When Exiles did launch, it was a success and critically acclaimed for its strong focus on the characters. Winick also wrote the Blink limited series to precede the launch of Exiles. Noticed for his successful independent work, Winick was hired by Marvel Comics in 2001 to develop and launch the Exiles series. His most notable creation was the character of Barry Ween, a boy genius, who was featured in three limited series by Winick for Image Comics and then Oni Press. While working on Pedro and Me, Winick produced other independent comic work. It would be called Pedro and Me and would be a major success. Judd would be so moved from his experiences with Pedro, who died from complications related to AIDS on November 11, 1994, to create a graphic novel that chronicled the life and inspiration that was Pedro.

In Pedro, Judd found a man who refused to be seen as someone dying from AIDS, but rather someone who persevered and lived with the AIDS virus.

The second was his roommate, Pedro Zamora.

The first would be Pam Ling, who he would fall in love with and marry. It was during his time on the show that he met two people who would play big roles in his life and career. Judd Winick was an aspiring cartoonist when he got his first claim to fame after he was picked to be one of the houseguests on the MTV reality show 'Real World: San Francisco'.

Outsiders, Vol. 1 by Judd Winick