September 8, 2024 • 56 mins
Disability Comic Con Network host Alisa (Coffee the Cosplayer) talked with self advocate and comic book creator Luis Gonzalez-Poma about his creating a comic book Whirl Wheel, cosplay, and being a cosplayer with a disability. You can find out more about Luis by following his social media accounts
Whirlwheel_cosplay
disabled_comics_
To purchase merchandise visit disabledcomics.myshopify.com or for additional information contact disabilitycomics@gmail.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi, everyone.
(00:06):
Welcome to Disability Comic Con Network.
And today we are talking to Luis.
So we're going to learn a little bit about Luis and his experience in the cosplay community.
So hi Luis, how are you doing?
Hi, hi Luis.
Hello everybody.
I'm doing fantastic.
How are you?
I'm doing pretty, pretty good.
(00:28):
So excited to have you on our show today.
And just want to go over and explain a bit about yourself and your love of comics.
And we'll get started by first having an introduction.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Absolutely.
(00:48):
So as you guys heard from Luis, my name is Luis.
My full name is Luis Alexander Gonzalez-Palma.
Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia.
I am 28 turning 29 in November.
And to kind of get on subject, I've been a lover of comic books and cosplay and basically
(01:17):
all things nerdy like my whole life.
Ever since I was a kid, when I was little, my favorite superhero was Superman.
Now it's Batman as an adult.
And in terms of cosplay, I got into that, I want to say maybe college.
(01:38):
Okay.
Let me ask you, what made you jump into cosplay in college?
What was your aha moment?
I wanted to talk.
Well, so what made me do it in college was the fact that I had money and I was able to
(01:59):
do it.
I've always wanted to.
So I'm very passionate about musical theater.
So like Broadway and stuff.
I'm very passionate about that.
I'm passionate about the music, obviously, but the thing that really, it absolutely just
(02:21):
captured my soul was the costumes and the props that you see on stage.
And my favorite show of all time is The Lion King on Broadway.
I've seen it five times.
It is my favorite show.
I will never not want to see it.
(02:43):
Like if somebody says, hey, let's go to New York and watch The Lion King, I'll say yes
every time.
And I'm very passionate about it.
So yeah, honestly, it's been something that I've been wanting to do ever since I was little.
I just never really got into it until I was able to as an adult.
(03:07):
Halloween is also my favorite time of year.
So I definitely understand.
My first Broadway show was Lion King.
Really?
Yeah.
So it was crazy.
I took my daughter and I went and I'm telling you, I remember watching it when it first
came out and I actually cried.
(03:27):
And so when I saw it on Broadway, it brought back all those memories and I was crying again
and it's just such a lovely experience.
So I'm 100% with you.
If I can go see The Lion King, I am there.
It's funny you say that because The Lion King was my first show as well.
I watched it when I was like eight or nine.
(03:48):
And I remember just being captivated by it.
And I've watched it again, four times since then for a total of five.
One of those times being this past March, I went to New York with my unfortunately now
ex-girlfriend.
We went to see it.
(04:10):
But it was just as amazing.
It was just as incredible.
And I'm just, I did, again, I am 28 years old.
I legitimately cried from the very first note.
I cried when I went.
I definitely can understand.
So can you tell us how many characters have you cosplayed so far?
(04:35):
So that's actually a little complicated because technically two.
But I say technically because the only one that I've done to completion and it's not
really done, done.
I'm going to make upgrades to it in the future, but is my latest cosplay, which is of a superhero
(05:03):
character that I created when I was 17.
It's part of a comic book that's going to be a series that I, again, I created.
And he's, I actually completed him this year.
So he's, he's the one that I'm just like, okay, he's done.
(05:26):
Now I can make upgrades to it.
But in terms of the base, he's done.
The other cosplay, which I completed to a point with the time that I was given is after
from another Broadway show, Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.
I did a, what I did, what I am calling a casual beast because I did like the, like a, like
(05:56):
a white messed up shirt, but I couldn't do like the bottoms and like, like I couldn't
do it up the way I wanted to.
I ended up doing just a white, a white button down shirt and jeans and boots.
And then I, but I did have a prosthetic, a face prosthetics forever.
(06:21):
So I want to go back to the, the first character you mentioned.
You said you started this comic book character when you were 17.
So it's been like almost 10 years, right?
11 now.
Can you tell us a little bit about this character and the story?
And also like, how did you go from cosplay to say, okay, I'm going to create a comic
(06:44):
book?
Yeah, absolutely.
So we are coming up on, actually, no, we are solidly now 11 years after I created this
character.
I just, I was at school one day and I, and I wrote it down on a piece of paper, like
(07:04):
a name, some powers.
And I kind of just, I had it all these years.
And two years ago I decided, you know, I was, two years ago, you know, I'm a full grown
adult now.
I have a job.
So I have, I have disposable income.
(07:26):
I'm like, okay, if I'm going to do something with this character, I need to do it now or
else it's never going to get done.
And so, yeah, I, you know, rolled up my sleeves and I started, and I got a team to go to the
show together and we created a, I think an amazing superhero character.
(07:51):
So his name is Whirlwheel.
I kind of went with the alliteration, you know, like Wonder Woman.
I went with Whirlwheel.
And he was born with a disability.
He was born with spina bifida.
He uses a wheelchair.
(08:12):
He's paralyzed from the knees down.
He gained his powers after a terrible accident in a medical facility.
But ever since he discovered that he had powers, he's been fighting crime.
So why did you choose the disability that you gave Whirlwheel?
(08:34):
Well, honestly, because I have spina bifida myself.
I'm paralyzed from the knees down.
I also use a wheelchair full time.
So I, you know, it's one of those where like, you know, write what you know.
Okay, yeah, that makes sense.
That's what I did.
I decided to do what I know.
(08:56):
For people that's listening that has never heard of spina bifida, I'm saying it incorrectly,
spina bifida.
Bifida.
Bifida.
Yeah.
So can you explain how you like, how do you get it?
And what exactly is it?
(09:17):
So a cause is not really known.
Okay.
Unfortunately, I wish I could tell you how.
But unfortunately, a cause of spina bifida is not known.
What we do know is that it does tend to, it does tend to affect people of color more often
(09:37):
than it does white people.
Again, we don't know why, but that just seems to be what happens.
There have been studies about all this.
And what spina bifida is, it affects people differently.
(09:59):
But what it basically is, is a damage of the spine.
It's in the name, spina bifida.
The spine doesn't form correctly in utero.
So the doctor, doctors usually have to go in, the typical thing is after birth, but
(10:26):
they have since actually discovered how to do a surgery in utero.
But basically they go in and they fix the problem of the spine.
And unfortunately, that does usually mean that nerve endings in the spine, where the
(10:51):
spina bifida is, become damaged.
And the thing is, it affects everybody differently.
It really does.
Like I said, I use a wheelchair and I'm paralyzed from the knees down full time.
(11:13):
But I have friends who have spina bifida who can walk just fine and they just have incontinence
issues.
Okay.
I know other people who are paralyzed from literally the neck down.
So all they can do is move their head.
And does this occur, this occurs before being born?
(11:35):
Yes.
This usually is something that happens in utero, correct?
Okay.
So your superhero or will world, what is it?
Yeah.
I'm sorry.
What is it again?
World wheel.
World wheel.
Wheel.
Yeah, wheel.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
(11:56):
Accent.
I mean the words world wheel.
What is his name and what type of crime is he like fighting and just a little backstory
on?
So his civilian name is Alec Gutierrez.
That's A-L-E-C and then Gutierrez.
(12:17):
So he's of Latin descent, but he was born and raised in the States.
And he's fighting all kinds of crimes, big, small.
Like right now, the bad guy right now is a small time bank robber.
(12:37):
But the thing is, is that this small time bank, this small town, small time bank robber
is he's a pawn.
He's a pawn in a bigger plan in a yet to be fully revealed bigger bad.
Okay.
So the villain, have you, how was that created in the villain form?
(13:05):
Does he have like the typical, like some comics have certain villain characters that they
are always fighting or is it more than one?
Or it's just like random people that's doing bad things.
So right now, the big bad that has yet to be revealed is very much like, imagine if
(13:34):
Tony Stark went bad.
What if?
Yeah, exactly.
So like, you know, rich playboy type, but he's evil.
So he's, you know, rich, rich suit, rich suit.
(13:56):
Does your character have any other like special abilities?
Yes.
So he has a super strength and super speed.
And he actually has a, he has a special wheelchair.
He has a, he does have a companion who is very techie and is like good with computers.
(14:18):
So very much like Oracle from Batman, but she is also disabled.
She also uses a wheelchair, but she's very techie.
She's very smart.
And she created, instead of him using regular wheels, you know, she created a, I'm going
(14:42):
to say polymer of some sort.
It acts and feels like rubber, but it is much stronger and it is heat resistant so that
it doesn't melt under the friction of my hero's speed.
That's pretty neat.
I like all of this.
So to get back to this is where can people find your comic book?
(15:08):
Yeah.
So my comic book you can find, so I do have a website, but the easiest way to really find
like everything for it would be on Instagram under disabled underscore comics underscore.
(15:29):
And have you created the first issue or how many issues?
Yes.
The first issue is now is now live and has been live since January.
Congratulations.
And we are, and thank you and sorry, thank you.
And we have been, I've been working on the second issue for it.
(15:55):
We are in the illustration phase.
And I say we, because I'm actually working with writers and artists, because as much
as I would love to, you know, draw and all that stuff, I can't draw.
Like I never, I am not a good artist.
(16:16):
So I did hire an artist.
And for this first issue and for the second issue, I needed a little bit of help with
the script, but I've been studying a lot since then.
And I'm actually working on a new title with a brand new hero with a different disability.
And I'm doing all of the writing for that.
(16:38):
That's pretty awesome.
You have been busy.
Yes.
I'm going to switch it up a little bit and we're going to go back to like cosplay.
And I want to ask you as a cosplayer, what are some obstacles that you have encountered
in the cosplay community?
(17:02):
Some obstacles that I've encountered.
I haven't really encountered too many, you know?
When I started cosplay and really, you know, like showing people, hey, this is what I'm
doing.
I've gotten a lot of really good feedback from a lot of people, a lot of encouragement.
(17:25):
I did get the occasional, you know, like, hey, this character isn't disabled.
So I've gotten the occasional like that, but very few and far between.
You know, the type that's, you know, like if it's not perfect, then it's trash.
(17:48):
It doesn't happen often, but there are people like that out there.
Unfortunately.
Do you have any advice for people who encounter those types of critics?
Like how did you handle when they, you know, talk to you about, hey, this character doesn't
(18:12):
match the description or isn't perfect?
So I was raised to always, you know, just let things kind of roll off.
You know?
Yes, I'm going to kind of pull this into like the disability, less cosplay, more disability
(18:36):
side of the conversation, but it still applies.
I was raised to, you know, always be, you know, out there and talk to people and be
a normal person, right?
And with that, you know, I always knew that there were going to be people that they were
(19:00):
not going to agree with a lot of things, you know, things that I do or just who I am as
a person.
Like, I knew that, but I was raised to kind of just let it roll off.
And that's what I do.
I just let it roll off.
If I don't usually respond to those people, but if I do, it's usually like, oh, well,
(19:27):
I like what I've done.
And it may not be perfect, but it's mine.
You know, no one else in the world has this cosplay the way that I've done it, and I'm
proud of it.
Yeah, they're part.
That was some great advice.
The next question I want to ask you, just curious about what are some misconceptions
(19:52):
that people have about your ability to cosplay?
So that actually kind of goes back into what I was saying before about the, you know, people
saying, you know, you can't cosplay this character because they're not disabled.
You know, just because I am in a wheelchair, just because I am disabled doesn't mean I
(20:18):
can't cosplay a certain character.
If I want to do a wheelchair using Superman, why can't I?
Exactly.
If I want to do a wheelchair, a wheelchair user, Batman, why not?
Heck, I can make a story out of it.
(20:41):
You know, if we're using the Batman example in the comics and even in one of the movies,
the Christian Bell movies, Bane broke Batman's back.
I could say, Bane just broke my back, so I have to use the wheelchair until I recover.
(21:02):
So it's all about, you know, just navigating the best that you can.
And sometimes that means putting whatever it is, for me, it's a wheelchair, into the
story, creating my own narrative for the character.
(21:24):
I like that.
And I like that, you know, we've moved to like the multiverse.
Yeah, exactly.
The multiverse.
You could be like, every character is something different.
And for me, when I got into cosplay, I wasn't, my kids grew up on comic books, and my daughter
(21:45):
loves anime and one of them, the other one is more like DC Marvel comic books.
But for me, I always liked the illustrations.
So I'm not that heavily into it, but I also like the movies as well.
Before we started, we had a brief conversation and I want to circle back to this because
(22:08):
you said that you don't feel like there's that many characters with a disability.
I mean, I imagine there's a few more now than there were, you know, 10, 15 years ago.
But you know, like, when I think of like, the target demographic that comics usually
(22:30):
go to, which is, you know, kids, when I was a kid, I can only think of two, maybe three
at the time.
And again, maybe there is more now, but if there is, I don't know much, much about them,
(22:51):
you know, to really comment on that, I guess.
Yeah, I can see that.
I think that a lot of representation, I mean, we need more, but I think if you look at the
broader spectrum of it, there are some characters that with invisible disabilities.
(23:12):
So that is true.
I add them onto it.
But physical disability, that's a bit different.
For me, I'm an 80s baby.
So we had like characters in the 80s that were not the 80s.
I'm looking at like the 90s.
I remember like one of them that was this stands out in my mind, because I used to love
(23:35):
and live in color is you had handyman.
And if you remember, I mean, that was pretty like, I don't think you could necessarily
get away with a lot of stuff that he did back then.
But it always like kind of cracks me up to like go back and read the YouTube channel
comments.
And people are so for them.
(23:57):
And that was a character that I felt like really needed to be out there when you look
at it like superheroes or if you know South Park.
I remember we had a show called Corky, but that's not super that's getting more into
like TV.
But if you like saying like we're looking at comic books, then I definitely get where
(24:18):
you're coming from.
Because we, yeah, we basically have you know, Professor X. I feel like that's the big one.
And then the other and you during our conversation before you said Oracle, which I agree with.
And then the other the other one that really comes to mind for me is daredevil, you know,
he's blind.
(24:38):
Yeah.
And like those those three, two or three are really are like the ones that pop out in my
head when I think about it.
I'm sure there are plenty of others.
But you know, like I said, 10, 15 years ago, there weren't that many.
And that's actually one of the one of the many reasons one of the few one of the reasons
(25:01):
why I created my characters, because I want I was like, why don't I create something,
throw my hat in the ring, you know, we need more representation.
Why don't I give it a shot?
I totally agree.
We had disability comic con this year for the first time.
(25:24):
And 40% of our attendees used a wheelchair.
Okay.
So it was and it was really when it started, I didn't think that it would be that many
people that were interested in it.
But we ended up with over 300 people at the event.
And we need more space.
(25:45):
Because one of the things that I did not consider as I did when it came to day before the setup
trying to get everything the way that it needed to be, you have an idea in your mind, like,
okay, this is a setup of a normal convention.
But with this one, it was like, you need more space for wheelchair users.
(26:06):
Like, yeah, yeah, you're gonna have to be able to turn around, they're gonna need the
space with like, they might bring a caregiver or their friend, right?
Everything needs to be everything needs to be on like one level, because like stairs,
especially for people in wheelchairs is, is, you know, no go.
And yeah, let me ask you this.
I don't think that I've I didn't like give you this question, but you have set up your
(26:33):
booth at comic conventions, right?
Yeah, I actually so I went to my my local comic con.
It's called Fairfax Comic Con.
It's one that I've been to five times.
Four times as an attendee, like just going through the halls.
(26:54):
This last time was my fifth time, but first time as a vendor.
It's one that I definitely will be going to as a vendor from now on for as long as I'm
doing this.
That's awesome.
So you had a great experience.
Oh, it was incredible.
So many people, you know, were, you know, had come up to, you know, talk about talk
(27:18):
about like, what is it you're doing here?
And they wanted to know the story.
Lots of parents with kids, little kids.
I actually had, you know, some like young girls, you know, come over and were interested
in it as well.
(27:41):
But I noticed that the majority of the people that were not only not only just like interested
in hearing it, but also ended up buying the book were teachers and like principals and
people that worked in hospitals.
That's pretty cool.
That is amazing.
(28:01):
So from your previous experience as an attendee to comic conventions, what are some things
that you felt could have been like more accessible to you or could have made your attendance
there a lot easier?
You know, that that's actually a hard question because again, I've been five times.
(28:27):
It's in the same.
It's in the same building every year.
It's at the Dallas Expo Center here in Virginia.
And I've always had an amazing experience.
I've never, you know, there's never been anything that was like out of reach for me.
The bathroom bathrooms are accessible.
Everything is on one level.
The only thing that's not on, you know, the same level is like the last couple, the last
(28:53):
like two, three or three years they've done like cosplay contest.
And you know, there was a stage with stairs.
Okay.
That would be like the only thing.
But like other but like other than that, it was perfect.
Everything was perfect.
That's good to know.
(29:14):
So like here in I'm in Houston and some of the conventions that I have been to, I've
been to one in Dragon Con and Comic Palooza, also a smaller convention in Conroe.
And I'm in favor of like the things on like one floor.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
(29:34):
So I feel like it's a lot more accessible.
But like if you go to Comic Palooza or you're in Dragon Con, it's multiple floors.
It's like, yeah.
I will also say like at our convention, we also had a stage.
We had two steps, but I do understand the importance of having a ramp to make that.
(29:58):
Yeah, exactly.
That's actually something that maybe I should talk to the people that put it on about.
I never really considered that because I did enter a cosplay contest there two years ago,
but I didn't need to get up on stage for it.
(30:19):
I was allowed to just be on that level.
But yeah, no, I should talk to somebody about that.
Yeah.
When I think about it.
That would be awesome.
It would go, I mean, it would align with your character too.
It would.
It really would.
But yeah, Fairfax Comic Con is always a treat.
(30:44):
There's a lot of people that go.
The Dulles Expo Center is one floor.
It's one level.
It's a big space.
It's really good.
You were saying you guys need a bigger space for the future, perhaps.
I'm just like, I know you guys are in Texas, but it's like Dulles Expo Center sounds perfect
(31:10):
for you guys.
Yeah.
Well, the facility, it could hold up to 300 people.
But like I said, we definitely, we had like 300, I believe 322 people.
And yeah, so it was a bit crowded.
(31:31):
But all the people went in the same space at one time.
But our lesson is at Disability Comic Con is that we needed like a space or a room where
people can decompress, you know.
But smaller, it was like easier access to just get out to the car or even go to the
restroom.
(31:52):
The fact that the doors were sliding doors.
Right.
And the director was having to pull them open and it had several like parking spots in the
front.
I think it was like 10.
For me, professionally, also like being a caregiver and working with people with invisible,
(32:13):
visible disabilities.
Right.
I'm always looking at ways that could make things easier.
Especially like I know the community loves going to the movie theaters.
And I'm just like, whenever I take somebody who's a wheelchair user to the movie theaters,
I am just always shocked that they don't have like a button you could push for the doors
(32:36):
to open.
Because it's so challenging carrying popcorn, your drinks, and then I still have to open
the door like this while trying to push in a chair.
It's something like that that I would like for businesses to get up to date on.
Yeah, absolutely.
(32:57):
Like you were saying with like the doors, like there are some buildings that have like
the push the button that does it automatically.
I'm like, why don't all buildings do this?
Right.
You would think so, right?
You would think.
But they don't.
I remember taking someone to a wound care specialist.
(33:22):
And a lot of people in there, they had wounds and they had difficulty with walking.
And they didn't have a push open door.
And I'm like, okay, you're a wound care specialist.
But I really would like to get some people together to see if we can change that about
the movie theaters.
Because I find the movie theaters here in Texas kind of frustrating that you have to
(33:45):
open the door like this way.
And then during COVID, to get some of like to even go to the found machine, you had to
push it.
But if you're in a wheelchair and the button's way up here, it's like...
Right, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, you know, I will say, you know, living in Virginia, I don't face too much issue.
(34:10):
I do every now and then, you know, face the occasional like the there's no push button
door or, you know, some like maybe there's a particular place that I wanted to go to,
but I can't because they don't have a ramp.
Yes.
All they do is have stairs.
And so I was like, oh, man, I can't go.
(34:31):
But for the most part, living here in Virginia has been pretty great.
That's good.
I know, like I said, here, we still have some improvements.
I know one guy who he grew his hair out because he couldn't find a barbershop that kind of
(34:53):
had a ramp in the area.
Yeah.
So he had to call a mobile barber.
But when you live in rural areas, having a mobile barber can be a bit challenging versus
if you're in the city.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No kidding.
But those are things that I would like to see improved.
(35:14):
And for me being a caregiver, it's easy for me to like spot it and say, now, how does
this make sense?
Even with like some parking spaces with a van with a lift.
And sometimes the parking space isn't wide enough for the lift or car.
It's like, who's talking of this stuff?
(35:42):
I'm sure my parents would agree with you because they're very attuned to that kind of thing.
I have learned to be very attuned to that kind of thing as well as a person living.
But also like my father works in construction and has been a construction worker his whole
(36:02):
life.
He's very meticulous about that kind of thing.
He's going in every room of every house or every building, if it's like an apartment
or condo, making sure that all of the handicap accessible stuff is indeed handicapped.
(36:24):
Sometimes he'll even ask me, like, hey, you want to come to the job site, check out the
ADA rooms, just make sure everything's okay.
I'm like, sure.
Sometimes I'll go on the job sites and check the ADA stuff and make sure everything is
up to snuff.
That's pretty awesome.
Because we need people like that in our corners.
(36:47):
I mean, even going to a hotel, some of the hotel rooms will say it's ADA and it's not.
It's not, yeah.
It's like, it's not.
Making sure the doors are wide enough, you know, things of that sort.
But it's really interesting when you are on a different side and you get to experience
(37:08):
it and even if you're not like living in that moment, you're helping somebody.
One of the major things that I think is really, it angers me, but it's also, I also kind of
laugh, I laugh at it now because to me it's just like, come on, like, really?
(37:30):
Is like the bathroom, like bathrooms in like certain built in like buildings, right?
I've been in bathrooms where in terms of size, it's good, right?
It's big, it's open.
There are urinals, there's a handicap stall, but you open the handicap stall and I mean,
(37:52):
I'm sure, I'm sure when certain people, you know, it doesn't bother them, but for people
like me that use wheelchairs, this bothers us so much.
When you open the door and the door opens, swinging in, not swinging out.
And it's like, that's swing out because that gives us more space.
(38:15):
Swinging in, it takes away so much space for us.
I definitely agree.
I laugh at it because I'm just like, really?
Like, I want to be mad and I am, but at the same time, I'm just like, I have to laugh.
(38:37):
You know, someone should know and I've, I have had to go in, for instance, I've taken
care of men in wheelchairs and when we go to the restroom at the movie theaters or restaurant,
they want to go into the men's, which makes sense.
Right.
Which means that I have to go in the men's restroom to make sure we can transfer them.
(39:01):
Right.
And I mean, I'm 5'6", around like 155 on a good day, but to me, the stall isn't big enough
for two people, a wheelchair and two people to do the transfer and then to switch back.
I think there's definitely more work to be done in that area.
(39:23):
I can definitely say I've been in a few, some stalls that are very much like that.
I've been, I've been lucky that I, that I've been lucky enough that A, I've been in a few
stalls that have been big enough for, for that kind of a thing.
But also my chair is on the smaller side as well.
I have my chair, I use a, I use a manual chair, not a power chair.
(39:47):
Okay.
And, and it's, it's, it's also, it's very narrow and it's also made of hollow titanium,
so it's very light.
Oh, that's great.
As well.
So I haven't had too much issue in that, in that area, but it has happened on, on occasion.
Well, we got some work.
(40:08):
We need to chat on and see if we can write some people.
And it's so great.
Your dad is in construction.
I mean, yeah, he's been, he's been a construction worker his, his whole life.
He was born and raised in Columbia.
He moved here when he was about 15, 16, same, same as my mother.
She moved here when she was 15, 16.
They met in high school and yeah, that, you know, they, they had me in their early twenties
(40:34):
and 28 years later, here I am.
Oh, that's a, that's a good group of people.
I like that.
Yes, ma'am.
So I think I pretty much wrapped up like a lot of the questions.
Right.
And we discussed some things that could be different in the community, but I just want
to go over a couple of things.
(40:56):
So your favorite character is?
Currently Batman.
Currently Batman.
Okay.
You said Superman used to be your favorite character.
When I was, when I was a little boy, but I feel like that's every little boy's favorite
character.
Okay.
But why Batman?
Because aside from the fact that he's insanely rich, he doesn't have superpowers.
(41:25):
He could literally be anyone.
I could like, if I, if I trained, if I trained the way he did and I was rich like him, I
could be a disabled Batman if I wanted to.
Yeah.
Like he, he, he doesn't have, he is under, underneath, underneath his suit and his tech,
(41:51):
he is a man.
He's, he's a, he's a very disciplined man, but he is a human mortal man.
Okay.
That fights alongside Kryptonians, aliens, and Amazonians and the fastest man alive.
(42:13):
But he is fighting alongside and keeping up with all those people as a mortal man.
And I think, and I just think that that is so cool.
I think you have a point.
I, I usually my son, his favorite character used to be Spider-Man, but now it's Batman.
And it's funny how many Batman lovers that I find and my son goes on.
(42:37):
He's like, he got a book.
He could, you know, like defeat anybody.
He's the smartest.
He's, and he goes on and on, but I like the way that you put it.
I'm gonna cut him some slack now because of you.
So favorite superpower.
Oh, my favorite superpower has to be as much as I, as much as I don't like heights, I'm
(43:05):
going to have to say flying.
Really?
Okay.
But just because the, because as much as I don't like heights, I imagine that the feeling
of flying is just incredible.
You know, the wind in your face and just you're flying through the air.
(43:26):
That just, that just must be the most exhilarating feeling on the planet.
I can see that.
Especially in Houston traffic.
A superpower you could live without.
Invisibility in invisibility.
Okay.
Why is that?
(43:47):
I mean, one, for me personally, I like, for me personally, I would have no reason to use
it.
Okay.
For one and for two.
I mean, it's a little creepy when you think about it.
Like you can just be like, especially thinking about in this day and age and with like all
(44:11):
of the, you know, like equality and female, you know, empowerment and all that stuff that's
been going on, which is great.
I'm just like, yeah, there's, if, if invisibility was a thing, there'd be a lot of creeps that
would abuse that.
And I don't like it.
Okay.
So who is your favorite villain?
(44:33):
My favorite villain.
Oh, again, a hard one.
Because there's so many good ones, but I mean, I guess it's between like the Joker, just
because he's, I mean, aside from the fact that he's Batman's biggest bad, in a weird
(45:00):
twisted way, he's, he actually is to me really funny.
He's hilarious to me.
He is funny.
You know, that's what he was, that he, that's what he's always tried to be.
You know, he's always tried to be funny.
You know, he's a, he's a failed comedian and he, but I think he's always been really funny.
(45:26):
So to me, he, he succeeded in being the comedian as well as being psychotic.
But it's so for me, it's for those reasons between Joker, but also for me, I'm going
to have to go with Green Goblin just because again, a little bit psychotic, but really
(45:48):
smart, really smart.
And I mean, was able to do like, like build like amazing tech, like the glider and bombs.
Like, so like psychotic mixed with smart is, is it, that's a dangerous, dangerous, you
know, combo.
And I think Green Goblin really uses that, that mix like perfectly.
(46:19):
I'm more of an anti-hero person.
I just love the backstory and I think they're usually like hilarious in their own way, but
so much more interesting to me to watch.
So those two definitely Joker, big fan of Joker.
Yeah.
(46:40):
So you said anti-heroes.
So to me, anti-heroes and villains are very different.
So I'm just like, okay, we're talking anti-hero Deadpool straight up.
Hey, Deadpool.
Deadpool is definitely.
And you know, Deadpool, he has a disability.
He does.
He does.
Definitely love Deadpool.
(47:01):
I love Venom.
Venom is awesome.
I love Venom.
He's so good.
I think so too.
But yeah, for me, I like Loki too.
Loki is my action figures that I have here.
Yeah, no.
He was a great villain in the movies, in the Marvel movies, in all the Avengers movies.
(47:30):
He was a great villain, but then I watched the Loki series on Disney Plus and that ending
had me in tears.
That ending had me in tears.
That's my favorite.
(47:50):
That's one of my favorites.
So my last question is out of all the shows you've watched centered around comics, which
one in your 28 years of living do you think is the best show?
Oh, out of everything, out of anything and everything I've ever watched.
(48:15):
Yes.
Oh, Batman the Endgame.
Batman the End of the Endgame series.
Okay.
Why is that?
Why is that your topic?
Well, we know Batman is your favorite.
We know Joker is a favorite.
I think that, I mean, aside from being the world's greatest detective and the most amazing
(48:43):
hand-to-hand combat fighter ever that knows like 20 plus types of fighting, we got that
in the comics, right?
We got that in the comics, but what we never really got out of the comics, but we did get
in the animated series was his very human side.
(49:06):
And he is a human.
So what I mean by that is, he wasn't always kick, punch, kick bad guys' butts.
There were times where he was very, I guess the word is sympathetic or I don't know.
(49:36):
Sympathize and sympathetic.
I always felt he did with Joker.
I just felt like his relationship with Joker.
Yeah.
I mean, there were times, like I remember, there have been times where he was like, hey,
let me help you when it came to the Joker.
But there is one other character where his humanity really, really stuck out for me.
(50:05):
And anyone that has watched the series, I'm sure they'll know exactly who I'm talking
about.
Ace.
There's a young girl character named Ace who she was tortured.
She was taken by this organization and tortured.
(50:30):
And the organization would always tell her it's for the greater good of the world and
blah, blah, blah.
And subjected to all these tests, but it wasn't.
They were building a weapon.
And he was tasked with taking her out because that was the only way to stop her.
(50:54):
But he did it.
He just sat with her.
He listened to her.
And in the end, yes, she ended up dying.
(51:14):
But not because she was in pain or she exploded.
No.
She died in his arms, essentially.
But the last thing that they did was they sat together.
And she was like, can you stay with me?
(51:39):
I'm going very soon.
Will you stay with me?
And that's exactly what he did.
And I think that it was so human, for lack of a better term.
And that's one of the many reasons why I love him so much.
That's amazing.
Now, I got to go watch it.
(52:00):
It's a really good episode.
And my recommendation is have the tissues ready.
Have tissues because, oh my God, it will destroy you because I think it destroyed a lot of
us that watched it.
I'm going to have to.
Well, at least this interview has been fantastic.
(52:22):
Really love everything that you're doing and such a wonderful spirit and personality.
Can you let everybody know your social media handles and where they can pick up a copy
of your comics, how we can support you most importantly?
That's something I really want you to share is what's the best way that we can support
(52:44):
what you're doing?
So the best way that you can reach me, you want to keep up with what I'm doing.
Both on the cosplay side and on the comic book side, if anybody's interested, is you
can find me on Instagram.
I have two separate Instagrams, one for cosplay, one for comic books, for the comic book side.
(53:07):
The cosplay is whirlwheel underscore cosplay.
That's whirlwheel one word underscore cosplay.
And then for the comic book side, if you guys are interested, is all lowercase disabled
underscore comics underscore.
(53:28):
And if you guys are interested in buying my book or anything else that I have on the site,
because I do have a few other goodies on the site, the link to my website where you can
buy that will be in my bio on Instagram on the disabled comics Instagram.
(53:54):
Okay.
And you also have a Shopify store, right?
That is correct.
Yeah, that is the link that I'm referring to that's in my bio.
Okay.
So I forgot last and final question, and we're out of here.
Which describes you best, Marvel, DC, anime, or being a gamer?
(54:15):
DC.
Straight up.
Why DC?
To close out.
Because to me, DC is still dark and gritty.
I like dark and gritty and serious.
I mean, Marvel has amazing characters.
You know, like, I mean, they got Thor and Hulk, like amazing hero characters, but they've
(54:40):
been very campy as of late.
And while campy does have its audience, unfortunately, that's not me.
I like dark and gritty.
So for me, it's, you know, Dawn of Justice, basically all the Batman Superman Wonder Woman
(55:05):
songs.
Justice League, Justice League, in my opinion, and I may lose some people here, but in my
opinion, the Snyderverse is the best version of the Justice League.
Well, thank you so much, Luis, for sharing.
(55:27):
And I want to thank you all for listening and watching us.
Coffee the Cosplayer with Disability Comic Con Network, and you'll be able to watch us
on YouTube, as well as listen to our podcast.
And I thank you all for listening.
And thanks again, Luis.
Appreciate it.
Thank you so much for having me.
(55:48):
I really appreciate it.
I had a lot of fun.
And, you know, thanks, Guy.
Thank you guys for listening.
And hopefully we'll talk very soon.
We will.
Peace out.
Bye.
Bye.
All right.
Hi, everyone.
(00:06):
Welcome to Disability Comic Con Network.
And today we are talking to Luis.
So we're going to learn a little bit about Luis and his experience in the cosplay community.
So hi Luis, how are you doing?
Hi, hi Luis.
Hello everybody.
I'm doing fantastic.
How are you?
I'm doing pretty, pretty good.
(00:28):
So excited to have you on our show today.
And just want to go over and explain a bit about yourself and your love of comics.
And we'll get started by first having an introduction.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Absolutely.
(00:48):
So as you guys heard from Luis, my name is Luis.
My full name is Luis Alexander Gonzalez-Palma.
Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia.
I am 28 turning 29 in November.
And to kind of get on subject, I've been a lover of comic books and cosplay and basically
(01:17):
all things nerdy like my whole life.
Ever since I was a kid, when I was little, my favorite superhero was Superman.
Now it's Batman as an adult.
And in terms of cosplay, I got into that, I want to say maybe college.
(01:38):
Okay.
Let me ask you, what made you jump into cosplay in college?
What was your aha moment?
I wanted to talk.
Well, so what made me do it in college was the fact that I had money and I was able to
(01:59):
do it.
I've always wanted to.
So I'm very passionate about musical theater.
So like Broadway and stuff.
I'm very passionate about that.
I'm passionate about the music, obviously, but the thing that really, it absolutely just
(02:21):
captured my soul was the costumes and the props that you see on stage.
And my favorite show of all time is The Lion King on Broadway.
I've seen it five times.
It is my favorite show.
I will never not want to see it.
(02:43):
Like if somebody says, hey, let's go to New York and watch The Lion King, I'll say yes
every time.
And I'm very passionate about it.
So yeah, honestly, it's been something that I've been wanting to do ever since I was little.
I just never really got into it until I was able to as an adult.
(03:07):
Halloween is also my favorite time of year.
So I definitely understand.
My first Broadway show was Lion King.
Really?
Yeah.
So it was crazy.
I took my daughter and I went and I'm telling you, I remember watching it when it first
came out and I actually cried.
(03:27):
And so when I saw it on Broadway, it brought back all those memories and I was crying again
and it's just such a lovely experience.
So I'm 100% with you.
If I can go see The Lion King, I am there.
It's funny you say that because The Lion King was my first show as well.
I watched it when I was like eight or nine.
(03:48):
And I remember just being captivated by it.
And I've watched it again, four times since then for a total of five.
One of those times being this past March, I went to New York with my unfortunately now
ex-girlfriend.
We went to see it.
(04:10):
But it was just as amazing.
It was just as incredible.
And I'm just, I did, again, I am 28 years old.
I legitimately cried from the very first note.
I cried when I went.
I definitely can understand.
So can you tell us how many characters have you cosplayed so far?
(04:35):
So that's actually a little complicated because technically two.
But I say technically because the only one that I've done to completion and it's not
really done, done.
I'm going to make upgrades to it in the future, but is my latest cosplay, which is of a superhero
(05:03):
character that I created when I was 17.
It's part of a comic book that's going to be a series that I, again, I created.
And he's, I actually completed him this year.
So he's, he's the one that I'm just like, okay, he's done.
(05:26):
Now I can make upgrades to it.
But in terms of the base, he's done.
The other cosplay, which I completed to a point with the time that I was given is after
from another Broadway show, Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.
I did a, what I did, what I am calling a casual beast because I did like the, like a, like
(05:56):
a white messed up shirt, but I couldn't do like the bottoms and like, like I couldn't
do it up the way I wanted to.
I ended up doing just a white, a white button down shirt and jeans and boots.
And then I, but I did have a prosthetic, a face prosthetics forever.
(06:21):
So I want to go back to the, the first character you mentioned.
You said you started this comic book character when you were 17.
So it's been like almost 10 years, right?
11 now.
Can you tell us a little bit about this character and the story?
And also like, how did you go from cosplay to say, okay, I'm going to create a comic
(06:44):
book?
Yeah, absolutely.
So we are coming up on, actually, no, we are solidly now 11 years after I created this
character.
I just, I was at school one day and I, and I wrote it down on a piece of paper, like
(07:04):
a name, some powers.
And I kind of just, I had it all these years.
And two years ago I decided, you know, I was, two years ago, you know, I'm a full grown
adult now.
I have a job.
So I have, I have disposable income.
(07:26):
I'm like, okay, if I'm going to do something with this character, I need to do it now or
else it's never going to get done.
And so, yeah, I, you know, rolled up my sleeves and I started, and I got a team to go to the
show together and we created a, I think an amazing superhero character.
(07:51):
So his name is Whirlwheel.
I kind of went with the alliteration, you know, like Wonder Woman.
I went with Whirlwheel.
And he was born with a disability.
He was born with spina bifida.
He uses a wheelchair.
(08:12):
He's paralyzed from the knees down.
He gained his powers after a terrible accident in a medical facility.
But ever since he discovered that he had powers, he's been fighting crime.
So why did you choose the disability that you gave Whirlwheel?
(08:34):
Well, honestly, because I have spina bifida myself.
I'm paralyzed from the knees down.
I also use a wheelchair full time.
So I, you know, it's one of those where like, you know, write what you know.
Okay, yeah, that makes sense.
That's what I did.
I decided to do what I know.
(08:56):
For people that's listening that has never heard of spina bifida, I'm saying it incorrectly,
spina bifida.
Bifida.
Bifida.
Yeah.
So can you explain how you like, how do you get it?
And what exactly is it?
(09:17):
So a cause is not really known.
Okay.
Unfortunately, I wish I could tell you how.
But unfortunately, a cause of spina bifida is not known.
What we do know is that it does tend to, it does tend to affect people of color more often
(09:37):
than it does white people.
Again, we don't know why, but that just seems to be what happens.
There have been studies about all this.
And what spina bifida is, it affects people differently.
(09:59):
But what it basically is, is a damage of the spine.
It's in the name, spina bifida.
The spine doesn't form correctly in utero.
So the doctor, doctors usually have to go in, the typical thing is after birth, but
(10:26):
they have since actually discovered how to do a surgery in utero.
But basically they go in and they fix the problem of the spine.
And unfortunately, that does usually mean that nerve endings in the spine, where the
(10:51):
spina bifida is, become damaged.
And the thing is, it affects everybody differently.
It really does.
Like I said, I use a wheelchair and I'm paralyzed from the knees down full time.
(11:13):
But I have friends who have spina bifida who can walk just fine and they just have incontinence
issues.
Okay.
I know other people who are paralyzed from literally the neck down.
So all they can do is move their head.
And does this occur, this occurs before being born?
(11:35):
Yes.
This usually is something that happens in utero, correct?
Okay.
So your superhero or will world, what is it?
Yeah.
I'm sorry.
What is it again?
World wheel.
World wheel.
Wheel.
Yeah, wheel.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
(11:56):
Accent.
I mean the words world wheel.
What is his name and what type of crime is he like fighting and just a little backstory
on?
So his civilian name is Alec Gutierrez.
That's A-L-E-C and then Gutierrez.
(12:17):
So he's of Latin descent, but he was born and raised in the States.
And he's fighting all kinds of crimes, big, small.
Like right now, the bad guy right now is a small time bank robber.
(12:37):
But the thing is, is that this small time bank, this small town, small time bank robber
is he's a pawn.
He's a pawn in a bigger plan in a yet to be fully revealed bigger bad.
Okay.
So the villain, have you, how was that created in the villain form?
(13:05):
Does he have like the typical, like some comics have certain villain characters that they
are always fighting or is it more than one?
Or it's just like random people that's doing bad things.
So right now, the big bad that has yet to be revealed is very much like, imagine if
(13:34):
Tony Stark went bad.
What if?
Yeah, exactly.
So like, you know, rich playboy type, but he's evil.
So he's, you know, rich, rich suit, rich suit.
(13:56):
Does your character have any other like special abilities?
Yes.
So he has a super strength and super speed.
And he actually has a, he has a special wheelchair.
He has a, he does have a companion who is very techie and is like good with computers.
(14:18):
So very much like Oracle from Batman, but she is also disabled.
She also uses a wheelchair, but she's very techie.
She's very smart.
And she created, instead of him using regular wheels, you know, she created a, I'm going
(14:42):
to say polymer of some sort.
It acts and feels like rubber, but it is much stronger and it is heat resistant so that
it doesn't melt under the friction of my hero's speed.
That's pretty neat.
I like all of this.
So to get back to this is where can people find your comic book?
(15:08):
Yeah.
So my comic book you can find, so I do have a website, but the easiest way to really find
like everything for it would be on Instagram under disabled underscore comics underscore.
(15:29):
And have you created the first issue or how many issues?
Yes.
The first issue is now is now live and has been live since January.
Congratulations.
And we are, and thank you and sorry, thank you.
And we have been, I've been working on the second issue for it.
(15:55):
We are in the illustration phase.
And I say we, because I'm actually working with writers and artists, because as much
as I would love to, you know, draw and all that stuff, I can't draw.
Like I never, I am not a good artist.
(16:16):
So I did hire an artist.
And for this first issue and for the second issue, I needed a little bit of help with
the script, but I've been studying a lot since then.
And I'm actually working on a new title with a brand new hero with a different disability.
And I'm doing all of the writing for that.
(16:38):
That's pretty awesome.
You have been busy.
Yes.
I'm going to switch it up a little bit and we're going to go back to like cosplay.
And I want to ask you as a cosplayer, what are some obstacles that you have encountered
in the cosplay community?
(17:02):
Some obstacles that I've encountered.
I haven't really encountered too many, you know?
When I started cosplay and really, you know, like showing people, hey, this is what I'm
doing.
I've gotten a lot of really good feedback from a lot of people, a lot of encouragement.
(17:25):
I did get the occasional, you know, like, hey, this character isn't disabled.
So I've gotten the occasional like that, but very few and far between.
You know, the type that's, you know, like if it's not perfect, then it's trash.
(17:48):
It doesn't happen often, but there are people like that out there.
Unfortunately.
Do you have any advice for people who encounter those types of critics?
Like how did you handle when they, you know, talk to you about, hey, this character doesn't
(18:12):
match the description or isn't perfect?
So I was raised to always, you know, just let things kind of roll off.
You know?
Yes, I'm going to kind of pull this into like the disability, less cosplay, more disability
(18:36):
side of the conversation, but it still applies.
I was raised to, you know, always be, you know, out there and talk to people and be
a normal person, right?
And with that, you know, I always knew that there were going to be people that they were
(19:00):
not going to agree with a lot of things, you know, things that I do or just who I am as
a person.
Like, I knew that, but I was raised to kind of just let it roll off.
And that's what I do.
I just let it roll off.
If I don't usually respond to those people, but if I do, it's usually like, oh, well,
(19:27):
I like what I've done.
And it may not be perfect, but it's mine.
You know, no one else in the world has this cosplay the way that I've done it, and I'm
proud of it.
Yeah, they're part.
That was some great advice.
The next question I want to ask you, just curious about what are some misconceptions
(19:52):
that people have about your ability to cosplay?
So that actually kind of goes back into what I was saying before about the, you know, people
saying, you know, you can't cosplay this character because they're not disabled.
You know, just because I am in a wheelchair, just because I am disabled doesn't mean I
(20:18):
can't cosplay a certain character.
If I want to do a wheelchair using Superman, why can't I?
Exactly.
If I want to do a wheelchair, a wheelchair user, Batman, why not?
Heck, I can make a story out of it.
(20:41):
You know, if we're using the Batman example in the comics and even in one of the movies,
the Christian Bell movies, Bane broke Batman's back.
I could say, Bane just broke my back, so I have to use the wheelchair until I recover.
(21:02):
So it's all about, you know, just navigating the best that you can.
And sometimes that means putting whatever it is, for me, it's a wheelchair, into the
story, creating my own narrative for the character.
(21:24):
I like that.
And I like that, you know, we've moved to like the multiverse.
Yeah, exactly.
The multiverse.
You could be like, every character is something different.
And for me, when I got into cosplay, I wasn't, my kids grew up on comic books, and my daughter
(21:45):
loves anime and one of them, the other one is more like DC Marvel comic books.
But for me, I always liked the illustrations.
So I'm not that heavily into it, but I also like the movies as well.
Before we started, we had a brief conversation and I want to circle back to this because
(22:08):
you said that you don't feel like there's that many characters with a disability.
I mean, I imagine there's a few more now than there were, you know, 10, 15 years ago.
But you know, like, when I think of like, the target demographic that comics usually
(22:30):
go to, which is, you know, kids, when I was a kid, I can only think of two, maybe three
at the time.
And again, maybe there is more now, but if there is, I don't know much, much about them,
(22:51):
you know, to really comment on that, I guess.
Yeah, I can see that.
I think that a lot of representation, I mean, we need more, but I think if you look at the
broader spectrum of it, there are some characters that with invisible disabilities.
(23:12):
So that is true.
I add them onto it.
But physical disability, that's a bit different.
For me, I'm an 80s baby.
So we had like characters in the 80s that were not the 80s.
I'm looking at like the 90s.
I remember like one of them that was this stands out in my mind, because I used to love
(23:35):
and live in color is you had handyman.
And if you remember, I mean, that was pretty like, I don't think you could necessarily
get away with a lot of stuff that he did back then.
But it always like kind of cracks me up to like go back and read the YouTube channel
comments.
And people are so for them.
(23:57):
And that was a character that I felt like really needed to be out there when you look
at it like superheroes or if you know South Park.
I remember we had a show called Corky, but that's not super that's getting more into
like TV.
But if you like saying like we're looking at comic books, then I definitely get where
(24:18):
you're coming from.
Because we, yeah, we basically have you know, Professor X. I feel like that's the big one.
And then the other and you during our conversation before you said Oracle, which I agree with.
And then the other the other one that really comes to mind for me is daredevil, you know,
he's blind.
(24:38):
Yeah.
And like those those three, two or three are really are like the ones that pop out in my
head when I think about it.
I'm sure there are plenty of others.
But you know, like I said, 10, 15 years ago, there weren't that many.
And that's actually one of the one of the many reasons one of the few one of the reasons
(25:01):
why I created my characters, because I want I was like, why don't I create something,
throw my hat in the ring, you know, we need more representation.
Why don't I give it a shot?
I totally agree.
We had disability comic con this year for the first time.
(25:24):
And 40% of our attendees used a wheelchair.
Okay.
So it was and it was really when it started, I didn't think that it would be that many
people that were interested in it.
But we ended up with over 300 people at the event.
And we need more space.
(25:45):
Because one of the things that I did not consider as I did when it came to day before the setup
trying to get everything the way that it needed to be, you have an idea in your mind, like,
okay, this is a setup of a normal convention.
But with this one, it was like, you need more space for wheelchair users.
(26:06):
Like, yeah, yeah, you're gonna have to be able to turn around, they're gonna need the
space with like, they might bring a caregiver or their friend, right?
Everything needs to be everything needs to be on like one level, because like stairs,
especially for people in wheelchairs is, is, you know, no go.
And yeah, let me ask you this.
I don't think that I've I didn't like give you this question, but you have set up your
(26:33):
booth at comic conventions, right?
Yeah, I actually so I went to my my local comic con.
It's called Fairfax Comic Con.
It's one that I've been to five times.
Four times as an attendee, like just going through the halls.
(26:54):
This last time was my fifth time, but first time as a vendor.
It's one that I definitely will be going to as a vendor from now on for as long as I'm
doing this.
That's awesome.
So you had a great experience.
Oh, it was incredible.
So many people, you know, were, you know, had come up to, you know, talk about talk
(27:18):
about like, what is it you're doing here?
And they wanted to know the story.
Lots of parents with kids, little kids.
I actually had, you know, some like young girls, you know, come over and were interested
in it as well.
(27:41):
But I noticed that the majority of the people that were not only not only just like interested
in hearing it, but also ended up buying the book were teachers and like principals and
people that worked in hospitals.
That's pretty cool.
That is amazing.
(28:01):
So from your previous experience as an attendee to comic conventions, what are some things
that you felt could have been like more accessible to you or could have made your attendance
there a lot easier?
You know, that that's actually a hard question because again, I've been five times.
(28:27):
It's in the same.
It's in the same building every year.
It's at the Dallas Expo Center here in Virginia.
And I've always had an amazing experience.
I've never, you know, there's never been anything that was like out of reach for me.
The bathroom bathrooms are accessible.
Everything is on one level.
The only thing that's not on, you know, the same level is like the last couple, the last
(28:53):
like two, three or three years they've done like cosplay contest.
And you know, there was a stage with stairs.
Okay.
That would be like the only thing.
But like other but like other than that, it was perfect.
Everything was perfect.
That's good to know.
(29:14):
So like here in I'm in Houston and some of the conventions that I have been to, I've
been to one in Dragon Con and Comic Palooza, also a smaller convention in Conroe.
And I'm in favor of like the things on like one floor.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
(29:34):
So I feel like it's a lot more accessible.
But like if you go to Comic Palooza or you're in Dragon Con, it's multiple floors.
It's like, yeah.
I will also say like at our convention, we also had a stage.
We had two steps, but I do understand the importance of having a ramp to make that.
(29:58):
Yeah, exactly.
That's actually something that maybe I should talk to the people that put it on about.
I never really considered that because I did enter a cosplay contest there two years ago,
but I didn't need to get up on stage for it.
(30:19):
I was allowed to just be on that level.
But yeah, no, I should talk to somebody about that.
Yeah.
When I think about it.
That would be awesome.
It would go, I mean, it would align with your character too.
It would.
It really would.
But yeah, Fairfax Comic Con is always a treat.
(30:44):
There's a lot of people that go.
The Dulles Expo Center is one floor.
It's one level.
It's a big space.
It's really good.
You were saying you guys need a bigger space for the future, perhaps.
I'm just like, I know you guys are in Texas, but it's like Dulles Expo Center sounds perfect
(31:10):
for you guys.
Yeah.
Well, the facility, it could hold up to 300 people.
But like I said, we definitely, we had like 300, I believe 322 people.
And yeah, so it was a bit crowded.
(31:31):
But all the people went in the same space at one time.
But our lesson is at Disability Comic Con is that we needed like a space or a room where
people can decompress, you know.
But smaller, it was like easier access to just get out to the car or even go to the
restroom.
(31:52):
The fact that the doors were sliding doors.
Right.
And the director was having to pull them open and it had several like parking spots in the
front.
I think it was like 10.
For me, professionally, also like being a caregiver and working with people with invisible,
(32:13):
visible disabilities.
Right.
I'm always looking at ways that could make things easier.
Especially like I know the community loves going to the movie theaters.
And I'm just like, whenever I take somebody who's a wheelchair user to the movie theaters,
I am just always shocked that they don't have like a button you could push for the doors
(32:36):
to open.
Because it's so challenging carrying popcorn, your drinks, and then I still have to open
the door like this while trying to push in a chair.
It's something like that that I would like for businesses to get up to date on.
Yeah, absolutely.
(32:57):
Like you were saying with like the doors, like there are some buildings that have like
the push the button that does it automatically.
I'm like, why don't all buildings do this?
Right.
You would think so, right?
You would think.
But they don't.
I remember taking someone to a wound care specialist.
(33:22):
And a lot of people in there, they had wounds and they had difficulty with walking.
And they didn't have a push open door.
And I'm like, okay, you're a wound care specialist.
But I really would like to get some people together to see if we can change that about
the movie theaters.
Because I find the movie theaters here in Texas kind of frustrating that you have to
(33:45):
open the door like this way.
And then during COVID, to get some of like to even go to the found machine, you had to
push it.
But if you're in a wheelchair and the button's way up here, it's like...
Right, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, you know, I will say, you know, living in Virginia, I don't face too much issue.
(34:10):
I do every now and then, you know, face the occasional like the there's no push button
door or, you know, some like maybe there's a particular place that I wanted to go to,
but I can't because they don't have a ramp.
Yes.
All they do is have stairs.
And so I was like, oh, man, I can't go.
(34:31):
But for the most part, living here in Virginia has been pretty great.
That's good.
I know, like I said, here, we still have some improvements.
I know one guy who he grew his hair out because he couldn't find a barbershop that kind of
(34:53):
had a ramp in the area.
Yeah.
So he had to call a mobile barber.
But when you live in rural areas, having a mobile barber can be a bit challenging versus
if you're in the city.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No kidding.
But those are things that I would like to see improved.
(35:14):
And for me being a caregiver, it's easy for me to like spot it and say, now, how does
this make sense?
Even with like some parking spaces with a van with a lift.
And sometimes the parking space isn't wide enough for the lift or car.
It's like, who's talking of this stuff?
(35:42):
I'm sure my parents would agree with you because they're very attuned to that kind of thing.
I have learned to be very attuned to that kind of thing as well as a person living.
But also like my father works in construction and has been a construction worker his whole
(36:02):
life.
He's very meticulous about that kind of thing.
He's going in every room of every house or every building, if it's like an apartment
or condo, making sure that all of the handicap accessible stuff is indeed handicapped.
(36:24):
Sometimes he'll even ask me, like, hey, you want to come to the job site, check out the
ADA rooms, just make sure everything's okay.
I'm like, sure.
Sometimes I'll go on the job sites and check the ADA stuff and make sure everything is
up to snuff.
That's pretty awesome.
Because we need people like that in our corners.
(36:47):
I mean, even going to a hotel, some of the hotel rooms will say it's ADA and it's not.
It's not, yeah.
It's like, it's not.
Making sure the doors are wide enough, you know, things of that sort.
But it's really interesting when you are on a different side and you get to experience
(37:08):
it and even if you're not like living in that moment, you're helping somebody.
One of the major things that I think is really, it angers me, but it's also, I also kind of
laugh, I laugh at it now because to me it's just like, come on, like, really?
(37:30):
Is like the bathroom, like bathrooms in like certain built in like buildings, right?
I've been in bathrooms where in terms of size, it's good, right?
It's big, it's open.
There are urinals, there's a handicap stall, but you open the handicap stall and I mean,
(37:52):
I'm sure, I'm sure when certain people, you know, it doesn't bother them, but for people
like me that use wheelchairs, this bothers us so much.
When you open the door and the door opens, swinging in, not swinging out.
And it's like, that's swing out because that gives us more space.
(38:15):
Swinging in, it takes away so much space for us.
I definitely agree.
I laugh at it because I'm just like, really?
Like, I want to be mad and I am, but at the same time, I'm just like, I have to laugh.
(38:37):
You know, someone should know and I've, I have had to go in, for instance, I've taken
care of men in wheelchairs and when we go to the restroom at the movie theaters or restaurant,
they want to go into the men's, which makes sense.
Right.
Which means that I have to go in the men's restroom to make sure we can transfer them.
(39:01):
Right.
And I mean, I'm 5'6", around like 155 on a good day, but to me, the stall isn't big enough
for two people, a wheelchair and two people to do the transfer and then to switch back.
I think there's definitely more work to be done in that area.
(39:23):
I can definitely say I've been in a few, some stalls that are very much like that.
I've been, I've been lucky that I, that I've been lucky enough that A, I've been in a few
stalls that have been big enough for, for that kind of a thing.
But also my chair is on the smaller side as well.
I have my chair, I use a, I use a manual chair, not a power chair.
(39:47):
Okay.
And, and it's, it's, it's also, it's very narrow and it's also made of hollow titanium,
so it's very light.
Oh, that's great.
As well.
So I haven't had too much issue in that, in that area, but it has happened on, on occasion.
Well, we got some work.
(40:08):
We need to chat on and see if we can write some people.
And it's so great.
Your dad is in construction.
I mean, yeah, he's been, he's been a construction worker his, his whole life.
He was born and raised in Columbia.
He moved here when he was about 15, 16, same, same as my mother.
She moved here when she was 15, 16.
They met in high school and yeah, that, you know, they, they had me in their early twenties
(40:34):
and 28 years later, here I am.
Oh, that's a, that's a good group of people.
I like that.
Yes, ma'am.
So I think I pretty much wrapped up like a lot of the questions.
Right.
And we discussed some things that could be different in the community, but I just want
to go over a couple of things.
(40:56):
So your favorite character is?
Currently Batman.
Currently Batman.
Okay.
You said Superman used to be your favorite character.
When I was, when I was a little boy, but I feel like that's every little boy's favorite
character.
Okay.
But why Batman?
Because aside from the fact that he's insanely rich, he doesn't have superpowers.
(41:25):
He could literally be anyone.
I could like, if I, if I trained, if I trained the way he did and I was rich like him, I
could be a disabled Batman if I wanted to.
Yeah.
Like he, he, he doesn't have, he is under, underneath, underneath his suit and his tech,
(41:51):
he is a man.
He's, he's a, he's a very disciplined man, but he is a human mortal man.
Okay.
That fights alongside Kryptonians, aliens, and Amazonians and the fastest man alive.
(42:13):
But he is fighting alongside and keeping up with all those people as a mortal man.
And I think, and I just think that that is so cool.
I think you have a point.
I, I usually my son, his favorite character used to be Spider-Man, but now it's Batman.
And it's funny how many Batman lovers that I find and my son goes on.
(42:37):
He's like, he got a book.
He could, you know, like defeat anybody.
He's the smartest.
He's, and he goes on and on, but I like the way that you put it.
I'm gonna cut him some slack now because of you.
So favorite superpower.
Oh, my favorite superpower has to be as much as I, as much as I don't like heights, I'm
(43:05):
going to have to say flying.
Really?
Okay.
But just because the, because as much as I don't like heights, I imagine that the feeling
of flying is just incredible.
You know, the wind in your face and just you're flying through the air.
(43:26):
That just, that just must be the most exhilarating feeling on the planet.
I can see that.
Especially in Houston traffic.
A superpower you could live without.
Invisibility in invisibility.
Okay.
Why is that?
(43:47):
I mean, one, for me personally, I like, for me personally, I would have no reason to use
it.
Okay.
For one and for two.
I mean, it's a little creepy when you think about it.
Like you can just be like, especially thinking about in this day and age and with like all
(44:11):
of the, you know, like equality and female, you know, empowerment and all that stuff that's
been going on, which is great.
I'm just like, yeah, there's, if, if invisibility was a thing, there'd be a lot of creeps that
would abuse that.
And I don't like it.
Okay.
So who is your favorite villain?
(44:33):
My favorite villain.
Oh, again, a hard one.
Because there's so many good ones, but I mean, I guess it's between like the Joker, just
because he's, I mean, aside from the fact that he's Batman's biggest bad, in a weird
(45:00):
twisted way, he's, he actually is to me really funny.
He's hilarious to me.
He is funny.
You know, that's what he was, that he, that's what he's always tried to be.
You know, he's always tried to be funny.
You know, he's a, he's a failed comedian and he, but I think he's always been really funny.
(45:26):
So to me, he, he succeeded in being the comedian as well as being psychotic.
But it's so for me, it's for those reasons between Joker, but also for me, I'm going
to have to go with Green Goblin just because again, a little bit psychotic, but really
(45:48):
smart, really smart.
And I mean, was able to do like, like build like amazing tech, like the glider and bombs.
Like, so like psychotic mixed with smart is, is it, that's a dangerous, dangerous, you
know, combo.
And I think Green Goblin really uses that, that mix like perfectly.
(46:19):
I'm more of an anti-hero person.
I just love the backstory and I think they're usually like hilarious in their own way, but
so much more interesting to me to watch.
So those two definitely Joker, big fan of Joker.
Yeah.
(46:40):
So you said anti-heroes.
So to me, anti-heroes and villains are very different.
So I'm just like, okay, we're talking anti-hero Deadpool straight up.
Hey, Deadpool.
Deadpool is definitely.
And you know, Deadpool, he has a disability.
He does.
He does.
Definitely love Deadpool.
(47:01):
I love Venom.
Venom is awesome.
I love Venom.
He's so good.
I think so too.
But yeah, for me, I like Loki too.
Loki is my action figures that I have here.
Yeah, no.
He was a great villain in the movies, in the Marvel movies, in all the Avengers movies.
(47:30):
He was a great villain, but then I watched the Loki series on Disney Plus and that ending
had me in tears.
That ending had me in tears.
That's my favorite.
(47:50):
That's one of my favorites.
So my last question is out of all the shows you've watched centered around comics, which
one in your 28 years of living do you think is the best show?
Oh, out of everything, out of anything and everything I've ever watched.
(48:15):
Yes.
Oh, Batman the Endgame.
Batman the End of the Endgame series.
Okay.
Why is that?
Why is that your topic?
Well, we know Batman is your favorite.
We know Joker is a favorite.
I think that, I mean, aside from being the world's greatest detective and the most amazing
(48:43):
hand-to-hand combat fighter ever that knows like 20 plus types of fighting, we got that
in the comics, right?
We got that in the comics, but what we never really got out of the comics, but we did get
in the animated series was his very human side.
(49:06):
And he is a human.
So what I mean by that is, he wasn't always kick, punch, kick bad guys' butts.
There were times where he was very, I guess the word is sympathetic or I don't know.
(49:36):
Sympathize and sympathetic.
I always felt he did with Joker.
I just felt like his relationship with Joker.
Yeah.
I mean, there were times, like I remember, there have been times where he was like, hey,
let me help you when it came to the Joker.
But there is one other character where his humanity really, really stuck out for me.
(50:05):
And anyone that has watched the series, I'm sure they'll know exactly who I'm talking
about.
Ace.
There's a young girl character named Ace who she was tortured.
She was taken by this organization and tortured.
(50:30):
And the organization would always tell her it's for the greater good of the world and
blah, blah, blah.
And subjected to all these tests, but it wasn't.
They were building a weapon.
And he was tasked with taking her out because that was the only way to stop her.
(50:54):
But he did it.
He just sat with her.
He listened to her.
And in the end, yes, she ended up dying.
(51:14):
But not because she was in pain or she exploded.
No.
She died in his arms, essentially.
But the last thing that they did was they sat together.
And she was like, can you stay with me?
(51:39):
I'm going very soon.
Will you stay with me?
And that's exactly what he did.
And I think that it was so human, for lack of a better term.
And that's one of the many reasons why I love him so much.
That's amazing.
Now, I got to go watch it.
(52:00):
It's a really good episode.
And my recommendation is have the tissues ready.
Have tissues because, oh my God, it will destroy you because I think it destroyed a lot of
us that watched it.
I'm going to have to.
Well, at least this interview has been fantastic.
(52:22):
Really love everything that you're doing and such a wonderful spirit and personality.
Can you let everybody know your social media handles and where they can pick up a copy
of your comics, how we can support you most importantly?
That's something I really want you to share is what's the best way that we can support
(52:44):
what you're doing?
So the best way that you can reach me, you want to keep up with what I'm doing.
Both on the cosplay side and on the comic book side, if anybody's interested, is you
can find me on Instagram.
I have two separate Instagrams, one for cosplay, one for comic books, for the comic book side.
(53:07):
The cosplay is whirlwheel underscore cosplay.
That's whirlwheel one word underscore cosplay.
And then for the comic book side, if you guys are interested, is all lowercase disabled
underscore comics underscore.
(53:28):
And if you guys are interested in buying my book or anything else that I have on the site,
because I do have a few other goodies on the site, the link to my website where you can
buy that will be in my bio on Instagram on the disabled comics Instagram.
(53:54):
Okay.
And you also have a Shopify store, right?
That is correct.
Yeah, that is the link that I'm referring to that's in my bio.
Okay.
So I forgot last and final question, and we're out of here.
Which describes you best, Marvel, DC, anime, or being a gamer?
(54:15):
DC.
Straight up.
Why DC?
To close out.
Because to me, DC is still dark and gritty.
I like dark and gritty and serious.
I mean, Marvel has amazing characters.
You know, like, I mean, they got Thor and Hulk, like amazing hero characters, but they've
(54:40):
been very campy as of late.
And while campy does have its audience, unfortunately, that's not me.
I like dark and gritty.
So for me, it's, you know, Dawn of Justice, basically all the Batman Superman Wonder Woman
(55:05):
songs.
Justice League, Justice League, in my opinion, and I may lose some people here, but in my
opinion, the Snyderverse is the best version of the Justice League.
Well, thank you so much, Luis, for sharing.
(55:27):
And I want to thank you all for listening and watching us.
Coffee the Cosplayer with Disability Comic Con Network, and you'll be able to watch us
on YouTube, as well as listen to our podcast.
And I thank you all for listening.
And thanks again, Luis.
Appreciate it.
Thank you so much for having me.
(55:48):
I really appreciate it.
I had a lot of fun.
And, you know, thanks, Guy.
Thank you guys for listening.
And hopefully we'll talk very soon.
We will.
Peace out.
Bye.
Bye.
All right.
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