Pedro and Me is an
autobiographical comic book written and drawn by
Judd Winick. It was released by
Henry Holt and Company in 2000.
Pedro and Me is about
Judd Winick and his relationship with
AIDS educator
Pedro Zamora. It begins with a short telling of both Winick and Zamora's childhood, their different backgrounds and upbringing.
Judd Winick was born in
Long Island,
New York to two Jewish middle-class parents. His childhood wasn't that exciting, nor was it incredibly happy for him. As a child he had a great love for art, and later on decided that he would follow in the steps of
Garry Trudeau of
Doonesbury and
Berke Breathed of
Bloom County by getting published in his university's newspaper and moving on. Unfortunatly(or fortunatly), he failed at this, as the
Universal Press Syndicate dropped his contract. One day, he saw a commercial for
Real World 3:
San Francisco, and decided to try out for it. He got chosen, and that's where he met Pedro.
Pedro Zamora was a special child to his family in many cases. He was born after his mother had been told that she wasn't able to have anymore children, as well as being born on the leap day of the leap year. His father had been a supporter of
Fidel Castro, but was quite angered when Castro did not keep his vows to the citizens of
Cuba. Eventually, the family was able to leave
Cuba for
America, but many of Pedro's siblings were left behind. Pedro grew up to be an ace student, he was in many clubs, played sports, and was an honor student. He was also
gay and sexually active at 13. His father was very supportive and caring about his sexuality, his only worry being that the world didn't support people like Pedro that well. In these early relationships, he contracted
AIDS. He hadn't been warned that HE could get AIDS. Once he was told in class what AIDS was, but not that any person, even himself, could get it. Before finishing high school, he gave a speech to his class about AIDS and his sexuality. The teacher thought it was so good, that she asked him to give it to the entire school. He did. He also decided what he wanted to do. He wanted to warn people about AIDS, inform them, and make sure that the things that happened to him wouldn't have to happen to anyone else. He became an AIDS educator, probably the most famous one ever.
The autobiography follows the friendship that Pedro and Judd had, and the trials that they both faced. It follows their friendship from the beginning to the end. This is a wonderful, emotional story, it is told just like real life. It has its ups and downs, its humour and its sadness. A beautiful work that if you will only read one
graphic novel in your life, please choose this one. It might teach you many things about
people,
AIDS, and
friendship.
On the official Pedro and Me website, one can find a view pages from the graphic novel as well as stories that didn't make it to the graphic novel and reviews. The page is located at
http://www.pedroandme.com/pedroandme.html
Awards:
Bibliography:
The Official Judd Winick Site -
http://www.pedroandme.com/pedroandme.html