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Posting was light from me on Friday, and I apologize, but I was out in the state working on a story about some folks in Carney, Oklahoma that ran in today’s paper.

Carney is a little town that was hit hard by the ice storm. Driving through, it looked like a tornado had come through and just missed all the houses.

Some folks found lodging in other cities where the power had already returned, but a lot of Carney residents stayed right where they are to take care of their town and the people in it.

The hot-spot — literally, since they have a generator working — is the Carney Fire Department. Some people sleep there and many stop by throughout the day for a hot meal. They were making chili while I was there.

With reports that power might not return to Carney until after Christmas, I took note of what they had done to make life bearable inside the station. The kitchen was pumping out food. Cell phone chargers snaked out of every available outlet.

And, standing next to the TV, was one of these:

Because the outage be damned, those kids were going to play some Guitar Hero.

– Greg Elwell

Well, as of about 30 minutes ago, the electricity has returned to my house and it’s crazy what a relief it is.

I’m on a mini-vacation for a couple of days, but it’s been dark at the Elwell household since about noon on Monday. Heaven forbid I let a little weather get in the way of reading comic books, though. I’m sure my wife was thrilled that, rather than figuring out where to take the food in our freezer, I spent this morning enjoying the first few issues of Mark Waid’s run on “Legion of Super-Heroes.”

More than anything, I’m embarrassed by how dependent I am on electricity. Doing even the most rudimentary and basic of tasks was a struggle. I guess I never realized how hard it is to clean up in the kitchen or cook dinner when the lights are out.

Here’s hoping the rest of you get power back soon. The latest report I heard had OG&E more than a week out from restoring power fully. With any luck, we’ll make it through OK.

– Greg Elwell

But comics, at least, are still delightful?

It does seem a little weird to spend much time today talking about electronic ways to entertain yourself – myself and many of the people in the state are without power today, as part of the largest power outage in state history.

I worked from my store yesterday.  I-35 was supposedly closed, and I didn’t want to risk it. I made it in to the paper today. After hanging out at the store all day yesterday (plus my wife and kids), last night we went to my brother’s house, since he still had power.  As of today, the store now has no power.   I think my guys are doing their best to figure out how to distribute new comics tomorrow if electricity isn’t yet back.

This is the worst damage I’ve ever seen around Norman.  Trees all across town were splitting at the trunk and falling over.   Four trees at my house split and fell. Driving across town last night, it looked like something from an apocalyptic movie.  Occasionally, a lone house would have Christmas lights twinkling, surrounded by dozens around it that were powerless.

Tonight, I plan on settling down with a copy of “Brave and the Bold: Lords of Luck,” which, I should be able to read by candlelight even if my brother’s house loses power.  The retro-style story by Mark Waid with the typical detailed artwork of George Perez seems like something I could have read during a childhood winter storm, even. 

Best of luck to those without power, and everyone struggling with the weather this week.

– Matt Price