Gerard Way
Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, Hesitant Alien, in 2014.
Gerard Way
- Singer
- songwriter
- comic book writer
2001–present
1
Vocals
Way co-created and wrote the comic mini-series The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and the Eisner Award-winning comic book series The Umbrella Academy,[1][2] the latter of which was later adapted into a Netflix series released in 2019. Way is also the co-founder of DC Comics' Young Animal imprint. Way is the co-creator of Peni Parker, an alternative version of Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe.
Early life
Way was born in Summit, New Jersey, on April 9, 1977,[3] the son of Donna Lee (née Rush) and Donald Way. He is of Italian and Scottish ancestry.[4] Raised in Belleville, New Jersey, alongside brother Mikey Way, he first began singing publicly in the fourth grade, when he played the role of Peter Pan in a school musical production. His maternal grandmother, Elena Lee Rush, was a great creative influence who taught him to sing, paint, and perform from a young age; he has said that "she has taught me everything I know".[5] Also, while in elementary school, the glam metal band Bon Jovi was instrumental in forming his love of music[6] and Bruce Springsteen is the first concert that he ever watched.
At the age of 15, Way was held at gunpoint. As he said in an April 2008 Rolling Stone interview, "I got held up with a .357 Magnum, had a gun pointed to my head and put on the floor, execution-style." He went on to say that "no matter how ugly the world gets or how stupid it shows me it is, I always have faith [in it]".[7] At age 16, he appeared on an episode of Sally Jesse Raphael to discuss the controversy surrounding the publicizing of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's crimes in comic books.[8] Way attended Belleville High School, graduating in 1995. Deciding to pursue a career in the comic-book industry, he attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999.[5][9]
Other ventures
1993–present: Writing
Way's first attempt at writing a comic was at the age of 16 in 1993, writing a comic book series called On Raven's Wings, published by Hart D. Fisher's Boneyard Press. The series was cancelled after the second issue, however, due to the loss of its art team. Way was credited as Garry Way.[51]
In 2007, Way began writing the comic-book miniseries The Umbrella Academy. Way wrote the story and illustrated the original version, but cartoonist Gabriel Bá redrew the art in the first volume, Apocalypse Suite.[1]
Apocalypse Suite was first released by Dark Horse Comics in their Free Comic Book Day issue on May 5, 2007.[52] Since then, an eight-page story has been published entitled "Safe & Sound", which appeared in a collection of stories entitled MySpace Dark Horse Presents Volume One.[53] The first official issue of The Umbrella Academy was released on September 19, 2007.[54] The first issue sold out and consequently there was a second printing released on October 17, 2007.[55] Apocalypse Suite also won the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series.[56] The next installment of the series, Dallas, was released on November 26, 2008,[57] and, following speculation that Way had retired indefinitely from comics, a third installment entitled Hotel Oblivion was released in 2018–2019.[58]
Way and fellow artists Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan co-created another comic-book series entitled The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, which Way announced at 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. At the 2012 New York Comic Con, the team announced that the first look at the series would be released on 2013's Free Comic Book Day. The series continued the concepts introduced in the My Chemical Romance album of a similar title.[59]
In 2011, My Chemical Romance stated that Mikey and Gerard were working on another comic book project which they had kept under wraps since mid-2009. As of 2015 nothing of this project has emerged.[60]
On December 21, 2013, Gerard Way stated that he and Gabriel Bá will be working on parts three and four of his comic book series Umbrella Academy beginning in the new year.[61]
In a podcast interview on December 31, 2013, with Chris Thompson from Pop Culture Hound, Way discussed his new Umbrella Academy series in more detail and confirmed he would do two volumes back-to-back, with a couple of flashback issues in-between. In addition, he discussed his new comic series All Ages which first appeared as a series of images on his Twitter feed. Although the project doesn't have a publisher or an artist at this stage, he is actively working on the story of cats in high school who are discovering their place in the world.[62]
In 2014, it was announced that Way will be making his debut in the Marvel Universe by writing for the alternate universe Spider-Man series Edge of Spider-Verse.[63] His story introduced Peni Parker, a Japanese-American student who pilots a bio-mechanical suit named SP//dr.[64]
On March 21, 2024, Way announced a new comic book series Paranoid Gardens, with the first issue releasing in July. [65]
