Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man | Tagged: Liam Conejo, Wilfredo Torres

Wilfredo Torres Draws Spider-Man For Liam Conejo, And It Gets To Him

Wilfredo Torres draws Spider-Man for Liam Conejo, and it gets to him. I mean, it gets to all of us, right? Right.

Published Mon, 02 Feb 2026 07:57:08 -0600

Article Summary

Comic artist Wilfredo Torres drew Spider-Man for detained five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in support
Liam Conejo gained national attention after ICE detained him and his father while walking home in Minnesota
The heartfelt drawing and message brought widespread support and comfort to Liam’s school community
The hashtag #Comics4Liam is spreading, as artists share drawings to support Liam and raise awareness

Wilfredo Torres is a comic book artist about my age best known for working on retro-style series like Superman '78 and Batman '66, as well as Black Panther, Moon Knight, Legion, The Shadow: Year One, Doc Savage, Black Hammer, BANG!, and more. He also likes Spider-Man, going by his backpack. And when he heard about the story of Liam Conejo Ramos, he posted this picture to Instagram.

It reads: "Dear Liam, I'm so sorry about what's happening, Buddy. I know you must be super scared and confused right now. I saw that you're not feeling great. I thought maybe if I drew you a picture, it might cheer you up, even just a little. Spidey is one of my favorites too! I wish I could do more. I hope that if you see this someday, you'll know that there were so many people thinking and worrying about you, even though you don't know us. Sometimes when bad things happen, kids wonder if it was their fault, but none of this was your fault, Kiddo. You didn't do anything wrong. Nothing at all. I hope you feel better and that you and your Dad get to go back home to your Mami really soon! FOR LIAM 'CONEJO' FROM YOUR NERDY TIO FREDDY WT!"

Liam Conejo Ramos is a five-year-old boy who became the subject of widespread national attention and outrage in the US when two weeks ago, he was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, while walking home from preschool with his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, an asylum seeker originally from Ecuador. A widely circulated photograph showed the young boy, bundled in a blue knit bunny hat and carrying a Spider-Man backpack, being taken into custody by masked agents..Liam and his father were transported to a family detention facility in Texas, which drew significant criticism, protests, and media coverage, with reports highlighting it as part of a pattern involving multiple children from the same school district. On Saturday (and after Wilfredo posted this image), federal Judge Fred Biery ordered their release, criticising the government's actions. They were released and returned to Minnesota shortly after, with Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro escorting them on the flight home.

Wilfredo Torres wrote, accompanying the image, "If we are unable and even worse unwilling to protect our own children, we are failing our most basic function not just as a society but as a SPECIES. I'm so f-cking sick and tired of having to watch children suffer and die, in 'detention' centers, in classrooms or a world away because of greed, apathy, corruption, ignorance, hatred and just dull f-cking cruelty. We need to clear the decks, top to bottom. We need new leaders, people that are actually invested in the business of humankind, progress, freedom, equality and prosperity for everyone not just a handful of soulless husks that only care about power and their own net worth. I'm so damn tired of watching as this shit show just continues to play out and get worse day after day."

In response, the Instagram account of Columbia Heights Public Schools responded "Oh my gosh, this is incredible! Thank you for this! I've already sent this to his principal so he can show it to Liam once we get him home and share it with his mom! Thank you for shining a light on our little Liam. We hope to have him home soon. we hope to have all four of our elementary students home from Dilley soon."

A mother of the school offered to print it off for Liam. Wilfredo responded "This drawing was 100% born out of desperation, my own message in a bottle chucked into the ocean in the hopes it might somehow find its way to him. It's a very little thing but even if it just makes him crack a smile for a second that would mean the world me. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do. I'm so grateful for your help and all the work I'm sure you're all doing at the school."

The #Comics4Liam hashtag has grown out of this and other examples, in which comics artists are posting drawings to support Liam and raise awareness and funds for affected families.

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