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Sunday, June 1, 2025

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3757 - Peter David RIP - Comic Book Sunday for 2506.01


A Sense of Doubt blog post #3757 - Peter David RIP - Comic Book Sunday for 2506.01

This kind of thing is going to happen a lot more to me in this decade of my life.

I will look at social media and see that another person I admired greatly, a fantastic writer, a super cool human has died.

I met Peter David when he worked in Direct Sales at Marvel when I was there doing my college internship.

He was super nice to me, and we had several nerdy conversations about Spider-Man, Star Trek, and other things. I think he joined me and some of the bullpen guys once for lunch, though it's difficult to remember.

I avidly followed his career there after.

What a great writer!

I did not know of his health problems and the GO Fund Me that he created to try to pay for the medical bills.

Rest in Peace, Mr. David.

Thanks for tuning in.


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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/31/arts/peter-david-dead.html

Peter David, Comic Book Writer Who Repopularized the Hulk, Dies at 68

His long run with that venerable character was the highlight of a career that also encompassed Spider-Man, Aquaman and best-selling “Star Trek” novels.


A black-and-white photo of Peter David, a heavyset bald man with a white goatee and tinted glasses. He is seated at a table and wearing a black T-shirt with a design on it.
Peter David at New York Comic Con in 2015. His father, he said, once warned him, “Your hobbies are nice, but you can’t make a living out of science fiction and comic books” — which was exactly what he did.Credit...Steven A. Henry/WireImage, via Getty Images

By Gavin Edwards

May 31, 2025

Peter David, who wrote millions of words of science fiction, fantasy and comic-book adventures, becoming a favorite of fans by making it clear that his enthusiasm for genre fiction matched or exceeded theirs, died on May 24 in Patchogue, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 68.

His wife, Kathleen, said the cause was a stroke.

Known for his puckish sense of humor and for elaborate plotlines that sometimes spanned decades, Mr. David wrote scripts for the television series “Babylon 5,” highly opinionated columns for the magazine Comics Buyer’s Guide, and dozens of “Star Trek” novels. But it was with his 11-year run, from 1987 to 1998, on the Marvel title The Incredible Hulk, which began as a collaboration with the rising artist Todd McFarlane, that Mr. David left his imprint on the industry.

The green-skinned Hulk, the muscular and rage-filled alter ego of the scientist Bruce Banner, had once been a flagship character for Marvel, even starring in a network TV series from 1978 to 1982. But sales of his comic had declined precipitously after the show ended, and the monosyllabic character was seen as marginal.

By emphasizing the Hulk’s menace and delving into the traumatic childhood that gave rise to the character’s split personality, he helped turn the series from a basement dweller into a hit.


Valentine De Landro, an artist who drew a dozen issues of Marvel’s X-Factor (an X-Men spinoff title) written by Mr. David in 2008 and 2009, praised him as a generous partner and pointed to the afterlife of his work. “Story lines that he helped build and concepts for characters that he developed from almost 50 years ago are currently being referenced and leveraged,” Mr. De Landro said in an email.

Mr. David’s path to comic book writing was not straightforward. He spent four years trapped on Marvel’s business side before he broke through to editorial, and it would be another two years before he could afford to write full time. As he recalled in his memoir, “Mr. Sulu Grabbed My Ass, and Other Highlights From a Life in Comics, Novels, Television, Films and Video Games” (2020), his father had warned him, “Your hobbies are nice, but you can’t make a living out of science fiction and comic books.”

But, Mr. David pointed out, that was “exactly what I did.”


A book cover, with the title in black and white letters on a red background and a small photo of Mr. David inside a circle above the title.
Mr. David recalled his unusual career in a memoir he published in 2020.Credit...McFarland

Peter Allen David was born on Sept. 23, 1956, in Fort Meade, Md., the eldest of three children. His father, Gunter, born in Berlin, fled with his family when Hitler came to power and was raised in Palestine. After moving to the United States, he made his living as a newspaper reporter for a variety of publications, including The Baltimore Sun, The Philadelphia Daily News and The New York Times. Peter’s mother, Dalia (Rojansky) David, studied mathematics at Barnard College and worked with James Watson and Francis Crick on their DNA research but left that job when she married.

After graduating from New York University with a journalism degree, Mr. David couldn’t find a reporting job in or near New York City and instead worked in book publishing before landing a position at Marvel Comics as the assistant direct sales manager in 1981 (he was later promoted to direct sales manager).


Working in comics sales just as the industry was transitioning from newsstand distribution to dedicated comic shops, he oversaw practical issues like helping shop owners buy cash registers. On the side, he wrote novels, including one that placed King Arthur in the modern world.

Wearing a purple T-shirt, he sits at a table in front of a microphone with his hands folded under his chin.
Mr. David at Comic-Con in San Diego in 2012.Credit...Eric Charbonneau/WireImage, via Getty Images


He wouldn’t breach Marvel’s wall between business and editorial until Jim Owsley (later known as Christopher Priest), an assistant editor with whom he had developed a rapport, rose to editor of the Spider-Man titles and hired him in 1985 to write scripts.

Mr. David demonstrated a light touch: He set one story, “The Commuter Cometh,” in Scarsdale, N.Y., where Spider-Man found himself stymied by the suburbs, uncertain of how to get across town without a skyscraper to swing from.

“Peter was super-talented and very good right from the start,” Jim Shooter, a former editor in chief of Marvel Comics, said in a 2024 interview.

Not everyone appreciated him or his work, however. After two years, he was fired from the writing job, although not from his sales position; Mr. David blamed editors at Marvel who resented his crossing the line between business and editorial.


Another editor, Bob Harras, soon approached Mr. David about The Incredible Hulk, a project nobody else wanted. Believing that dialogue was his strength and uncertain that he could sustain a character with such a limited vocabulary, Mr. David agreed to a six-month trial period, which began in 1987. He stayed on the title for the next 11 years, and during that time he quit his sales job and finally became a full-time writer.


A book cover focused on a stylized drawing of an angry, larger-than-life Hulk, below the words “The Incredible Hulk” (written in letters that resemble stone) and “By Peter David.”
The Incredible Hulk had once been a flagship character for Marvel Comics, but sales of his comic had declined precipitously by the time Mr. David took over the writing in 1987. He helped turn the series back into a hit.Credit...Marvel; cover art by Steve Geiger

In one notable story line, the Hulk took on the name “Joe Fixit” and worked a security job at a Las Vegas casino; in another, a psychiatrist integrated the personalities of the Hulk and Bruce Banner into a single persona nicknamed “Professor Hulk.”

Alongside his work on the Hulk, he scripted numerous other titles for various publishers, including notable runs on Captain Marvel, Supergirl, Young Justice and Spider-Man 2099. His work on DC’s underwater superhero Aquaman in the 1990s re-envisioned him as a more hardened character, with a harpoon replacing a hand that had been consumed by piranhas. Mr. David’s version informed the 2018 and 2023 films starring Jason Momoa as Aquaman.

He also continued to write novels — more than 100 of them altogether. He specialized in the “Star Trek” universe and created, with the editor John J. Ordover, a spinoff series, “New Frontier,” for which he wrote 21 books between 1997 and 2015, a number of them New York Times best sellers. His most popular “Star Trek” novel was “Imzadi,” a 1993 romance starring the characters William Riker and Deanna Troi, who originally appeared on the TV series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987-94).


A book cover with the words “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Imzadi” against a purple background above an illustration of three “Star Trek” characters.
The most popular of Mr. David’s many “Star Trek” novels was “Imzadi,” a 1993 romance starring characters from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”Credit...Star Trek


Mr. David wrote a weekly opinion column on the state of the comic book industry for Comics Buyer’s Guide from 1990 until it folded in 2013. He sometimes feuded with other creators in his column and criticized the publishers for whom he worked. In his memoir, he conceded, “My employers were incredibly good sports about it.”

Mr. David met his first wife, Myra Kasman, at a “Star Trek” convention; they had three daughters before divorcing. He met his second wife, Kathleen O’Shea, a puppeteer, at the Atlanta Fantasy Fair; they had one daughter together. In addition to his wife, he is survived by four daughters, Shana David-Massett, Gwen Mayhew, Ariel David and Caroline David; three grandchildren; his brother, Wally David; and his sister, Beth Goodwin.

Mr. David, a gregarious soul who was befriended by movie stars and celebrities in the science-fiction realm, fondly remembered in his memoir the night he was watching the original “Star Wars” movie on television and its protagonist, Mark Hamill, called. A budding comic book writer himself, Mr. Hamill wanted to know: Could Mr. David write the introduction to a collection of his work?

“Uh, hey, Mark,” Mr. David said. “I’m watching you about to blow up the Death Star.”

“I can call back,” Mr. Hamill replied.

“No, that’s OK,” Mr. David told him. “I’ve seen this movie before. I know how it ends.”































































Peter David by Bill Sienkiewicz. #comics #art #RIP

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— Josh Crews (@joshcrewsreally.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 6:29 PM


PETER DAVID: An Appreciation 13thdimension.com/peter-david-... @13thd.bsky.social @scotttipton.bsky.social

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— Alex Segura (@alexsegura.bsky.social) May 29, 2025 at 5:59 AM


My piece on the late, great Peter David, only on @slashfilm.bsky.social: www.slashfilm.com/1871138/star...

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— Witney Seibold (@witneyseibold.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 7:36 PM


FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1. "LEAH". Written by Peter David. Art by me with colors by Jose Villarubia. Letters by Todd Klein. Dedicated to the memory of Leah Adezio. mediachomp.com/spider-man-c...

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— Colleen Doran (@colleendoran.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 11:12 AM


Gema de gemas. El mítico manga de Peter David y James Fry que es una inolvidable parodia a Chris Claremont y Lone Wolf and Cub. Página 1:

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— Lucas Ferrero (@lucasferrero83.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 5:38 PM


Peter David (1956-2025) locusmag.com/2025/05...

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— Locus Magazine (@locusmag.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:52 PM


RIP Peter David.

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— Stuart Gipp (@stuartgipp.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 10:58 AM


Discovered another photo of one of an early fan encounter I had with Peter David back in 2007 🥲

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— Taimur Dar (@taimurdar.bsky.social) May 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM


Last night, I found out that comics legend Peter David had passed. We only met a few times, I didn't know him well, but I always felt a kinship with him because of the way he wrote comics, what he felt was important. He wrote his superheroes as people. It meant a lot. Rest in peace, Peter.

— Gail Simone (@gailsimone.bsky.social) May 26, 2025 at 6:55 AM


ONE OF THE BEST OF ALL TIME! INCREDIBLE HULK -1 Written by Peter David. Pencils by @adamkubert.bsky.social Inks by Mark Farmer. Colors by @danbrowncomics.bsky.social Letters by John Workman. Edited by Bobbie Chase. One of my favorites ever. We lost Peter this week. Rest in peace Peter and thank you.

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— Nick Lowe (@nicklowe.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 7:24 AM


Peter David…

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— Yildiray Cinar (@yildiraycinar.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 11:58 AM


George Perez and Peter David at Dragoncon 2009 photos by Patcave www.flickr.com/photos/patca...

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— George Perez Website (@thegeorgeperez.com) May 26, 2025 at 12:10 AM


Star Trek Annual #3 DC, 1988 By Peter David, Curt Swan, & Ricardo Villagrán. Cover by Gray Morrow.

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— Grand Comics Database (@grandcomicsdb.bsky.social) May 31, 2025 at 9:42 AM


RIP Peter David. This thread right here.

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— Tom Peyer (@tompeyer.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 11:58 AM


It's The Muppet Show with our very special guest star Peter David!

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— Fake Muppet Show Guests (@fakemuppetguests.bsky.social) May 26, 2025 at 11:04 AM


Another great gone. Goodbye Peter. You were a true friend. One of the first writers in comics to truly support my art. Much love to you and your family. Hope to see you on the other side.

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— Colleen Doran (@colleendoran.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 12:29 PM


I can remember myself reading Hulk by Peter David & Gary Frank 30 years ago, laughing in some panel, emotionally impacted in next one, and thinking in words “I definitely wanna work in superhero comics for living”. Today, Peter David’s comics remains as one of my biggest guides. Thank you forever.

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— Bruno Redondo (@brunoredondo.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 11:29 AM


RIP Peter David. I'm probably not a comic book writer today without reading Peter David's X-Factor #87 when I was younger. It opened my eyes to superheroes in ways I hadn't really considered until that moment. Though I didn't know him, he left such a mark on my life and I'll always be grateful.

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— Kelly Thompson (@kellythompson.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 1:56 PM


RIP Peter David. I devoured his Star Trek books as a teenager, from "Imzadi" to "Q-Squared" to "The Siege." They have a warm place on my shelves still and always will.

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— Tolarian Community College (@tolariancommunitycollege.com) May 25, 2025 at 8:29 PM


Didn’t really know Peter David all that well— only met him a few times— but I sure knew his work RIP

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— Frank Tieri (@franktieri.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 1:57 PM


Re-sharing this photo of Peter David that I took when I was living in MN. At the time, I did not know that Peter David hired George Perez to design the original Space Cases' costumes for Nickelodeon. There is an unaired pilot that exists. Nick decided to change costumes when the pilot aired in '96.

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— George Perez Website (@thegeorgeperez.com) May 27, 2025 at 12:41 AM


So sorry to hear that Peter David has passed away. I didn't know Peter well, but we traveled the same creative roads together for many years and I admired his talent and passion for storytelling. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. aiptcomics.com/2025/05/25/p...

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— J.M. DeMatteis (@jmdematteis.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 12:18 PM


So sorry to hear that Peter David has passed away. I didn't know Peter well, but we traveled the same creative roads together for many years and I admired his talent and passion for storytelling. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. aiptcomics.com/2025/05/25/p...

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— J.M. DeMatteis (@jmdematteis.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 12:18 PM


Newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/tombrevo...

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— Tom Brevoort (@tombrevoort.bsky.social) June 1, 2025 at 9:44 AM







https://13thdimension.com/peter-david-an-appreciation/




By SCOTT TIPTON

Self-described Writer of Stuff Peter David died Saturday evening, after a series of health issues that had been escalating for years. He was only 68.

I’ll leave it to others who knew Peter much better than I to provide a proper and more fitting eulogy; though our paths had frequently crossed over the years at conventions and on panels, I was at best a friendly acquaintance. What I was most, and longest, was a fan. Looking back, I’d have to say I was a fan of David’s writing for just about as long as his work was published, beginning with his earliest work to catch my attention, “The Death of Jean DeWolff” in the pages of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man.

In an uncharacteristically grim storyline for Spidey, David took a relatively minor supporting character from the series, NYPD Lieutenant Jean DeWolff, brutally killed her off, and set Spider-Man on a quest for revenge against her murderer that was both shocking and emotional. David did more to build DeWolff’s character in death than other writers had for years.

Not long after that, he began his most famous work, his astonishing 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, which did more to flesh out and build on the character than anyone besides the Hulk’s creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. With his Hulk run, David retained a respect for the character’s past and history, while not being afraid to take the series in startling new directions, such as the Gray Hulk’s time working as Mr. Fixit, a casino legbreaker in Las Vegas, or the introduction of the Intelligent Hulk, better known as “The Professor,” following Doc Samson’s successful reintegration of Bruce Banner’s splintered psyche.

David’s Hulk run was also notable for its steadily growing supporting cast, including Bruce Banner’s wife Betty Ross, longtime sidekick Rick Jones, Mr. Fixit’s gal Marlo Chandler and the top-secret peacekeeping group the Pantheon, a PAD creation that sadly never caught on with other writers in the years that followed.

For me, the high point of David’s Hulk was his collaboration with George Perez on the miniseries Future Imperfect, which brought a time-travelling Hulk to the future to face the Maestro, his future self supercharged with Gamma radiation and gone mad with power.

In a heartbreaking moment, the Hulk encounters the now-ancient Rick Jones, surrounded by the relics of the Marvel Universe, all slaughtered by the Hulk’s future self. It’s chilling.

With the success of his Hulk stint, David became a much-in-demand writer in comics, with popular and critically acclaimed runs on books like Aquaman, Young Justice, Spider-Man 2099, X-Factor, Star Trek (for which he also wrote novels), Supergirl, Fallen Angel and so many more. David’s influence on the world of comics can most easily be seen in today’s superhero-obsessed media. Do you like Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk? Jason Momoa’s Aquaman? The Young Justice cartoon? Without Peter David, you most likely wouldn’t be seeing any of it.

And his comics work was just the tip of the iceberg. Astoundingly prolific, David wrote dozens and dozens of novels, teleplays for TV series like Babylon 5, Young Justice and Space Cases, screenplays for Full Moon like the cult favorite Oblivion, and of course, his long-running opinion column But I Digress for the Comic Buyer’s Guide.

And to come back around to me again, I learned how to write a comics script thanks to my encounter with David at WonderCon in Oakland when I was a teenager, when he sold me a signed script and I first began to realize that maybe, just maybe, this was something I could do too.

Our thoughts and condolences to Peter David’s family and many, many friends, and our eternal gratitude for all the decades of good work that will be enjoyed by generations to come.

—

MORE

— GEORGE PEREZ: The Secrets of the HULK: FUTURE IMPERFECT Trophy Room. Click here.

— The TOP 13 GEORGE PEREZ Countdown: #10 — FUTURE IMPERFECT. Click here.



https://tombrevoort.substack.com/p/166-writer-of-stuff

#166: Writer of Stuff

Tom Brevoort's avatar
Tom Brevoort
Jun 01, 2025

It feels like old news at this point, but earlier in the week, noted Writer of Stuff Peter David shuffled off this mortal coil after a long and protracted battle with an assortment of health conditions. Peter had been so ill for so long that his passing came as no great surprise, but it was affecting nonetheless. He was a prolific writer, as well as being very overtly a fan as well as an author. It was clear that he loved comics and science fiction and all sorts of media. I’d typically run into him outside of our regular circles at assorted Doctor Who events. He had a strong and focal fan base for his work, some of which was fostered by his long running “But I Digress” column which ran weekly in the Comic Buyer’s Guide for decades. The three collections of material from those columns are still worth seeking out. Peter made his bones as a writer on INCREDIBLE HULK, a series that was seen as being thematically limited when he took it over. He proceeded to turn that series inside out, adding to its lore and propelling the character through a sustained twelve year run. He was also a huge Star Trek fan, with dozens of novels and comics set within its universe to his credit. His work was characterized by always containing a large amount of humor—occasionally to its detriment, as Peter could never resist a pun—but where he was best was in mixing that humor with genuine pathos. He was also very active when it came to causes he believed in, He worked for years with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund on behalf of free speech and the right of writers to say whatever they wanted to communicate. He could also be an enormous pain in the ass, but he had a genuinely good heart, and he was seldom malicious or nasty. I worked with him a number of times over the years, but I can’t really say that I knew him well; my choice more than his. As an editor, I tend to keep most creators somewhat at arm’s length, because it’s inevitable that I’m going to need to deliver bad news to people at some point and that’s not easy to do with people you’re close to. But he was a decent human being, always tried to do good and to be the best that he could, and he took an almost childlike glee in the things that he loved. There comes a point in life when all that you have to look forward to is all the people around you that you’ve known for years dying, until at last it’s your turn. And so I’m firmly in that stage of existence now.


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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2506.01 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3622 days ago & DAD = 276 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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