Oklahoma City may not have as many superheroes as Metropolis, vigilantes as Gotham or mythological goddesses as Themiscyria, but when it comes to comic book writers, artists and creators, the Big Town has been assuredly crafting itself a decent-enough origin story over the past few years. Now it's finally on the verge of its own “great power/great responsibility” moment, with the inception of Oklahoma Contemporary’s Comix OK exhibit.*
Dedicated to exploring the “thriving artistic culture of comics in Oklahoma,” the Comix OK exhibition has been single-mindedly dedicated to “comic books, zines, graphic novels and related forms of sequential art, as well as the universes created by comic artists of superheroes, fantasy, mythology and science fiction,” especially on a local level, showcasing the work of many Okies working hard behind the capes. The folks behind the exhibit wanted to represent the great diversity both on and behind the pages of Oklahoma comics. In addition to the expected superheroes, COMIX OK features characters, artists, illustrators and writers from a variety of backgrounds, genders, sexualities, races and careers.