'Weekend of Local' comes to Oklahoma July 17-19

Oklahomans can celebrate local businesses this year with the “Weekend of Local,” a coordinated statewide event featuring businesses throughout the state.

According to the event website, The Weekend of Local (WOL) is a campaign encouraging customers throughout Oklahoma to go visit, shop and eat from local businesses between July 17-19. We’re calling on all Oklahomans to show up and spend money at local businesses only throughout that weekend.

This year, in celebration of the Route 66 Centennial, the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission is partnering with the Independent Shopkeepers Association (ISA) to bring Route 66 MuralFest to communities across the state during Weekend of Local, July 17–19, 2026.

Communities located along Historic Route 66 are invited to incorporate a Route 66–themed mural unveiling into their Weekend of Local programming. Check out the full list at the website.

Speeding Bullet Comics, 614 N Porter Ave. in Norman, OK, is participating with three days of events for the Weekend of Local, highlighted by two local author comic-book signings on Saturday.

Speeding Bullet Comics’ Weekend of Local events are as follows:

Friday: Double stamps day

Sign up for Speeding Bullet Comics’ email list and get double stamps on your Rapid Reader card for graphic novel purchases on July 17!

Saturday: local signings!

Oklahoma comics authors Charles Work (“PPL Comics”) and Hunter Siler (“Adventures of the Lizard Princess”) will sign their comics from 2-4 pm on July 18!

Charles’ “PPL Comics” (short for “Principles of Programming Languages”) mix computer science with comedy, with characters including Sunglasses, The Penguin (not the Burgess Meredith kind), The Ninja and more!

Hunter Carmene Siler is an Oklahoma-based author who loves creating imaginative worlds and fantastical characters. Inspired by fantasy, animals, and nature, she enjoys bringing these stories to life through both writing and illustration. Her comic, “Adventures of the Lizard Princess,” is set in a fantastical world brimming with magic in which lives the Lizard Princess. Her only goal? To acquire all of the shiny treasures in the world!

Sunday: Ink and Draw!

The latest Norman-based “Ink and Draw” will be held from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 19 at Speeding Bullet Comics, 614 N Porter Ave. in Norman. The event is hosted in conjunction with the Oklahoma Comic Arts Foundation; this week’s event is part of the “Weekend of Local” celebration across Oklahoma.

All comic-book creators, amateur, professional, and everywhere in between are welcome. Come to the shop and discuss your comic-book work with other creatives, ask questions or just work on your scripts or drawing!

For more on Weekend of Local events across the state, visit weekendoflocal.com.

Book Club to discuss ‘Absolute Batman’

Speeding Bullet’s monthly book club is this week as well. This month’s book is one of the most popular of the past decade.

In connection with the Pioneer Library, Speeding Bullet Comics will host a book club discussion at 6 p.m. July 16.

This month’s book is “Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo” by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta.

The book description is as follows:

A gang of masked killers terrorizes the streets of Gotham. A vigilante fights for his city--but he’s not the Batman you know. The Absolute Universe, born out of the Justice League’s apocalyptic battle with Darkseid, ushers in a set of brand-new realities that reimagine your favorite heroes as you’ve never seen them before. In Absolute Batman, meet a young Bruce Wayne with no Wayne Manor, no Alfred by his side, and a different axe to grind as the Dark Knight.

The Book Club sessions are hosted by Dave Brown and designed for adults.

Matthew Price, matthew@matthewlprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.