'Hedgehog Boy' leads the way for gay graphic novels

Rene Capone's first graphic novel, "The Legend of Hedgehog Boy," looks like a complicated project when you see the sketches, text, assembled layouts and finished pages at the San Francisco Main Library, where they're on exhibit through Thursday.

But Capone's goal is simple and clear.

"I think of it as my love letter to any lost gay boy who needs a friend," he told EDGE San Francisco. "I hope he stumbles upon it when he needs it the most."

"I don't remember seeing any gay characters when I was a teenager," said Capone, now 30. He wants to change that for gay youth now. "I want it to be something to let them know emotionally that they're going to be OK. They're not going to get that from straight comic books."

Capone will appear to talk about his work and sign copies of the completed, 52-page graphic novel 6-9 p.m. Tuesday at the San Francisco Main Library's James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center, where his artwork is on display.

The work-in-progress aspect of the exhibit shows how Capone developed his story about two boys-not superheroes-who wear animal-like headpieces.

Hedgehog Boy falls in love with a boy named David, whom he calls "Kitty" after placing a cat-like figure on his head. The two runaway boys forge a bond, interrupted when the arch-villain, Possum, captures Kitty and forces him to write ransom notes for stuffed animals he's stolen.

Capone began to formulate "The Legend of Hedgehog Boy" a year ago. "At first it was just an illustrated story. But that didn't quite work because I'm an artist, not a writer."

He turned instead to a graphic novel format. He usually created individual drawings first, scanned them, then reworked the lines and added text using the Manga Studio computer software program. The finished work, 52 pages long, is just the first part of the story, ending when Kitty is kidnapped. Capone says the second part is well under way.

Capone says he wanted "The Legend of Hedgehog Boy" to be distinct from many gay comic books. "Others are more obsessed with sexuality," he said. "This is more of a romance than a sexual adventure. It's a love story."

The story is based in part on his on life. Capone grew up in upstate New York, and as he explains in his bio, "as the oldest of four children and a product of a broken home, he escaped at the age of 14."? He loved creating art in school, in part because art could express "what words alone often fail to do."

Capone attended Parsons School of Design in New York City, focusing on fine art and the figure, but he wasn't sure of his future in New York. "I knew that the competition to do what I wanted to do would be so intense, I wouldn't want to do it."

He headed to San Francisco in 2000, began a teaching job, and now works, in his "day job" as an assistant at Fisher Weisman Design & Decoration. "I'm very lucky to work for them because I'm the most unemployable person on earth," Capone said. "I'm an artist. I don't know what a spreadsheet is. I can't spell. I have a friend who used to be a copy editor who checked my text for 'Hedgehog Boy.'"

The library exhibit is both a showcase and a sendoff for the graphic novel, with its collection that includes one of Capone's paintings that was the initial spark for "Hedgehog Boy," a sketchbook, and a small model figure he used when drawing.

The exhibit's text is a bold personal statement:

"I wanted to create an unapologetically queer graphic novel, one with emotional depth. Although it made me entirely uncomfortable, I started writing this story from my own experiences, and worked outwards from there.

"If this book can live up to its potential, I believe it can give boys the courage to stand up and be proud of where they come from, instead of being ashamed."

The exhibit was prepared by Visual Aid, the organization that got its start supporting gay artists in need. Capone said he will donate $5 of the graphic novel's $20 price to the group.

"The Legend of Hedgehog Boy" will be available through IndyPlanet, the online, independent comic book distributor, and at Whatever Comics, a shop at 548 Castro St., San Francisco, (415) 861-9428.

In addition to the library reception, Capone attended WonderCon, the comics and graphic novel event at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The Main Library is at 1100 Larkin St. near the Civic Center BART Station, Capone's artworks, and the story of "Hedgehog Boy," are available on his web site, www.renecapone.com.