In celebration of gaining my Canadian Permanent Residency, last year I began running down an A-Z of Canadian comic book creators.
[ED note: It's been a while, I know! Sorry!]
For the index list of creators featured thus far, please click here.
G is for Pia Guerra
Originally born in New Jersey, Pia Guerra's family moved to Canada when she was a young girl. She first lived in Toronto, Ontario, and currently resides in Vancouver B.C. with her husband, the comic book writer and stand-up comedian, Ian Boothby.
Pia became interested in comics when she was about 10 years old, after one of her older cousins came to visit from the States, and left a copy of
X-Men (from Chris Claremont's run) behind at their house. Pia read though the issue, and really enjoyed it, so she started reading more comics. At that time she was heavily into drawing, and when she saw this way of combining stories and artwork, she decided that she would try her hand at it. After a while she started taking art to comic conventions, and several people expressed interest in her work. She was unsure if this was the career path she wanted to take, the life of a starving artist, but finally decided to launch her career as a comic book artist.
Pia's first credit as a comic book artist was on the stories 'Jeremy Loader Never Could Pick Up After Himself' and 'Bobby Deavers, Two Weeks Before' in the 1993 anthology,
Asylum, from Millennium Publications.
For several years Pia pencilled many independent, and small press, comic book titles. Her big break came in 2002 when she began working on a new Vertigo title called
Y: The Last Man. Pia says of her becoming involved with DC's Vertigo imprint: "after a few years of talking to editors ... and having Karen [Berger] saying 'no,' I finally met Heidi [McDonald] who really liked my work and wondered why I didn't have work, so she made me her special project, working her butt off to get me a project. A few years after saying that, she finally convinced Karen that I could handle a book and there were a few rejections along the way where I was sending in samples for various books. I was really excited, and then I'd get a big no, like with 'Names of Magic' for example. After 'NoM' I felt like giving up on Vertigo because it'd been six years and I'd tried to get in on 'Shade' through Shelly [Bond], along with other sci-fi stuff through Stuart Moore, and it was all just like one big brick wall. Finally, Heidi called me up and asked me if I minded drawing a lot of women, so I figured I would try drawing it even though it'd probably be another 'no' from the powers that be, but I did get it and here I am on 'Y.'"
Y: The Last Man was written, and co-created by
Brian K. Vaughan, and first saw publication in September of 2002. The series ran monthly
for it's first 55 issues, before switching to a bi-monthly publication schedule until the series came to its conclusion in September of 2008. 'Y' told the story of a man named Yorick, an amateur escape artist, and his Capuchin monkey, Ampersand. The premise of the story was that on July 17, 2002, something (referred to as a plague) simultaneously killed every mammal possessing a Y chromosome — including embryos, fertilized eggs, and even sperm. Yorick and Ampersand are the only males left alive on the planet.
For her work on
Y: The Last Man Pia was nominated multiple times for the Eisner Awards, before finally winning the 2008 Eisner Award for 'Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team', with inker Jose Marzan, Jr. for their work on 'Y'. She also won 'Outstanding Comic Book Artist for 2006' at the Joe Shuster Awards, that same year.
Pia's latest project was providing penciled artwork for
Doctor Who: The Forgotten. 'The Forgotten' was published by IDW, as part of their new licensing acquisition of the famous British Sci-fi show. The story was written by Tony Lee and involved the tenth Doctor being trapped in a Doctor Who museum in deep space. The Doctor must visit memories from all of his previous generations in order to find a way to escape. Being British, I was raised on Doctor Who, but I just haven't been able to get into the new relaunch. This series was fantastic though, and one of my favourite Doctor Who stories ever written!
Pia currently doesn't have any series coming out, but she has been quoted as saying that her dream comic book projects are, " 'Buckaroo Banzai', anything 'Buckaroo Banzai' related because it's a good ensemble piece. It's the same reason I like 'Buffy' and the same reason I like team books like 'Titans' or 'X-Men' because they take moments away from the big action to do quirky character stuff that be funny or cool, going behind the action. 'Buckaroo' has people who are smart together, work well together, are cool together and fulfilling their potential together which is important in my world view."
To find out more about Pia Guerra, and to read her blog, go to her official site,
www.hellkitty.com
Bibliography:
1993:
Asylum (1993) #3
1994:
Big Book of... (1994) #1 - 'Big Book of Urban Legends'
Summer 1995:
Sinnamon (1995) #3 - 'Dress for Excess'
June 1995:Doctor Who: The Forgotten
Sex & Death (1995) Alternate #1
Weird Business (1995) HC
September 1998:
Dark Horse Presents (1986) Annual 1998
2002:
What's Wrong? (2002) TPB - 'Explicit Graphic Interpretations Against Censorship'
January 2002:
Y: The Last Man (2002) Double Feature Edition
September 2002:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #1 - 'Unmanned'
October 2002:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #2 - 'Unmanned: Chapter Two'
November 2002:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #3 - 'Unmanned: Chapter Three'
December 2002:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #4 - 'Unmanned: Chapter Four'
2003:
Heroes Anonymous (2003) #2 - 'Session #2: The Inglorious Grievance of the Gay Avenger'
January 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 01 - 'Unmanned'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 01 (Fifth Printing) - 'Unmanned'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 01 (Seventh Printing) - 'Unmanned'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 01 (Sixth Printing) - 'Unmanned'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 01 (Third Printing) - 'Unmanned'
Y: The Last Man (2002) #5 - 'Unmanned: Conclusion'
February 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #6 - 'Cycles: Chapter One'
March 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #7 - 'Cycles: Chapter Two'
April 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #8 - 'Cycles: Chapter Three'
May 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #9 - 'Cycles: Chapter Four'
June 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #10 - 'Cycles: Conclusion'
July 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #11 - 'One Small Step: Chapter One'
August 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #12 - 'One Small Step: Chapter Two'
September 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 02 - 'Cycles'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 02 (Fifth Printing) - 'Cycles'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 02 (Fourth Printing) - 'Cycles'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 02 (Second Printing) - 'Cycles'
Y: The Last Man (2002) #13 - 'One Small Step: Chapter Three'
October 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #14 - 'One Small Step: Chapter Four'
November 2003:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #15 - 'One Small Step: Conclusion'
January 2004:
JLA-Z (2003) #3 - 'Martian Manhunter to Zatanna'
March 2004:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #18 - 'Safeword Part One'
April 2004:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 03 - 'One Small Step'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 03 (Fourth Printing) - 'One Small Step'
Y: The Last Man (2002) #19 - 'Safeword Part Two'
May 2004:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #20 - 'Safeword: Conclusion'
September 2004:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #24 - 'Tongues of Flame: Part One of Two'
October 2004:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #25 - 'Tongues of Flame: Part Two of Two'
November 2004:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #26 - 'Hero's Journey'
December 2004:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 04 - 'Safeword'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 04 (Fourth Printing) - 'Safeword'
Y: The Last Man (2002) #27 - 'Ring of Truth: Chapter One'
2005:
Vertigo: First Taste (2005) TPB - 'Vertigo: First Taste'
January 2005:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #28 - 'Ring of Truth: Chapter Two'
February 2005:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #29 - 'Ring of Truth: Chapter Three'
March 2005:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #30 - 'Ring of Truth: Chapter Four'
April 2005:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #31 - 'Ring of Truth: Conclusion'
July 2005:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 05 - 'Ring of Truth'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 05 (Third Printing) - 'Ring of Truth'
September 2005:
Spider-Man Unlimited (2004) #10
October 2005:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #36 - 'Boy loses Girl'
November 2005:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 06 - 'Girl on Girl'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 06 (Second Printing) - 'Girl on Girl'
Y: The Last Man (2002) #37 - 'Paper Dolls: Chapter One'
December 2005:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #38 - 'Paper Dolls: Chapter Two'
January 2006:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #39 - 'Paper Dolls: Conclusion'
May 2006:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 07 - 'Paper Dolls'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 07 (Second Printing) - 'Paper Dolls'
Y: The Last Man (2002) #43 - 'Kimono Dragons: Part 1'
June 2006:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #44 - 'Kimono Dragons: Part 2'
July 2006:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #45 - 'Kimono Dragons: Part 3'
August 2006:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #46 - 'Kimono Dragons: Conclusion'
November 2006:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 08 - 'Kimono Dragons'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 08 (Second Printing) - 'Kimono Dragons'
Y: The Last Man (2002) #49 - 'Motherland: Chapter 1'
December 2006:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #50 - 'Motherland: Chapter 2'
January 2007:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #51 - 'Motherland: Chapter 3'
February 2007:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #52 - 'Motherland, Conclusion'
May 2007:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 09 - 'Motherland'
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 09 (Second Printing) - 'Motherland'
Y: The Last Man (2002) #55 - 'Whys and Wherefores, Chapter 1'
July 2007:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #56 - 'Whys and Wherefores, Chapter 2'
September 2007:
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror (1995) #13
Y: The Last Man (2002) #57 - 'Whys and Wherefores, Chapter 3'
October 2007:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #58 - 'Whys and Wherefores, Chapter 4'
January 2008:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #59 - 'Whys and Wherefores, Conclusion'
March 2008:
Y: The Last Man (2002) #60 - 'Alas'
June 2008:
Y: The Last Man (2002) TPB vol. 10 - 'Whys And Wherefores'
August 2008:
Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2008) #1 - 'Part 1: Amputation'
Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2008) #1 (Retailer Incentive Photo Cover) - 'Part 1: Amputation'
September 2008:
Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2008) #2 - 'Part 2: Renewal'
Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2008) #2 (Retailer Incentive Photo Cover)
October 2008:
Y: The Last Man (2002) HC vol. 01
November 2008:
Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2008) #4 - 'Part 4: "Survival"'
Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2008) #4 (Retailer Incentive Photo Cover) - 'Part 4:'
December 2008:
Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2008) #5 - 'Part 5: Revelation'
Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2008) #5 (Retailer Incentive Photo Cover) - 'Part 5: Revelation'
References:
Hellkitty - Pia Guerra's official site
Wikipedia - Pia Guerra entry
ComicBD - Pia Guerra entry
CBR interview: Y The Last (Wo)man
