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PFIQ is the acronym and common name for a publication known as Piercing Fans International Quarterly, which was published by Jim Ward from 1977 to 1997. Ward pioneered the field of body piercing and operated The Gauntlet, which was the first commercial establishment to offer the service in the United States.
The first 14 issues of PFIQ were in black and white with single-color highlights in a few issues. From issue 15 on, the covers and some interior illustrations were in full color. The first issue was 16 pages long; by issue 31, PFIQ had grown to 32 pages. All issues were 8½×11" in size.
PFIQ did not explicitly date its issues, though most of them included a copyright year. However, every issue was independently numbered. In spite of calling itself a quarterly, the publication was chronically late and the average number of issues per year, over the lifetime of PFIQ, was about 3.
Some early issues were reprinted in the 1980s; the reprints are hard to distinguish from the originals, but information is available on the web describing the differences.
PFIQ contained a wide variety of material, mostly about about body piercing, but also about other forms of body art and body modification. A long series of articles by Jim Ward, "Pierce with the Pros," gave detailed information on how to perform many different piercings; these articles were later gathered into a separate booklet of the same title.
Other material included interviews, accounts of piercings, letters from readers, book and video reviews, photographs, artwork, and fiction. PFIQ also contained advertising from a few businesses in closely related fields. Eventually a related publication, Pin Pals, was created for the express purpose of allowing people with body piercings to meet each other through personal ads.
PFIQ was a controversial publication, due to its graphic portrayal of nudity and the piercing process. In some countries it was considered obscene, and confiscated by postal customs officials. It ceased publication in 1997 when Jim Ward sold Gauntlet. (Gauntlet failed under its new owner and closed in 1998.)
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