Velez edited graphic novels for Dutton Books (Dead High Yearbook), earning an award from the American Library Association.

[1] In an interview with CBR.com, Velez stated that the style in which he rendered the series differed from his previous work by depicting various peoples and time periods of American history with a greater sense of realism.

Velez acknowledges that the mid 80s were the time of the multicultural initiative and the onset of the AIDS crisis, which he sought to address through frank explorations of issues facing gay and transgender teens in his educational and LGBTQ awareness project, Tales of the Closet.

[3] Velez differentiates his comics from mainstream heroes like Superman or Batman in that popular stories are restricted to predictable narratives that corporate foresees will sell.

Velez felt that mainstream heroes were depicted through a typically upper-middle class and white perspective, while other races were portrayed through negative stereotypes, and sought to make comics for children who hailed from different economic, educational or ethnic backgrounds.