Moving

San Francisco LGBTQ comedian artist fights again towards guide bans

During the annual Pride festival in San Francisco, Fernando Velez, a 34-year-old from Puerto Rico, presented his vibrant comic book collection featuring LGBTQ superheroes inspired by real people in San Francisco.

Velez said he was 25 when he created and wrote the first book in the Kraven Comics Universe, aiming to represent LGBTQ people with his creative vision.

“I feel like growing up I didn’t have any representation or identify with any character,” he told SFGATE during the festival. “When I look at my community, I think there are so many heroes that need to be celebrated.”

Velez said his first powerful, flamboyant superhero character was inspired by Sister Roma, one of San Francisco’s most notable drag queens.

Before moving to Los Angeles, Velez said he was influenced by the culture and community of the city of San Francisco, where he lived for 14 years.

“I always call it my playground, my muse, my inspiration,” he said. “That’s why the heroes’ base is actually in San Francisco.”

Velez said he got his first book out with the help of community fundraisers early in the coronavirus pandemic. Nine years later he has written about 13 different comics, each about LGBTQ heroes trying to protect humanity.

“All the classics [series] is about the six LGBTQ heroes who largely forgive humanity for how we have been treated for so many generations because, ironically, humanity’s survival rests in the hands of these gay heroes,” he said.

The comics creator said he’s had multiple reactions to his comics amid the controversy surrounding LGBTQ children’s books.

“I see a lot of transgender people cry when they see themselves portrayed in comics because as adults we all want to feel important, to belong, and it’s so important to be able to give that portrayal,” he said he.

Velez added that he loves to see straight parents show their kids the comics and say, “See if anyone tells you about this [LGBTQ] People are bad, they are told they are superheroes.”

In recent years, LGBTQ “book bans” have drawn national attention and caused an uproar as some seek to push for censorship of LGBTQ-themed books. Most recently, San Ramon Unified School District board members debated the district libraries’ book policies as some parents called for LGBTQ-themed books to be removed, SFGATE previously reported.

Velez’s comics are not immune to controversy either, some say they shouldn’t be viewed by children.

“But no, we gave free books to all drag queen study classes across the country,” Velez responded to the negative reactions.

Despite the controversy, Velez believes it’s important to keep pushing his creative work and aiming for a film adaptation of his comics.

“We can’t just sit back and let them win,” Velez said. “We need to get our content and our books out there.”

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