Oklahoma Comic Arts Festival Returns Sept. 12 in OKC

Dozens of comic creators, cosplayers and families are set to descend on downtown Oklahoma City on September 12 as the Oklahoma Comic Arts Festival returns for its second year, this time with 26 special guest creators and a policy banning any generative AI artwork from being shown or sold on site. The free, all-ages event takes over Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center for a day of panels, workshops and photo ops built around the state’s comics scene.

According to The Journal Record, the festival brings together comic creators, artists, readers and families, pairing a convention-style atmosphere with Oklahoma Contemporary’s arts education programming. Guests this year include Gavin Guidry, known for work on The Flash, Action Comics and Uncanny X-Men; Jeffrey Brown, known for Hulk Teach and Star Wars: Darth Vader and Son; and Rob Guillory, known for Chew and Farmhand. Oklahoma Contemporary confirmed the 2026 lineup swells to 26 special comic creator guests, including additions like Joe Quinones, Leah Williams, Joe Eisma and Natasha Alterici.

From a 1,200-Person Debut to a Bigger Second Year

The inaugural 2025 festival featured 54 exhibiting comic creators and artists, drew nearly 1,200 attendees, and included 11 panels and hands-on workshops, per the same Journal Record report. Organizers now expect the 2026 edition to bring even more artists and expanded programming, building on that first-year turnout. Trent Riley, executive director of Oklahoma Contemporary, said the festival aligns with the museum’s mission to celebrate creativity through visual art, storytelling and design.

Ahead of the main event, Oklahoma Contemporary hosted an Oklahoma Comic Arts Festival Exhibition Opening Reception in its Education Wing on Friday, showcasing visual storytelling and comic art from both local and guest creators before the workshop day arrives.

A Human-Artist-Only Policy Amid National AI Debates

Organizers instituted a strict human-artist policy for this year’s festival, explicitly banning generative artificial intelligence artwork from being exhibited or sold at the event, according to the Oklahoma Comic Arts Foundation. The rule guarantees attendees that every piece of art on display was made by a person, a stance that puts the festival squarely in the middle of an ongoing national argument over AI’s place in visual arts.

The festival is organized by the Oklahoma Comic Arts Foundation, Inc., a Norman-based 501(c)(3) non-profit established in October 2023 and co-founded by local graphic novelist and SCBWI illustrator coordinator Jerry Bennett That non-profit status is what allows the festival to remain completely free to the public while still drawing tax-deductible community sponsorships

Honoring a Tulsa Comics Legend

Among this year’s programming is a screening of The Illustrator: The Art of Steve Erwin, a documentary about the late Tulsa native who co-created DC’s Checkmate! and drew Deathstroke the Terminator. Erwin, who studied commercial art in Okmulgee before penciling major DC titles, was inducted into the Oklahoma Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2007 and died in October 2023 at age 63

The screening carries added weight this year. The Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, which established the Oklahoma Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2005, announced its permanent closure for August 30, according to 405 Magazine, which reported the loss of billboard advertising along I-35 contributed to the museum shutting down after 21 years. With that physical institution disappearing, events like this festival take on greater significance for preserving the state’s cartooning history.

Panels, Workshops and a Distinctive Downtown Venue

The day’s programming includes the Creating Comics in Oklahoma panel, offering tips for aspiring creators interested in publishing, along with an open drawing comics lab staffed by mentors. Attendees can meet creators, join workshops, sns with comic character cosplayers and learn more about the creative process behind their favorite titles, per the Journal Record

The festival unfolds inside Oklahoma Contemporary’s downtown home at 11 NW 11th Street, a 54,000-square-foot building nicknamed “Folding Light” for its 16,800 anodized aluminum fins designed by Rand Elliott Architects to reflect the state’s changing sky, according to 405 Magazine. The museum relocated to the site in 2020, giving the comics festival a striking architectural backdrop for its second run.

Food, Freebies and a Broader Family Program

Food will come from Quincy Bakery and Cafe as well as on-site food trucks, the Journal Record reports. Oklahoma Contemporary has also announced that the first 200 festival visitors on September 12 will receive a voucher for a free snow cone from vendor Fizz & Frost, a giveaway paired with food trucks including Monkey’s Food Truck and My Okie Heart Pizza. Quincy Bake Shop’s on-site café, Hoodline previously reported, opened permanently inside the venue in March, giving the museum a year-round food partner beyond festival days.

The comics festival is folded into Oklahoma Contemporary’s Second Saturday XL initiative, a recurring family art program supported by OG&E, Automobile Alley and the OKC Midtown Rotary Club that pairs major exhibitions with free hands-on workshops. More information on the festival is available at ocaf.org.