Gerard Way
Encyclopedia
Gerard Arthur Way is an American musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 and comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 who has served as lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

 and co-founder of the band My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...

 since its formation in 2001. He is also the writer of the Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...

-winning comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy is a comic book written by Gerard Way with art by Gabriel Bá, cover art by James Jean, colors by Dave Stewart and letters by Blambot's Nate Piekos. The six-issue limited series was released by Dark Horse Comics, the first issue making its premiere on September 19, 2007. It won...

.

Early life

Gerard Way was born April 9, 1977 in Summit
Summit, New Jersey
Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 21,457. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census....

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 to Donna Lee (née Rush) and Donald Way. He has Italian ancestry on his mother's side and Scottish ancestry on his father's. He was raised in Belleville, New Jersey
Belleville, New Jersey
Belleville is a Township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 35,926.-History:...

 and first began singing publicly in the fourth grade, when he played the role of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...

 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". Also, while in elementary school, the glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...

 band Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

 was instrumental in forming his love of music.

At the age of 15, Way was held at gunpoint, as he said in an April 2008 Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

interview: "I got held up with a .357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...

, 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."

Way attended Belleville High School
Belleville High School (New Jersey)
Belleville High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Belleville, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Belleville School District...

 until he graduated in 1995. Deciding to pursue a career in the comic-book industry, he attended the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...

 in 1999.

Music

As teenagers Gerard and his brother Mikey Way, who later became the bassist of My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...

, were influenced by the bands Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

 and The Misfits as well as British artists such as Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....

, Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

 and Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...

 and The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

. Way originally wanted to be a guitarist. His grandmother bought him his first guitar at the age of eight and he played in short-lived bands such as Ray Gun Jones and Nancy Drew with future bandmate Ray Toro, but when he was not successful (one band kicking him out due to his lack of skill with the guitar), he chose to concentrate on his art career.

Way was working as an intern for Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

 in New York City during the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

. Seeing the effects of the attacks first-hand prompted Way to change his views on life in the following weeks. He told Spin magazine, "I literally said to myself, 'Fuck art. I’ve gotta get out of the basement. I’ve gotta see the world. I’ve gotta make a difference.'" To help deal with the emotional effects the attacks had on him, Way wrote the lyrics to the song "Skylines and Turnstiles", which has since been identified as the first song by My Chemical Romance. Soon after, My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...

 began to assemble as a band.

Way has contributed vocally to bands such as Every Time I Die
Every Time I Die
Every Time I Die is a metalcore band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1998. Their musical style is rooted in technical hardcore with strong southern metal and mathcore elements, and is also characterised by their cryptic, bitingly sarcastic lyrics. The band announced on July 14, 2008 that they had...

's 'Kill The Music', Head Automatica
Head Automatica
Head Automatica is a Dance Rock band, formed by Glassjaw frontman Daryl Palumbo with Jarvis Holden, formerly of Give Up the Ghost or American Nightmare, Jim Greer, and Brandon Arnovick.-History:...

's 'Graduation Day', Say Anything
Say Anything (band)
Say Anything is an American indie-punk band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Max Bemis. The band was formed in 2000 with Bemis and four of his friends. Within two years, they self-released two EPs, Junior Varsity and In Your Dreams, and the full-length Baseball: An Album by Sayanything.In...

's "In Defense Of The Genre", and The Oval Portrait
The Oval Portrait (band)
The Oval Portrait was an American rock band from West Paterson, New Jersey active in the early-to-mid 2000's. Their name was taken from a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. They released the LP "Life In Death" on Eyeball Records in 2003. The band's musical style contained an eclectic mix of...

's "From My Cold Dead Hands" and "Barnabus Collins Has More Skeletons In His Closet Than Vincent Price".

In many interviews Way has stated that music turned out to be an effective outlet to deal with his longtime battles against depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...

, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

 and prescription drug use. The use of music as a way to resolve personal battles has caused Way to create deeply personal songs such as "Helena
Helena (song)
"Helena" is a song by American rock band My Chemical Romance, and is the third single from their second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge...

," which was written in memory of his late grandmother.

In 2008, Way and musical project Julien-K
Julien-K
Julien-K is a music group that began as a side project for electronic music created by Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck from Orgy, with the later addition of Elias Andra, and Anthony 'Fu' Valcic....

 remixed a version of the song Sleep When I'm Dead
Sleep When I'm Dead
"Sleep When I'm Dead" is a single by the British band The Cure released on 13 July 2008 on Geffen Records in the United Kingdom. It was pushed back to July 15 in the United States to comply with the tradition of releasing songs on a Tuesday...

 by The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...

 for their EP 'Hypnagogic States
Hypnagogic States
Hypnagogic States EP is an EP by The Cure, released on 13 September 2008. It contains remixes of the first four singles off of the band's album, 4:13 Dream: "The Only One", "Freakshow", "Sleep When I'm Dead" and "The Perfect Boy". The EP reached the number one in Spain...

'. All profits gained from the sales of the EP go to funding the International Red Cross.

In early 2009, Way and Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 singer Kyosuke Himuro
Kyosuke Himuro
is a popular Japanese singer. He was a member of the rock group Boøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the group disbanded he started a successful solo career. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked Himuro at number 76 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts...

 co-produced the new theme song for Advent Children Complete, the Blu-Ray director's cut of the movie sequel to the popular video game franchise, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is a series of games and animated features developed by Square Enix based in the world and continuity of Final Fantasy VII...

. He is also credited with writing the lyrics, and singing alongside Himuro. The song is entitled "Safe and Sound" and was released on iTunes on April 29, 2009. "Safe and Sound" is only heard on the Japanese release of the film; the English release uses Himuro's "Calling" (the original ending theme for Advent Children) in place of it.

Writing

Gerard Way's first attempt at writing a comic was at the age of 16, writing a short-lived comic series called 'On Raven's Wings', which was cancelled after Issue 2 due to losing the art team; he was credited as Garry Way.

In 2007, Way began writing the comic-book miniseries The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy is a comic book written by Gerard Way with art by Gabriel Bá, cover art by James Jean, colors by Dave Stewart and letters by Blambot's Nate Piekos. The six-issue limited series was released by Dark Horse Comics, the first issue making its premiere on September 19, 2007. It won...

. Way wrote the story and illustrated the original version, but cartoonist Gabriel Ba recreated all of Way's original drawings in the final version. A few of Way's first drawings of the characters can be seen in the last few pages of the first book in the series, "The Apocalypse Suite".

The Apocalypse Suite was first released by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

 in their Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer...

 issue on May 5, 2007. Since then, an eight-page story has been published on MySpace, entitled "Safe & Sound". The first official issue was released on September 19, 2007. The first issue to sell out and consequently there was a second printing released on October 17, 2007. The next installment was released on November 26, 2008.

He and fellow artists Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan are currently in the process of developing and creating a new comic-book series titled "The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys", which Way announced at Comic Con 2009. In 2011 My Chemical Romance confirmed the comic's connection with their music, and they also stated that they are working on another comic book project which they have kept under wraps as of mid-2011.

Cartoons

In 2001 Way co-created a cartoon with Joe Boyle called The Breakfast Monkey. They pitched it to Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

, but the network declined to pick up the concept on the grounds that it was too similar to the existing property Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Aqua Teen Hunger Force , retitled Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 in 2011, is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network late night programing block, Adult Swim, as well as Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4 Canada's ADd block in Canada...

.

Personal life

Way has struggled with alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

 and prescription drug addiction for many years and has now been sober since August 2004. In a recent issue of Spin magazine, he said that, having become a happier person and feeling more in control, he has been able to enjoy the occasional recreational drink.

On September 3, 2007 after a concert in Colorado, Way married LynZ of Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence is an American musical group formed in New York in 1997. Their music has a mixed style including rap, punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno and industrial...

 backstage on the final date of the Projekt Revolution
Projekt Revolution
Projekt Revolution is a music festival hosted by Linkin Park, bringing artists of various genres of music together. Linkin Park started Projekt Revolution in the year 2002 with just one stage...

 tour. A member of Live Nation's touring staff that was also an ordained minister performed the low-key ceremony. He currently lives with his wife in Los Angeles, California. Their daughter, Bandit Lee Way, was born in California on May 27, 2009.

My Chemical Romance

Year Album details Chart peaks Certifications
(sales thresholds)
US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...


AUS
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...


AUT
Ö3 Austria Top 40
Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann...


CAN
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...


GER
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...


IRL
Irish Albums Chart
The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...


JPN
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...


MEX
NZL
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...


SWE
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....


UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...


2002 I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
-Track listing:-Music videos on re-release editions:-Charts:-Release history:-Credits:My Chemical Romance* Gerard Way — lead vocals* Mikey Way — bass guitar* Ray Toro — lead guitar, rhythm guitar , backing vocals...

  • Released: July 23, 2002
  • Label: Eyeball Records
    Eyeball Records
    Eyeball Records is an independent record label based in Northern New Jersey, formed in 1995 by Alex Saavedra. They have released albums by artists such as Thursday, My Chemical Romance and Murder by Death....

  • Format: CD
    Compact Disc
    The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

    , CS
    Compact Cassette
    The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...

    , DD
    Digital distribution
    Online distribution, digital distribution, or electronic software distribution is the practice of delivering content without the use of physical media, typically by downloading via the internet directly to a consumer's device. Online distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media,...

    , Enhanced CD
    Enhanced CD
    Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....

    , LP
    LP record
    The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...

250 129 UK
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...

: Gold
2004 Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
* Track 11 is commonly censored as "It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Deathwish"-Charts:-Singles:-Release history:-Personnel:Band*Frank Iero – rhythm guitar, backing vocals*Matt Pelissier – drums*Ray Toro – lead guitar, backing vocals...

  • Released: June 8, 2004
  • Label: Reprise Records
    Reprise Records
    Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...

  • Format: CD, CD+DVD
    DVD
    A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

    , CS, DD, LP
  • 28 38 73 57 36 73 30 34
    2006 The Black Parade
    The Black Parade
    The Black Parade is the third studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance. Released on October 23, 2006 through Reprise Records, it was produced by Rob Cavallo, who has also produced albums for Green Day. The album is the first on which Bob Bryar plays drums. It is a rock opera centering...

  • Released: October 23, 2006
  • Label: Reprise Records
  • Format: CD, CS, DD, Enhanced CD, 2×LP
    Double album
    A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....

  • 2 3 4 2 11 5 10 35 1 4 2
    2010 Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
    Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
    Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band My Chemical Romance. The album was produced by Rob Cavallo and was released by Warner Music and Reprise Records on 19 November 2010...

  • Released: November 22, 2010
  • Label: Reprise Records
  • Format: CD, DD
  • 8 10 15 13 18 14 8 9 4 14
    "—" denotes a release that did not chart

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