Independent Bookstore Day is April 29

Word Balloons #1158: Local stores celebrate reading; OKCPHIL to perform Black Panther music to accompany film

Independent Bookstore Day is April 29, and several Oklahoma independent bookstores, including Speeding Bullet Comics, are teaming up to celebrate the day. While supplies last, from April 22-29, request a passport book from one of the participating indie bookstores listed below.

Over the weekend of April 29-30, for every three shops you visit, you will be entered to win a raffle prize. If you fill all seven slots on the passport, you’ll get an extra entry into the drawing.  No purchase is necessary to get your passport stamped, but you'll likely find some great books at these locations! Raffle winners will be contacted the week after the Bookstore Crawl.

Participating stores are Best of Books in Edmond, Deer Clan Books in Bethany, ExcitedBull Books & Collections in Norman, Full Circle Bookstore in OKC, Green Feather Book Company in Norman, Literati Press Bookshop in the Paseo, and Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Independent Bookstore Day, held the last Saturday in April. 

Also coming up: 

Black Panther in concert

The Oklahoma City Philharmonic is presenting the Black Panther in concert at 8 p.m. April 28 and 29 at the Civic Center Music Hall in OKC. 

According to OKCPHIL: This groundbreaking film shattered box office records when it premiered in 2018. Now see this Academy Award-winning action-packed superhero thriller as you’ve never seen it before! Join the OKCPHIL as we present a one-of-a-kind experience for the entire family, performed with live music!

Julian Pellicano is the Guest Conductor for these performances. 

The 2018 Marvel Studios "Black Panther" film stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, and Danai Gurira.

The Black Panther debuted in 1966, in what was one of the great comic book runs of all time, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's "Fantastic Four."

In the comics, The Black Panther is T'Challa, the king of the technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda. He wears the Black Panther suit as the head of his people, and is imbued with the traits of the panther. 

T'Challa's first two-part story in issues No. 52 and No. 53 came during an era that’s often considered Lee and Kirby’s most creatively vibrant. He continued to appear in the Marvel Universe, in issues of “Tales of Suspense” and “Daredevil” in the late 1960s, and later became an Avenger, where he's made many appearances since. He’s also starred in multiple solo series. Notable creators including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze, Christopher Priest, Reginald Hudlin, and others have contributed to Black Panther’s comic-book adventures. 

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.