
http://www.tatescomics.com/munny

Interested in joining the show?
Local Artists: Since this is the first show at our gallery space, we'd like as many local people to participate as possible! This show is OPEN to all local artists! We define local as anyone who can personally drop-off and pick-up their artwork. If you are local enough to come by the store, you're IN! We're located in Broward County - South Florida.

Non-Local Artists: We'd love to have all of you in the show too, but due to the cost of returning unsold pieces, we can only include a limited number of non-local artists. Please email us a few samples of your work to be considered (amanda at tatescomics dot com). We will let you know if you are in as soon as we can review the submissions that we receive. The sooner you send in samples, the better!!

Use the coupon on this flyer for $5 OFF the purchase of your Munny at TATE..S. It is a PDF.

If you have any questions of anything, please let us know!
Shortly after opening night, the Munnys will be available for purchase online...

Link to City Link Online
Pick up a copy of CITY LINK Best of while you can, they go fast!

Thank you City Link! You've made us very happy!!
FYI: The expansion part is now OPEN!

Best Comic Book Store

October 18 2006
Tate's Comics
4566 N. University Drive, Lauderhill, 954/748-0181, Tatescomics.com

Sure, Tate's is the place to go if you want to catch up on the latest comics or graphic novels; the selection is truly mind-boggling. But more than that, Tate Ottati's 4,000-square-foot comic-book emporium, which celebrated its 13th anniversary in March, is an experience in sensual overload. Movie props, superhero statues, toys, DVDs and a profusion of Japanese snacks and beverages that seem like the nutritional equivalent of anime cram shelves and display cases. But if you can somehow make it past all the distractions without your brain melting, you'll definitely find something to read. If you want to catch up on the latest dramas unfolding in the Marvel or DC universe, get involved in a weighty graphic novel that makes you weep at the futility of existence or peruse the latest indie publications, Tate's will hook you up. And if you thought the store was overwhelming before, just wait until Ottati completes the 2,000-foot expansion that began this summer.

Andy's Early Comics Archive

When it says EARLY, it means EARLY. We're talking 300 A.D. here. VERY INTERSTESTING! Evolution of word balloons and more! Cool!