We lost another giant: Peter David has sadly passed away, and personally this hurts a lot.
He’s always been one of my absolute favorite writers, probably my favorite comics writer when considering his entire work.
His style has always been my guiding light in how to perfectly mix comedy and tragedy, serious issues and nerdy stuff, and has always inspired me to inject a little humor in life.
For a few years before he suffered a stroke in 2012, the first thing I did every morning was checking if he had posted anything on his blog.
I can’t possibly give justice to PAD’s crazy life better than he already did in his autobiography titled, and I’m being serious here, Mr. Sulu Grabbed My Ass, and Other Highlights from a Life in Comics, Novels, Television, Films and Video Games.
You should really read that autobiography to realize just how important Peter David was to comics, books and TV shows, and with personal connections that you wouldn’t expect.
Harlan Ellison was the best man at his wedding, he co-wrote James Doohan’s autobiography, he was close friends with basically anyone who has ever touched Star Trek, and was once Will Smith’s bodyguard.
You really have to read the autobiography to understand the latter.
So to commemorate an incredible career of writing basically everything under the sun, I’ll just limit myself to rank his major runs.
Not by quality, because I think they’re all excellent, but by how much they have impacted me personally.
I’m not being kind just because of his death. While the ones I’m ranking lower did not resonate with me as much as the others, I’m being 100% serious: I have never encountered a Peter David story that I considered badly written.
And I’m limiting myself to his comics because his complete bibliography is immense.
11) SUPERGIRL (1996-2003)
As previously mentioned, this is the only Peter David series that left me cold.
Supergirl herself wasn’t the problem, in fact he gave her a much-needed personality and a secret identity. But I didn’t find the exploration of religious themes to be particularly interesting, and some of the long-running mysteries didn’t resonate with me.
Having said that, the character work is stellar considering he was literally handed a blank slate.
10) AQUAMAN (1994-1998)
To say that Aquaman was stuck as “the loser from Superfriends” before Peter David came along would be an oversimplification… but not entirely inappropriate.
At first glance it could come across as a bit too “90s edgy” to be for everyone, but you can’t deny PAD reminded everyone that Aquaman is, in fact, truly badass.
I haven’t read a ton of his Aquaman, and I know his take is controversial among fans of the more classic version… but the Peter David Aquaman is the only one I ever cared about anyway.
9) SHE-HULK (2007-2009)
Following Dan Slott’s genre-defying run penalized the book, especially since I guess most readers were expecting Peter David to continue the book’s light-hearted tone… after all, mixing humor has always been Peter David’s strength.
Surprisingly enough, however, he went with a more serious tone than usual. Still an incredibly solid run, but had an uphill battle for standing out.
8) FRIENDLY NEIGHTBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN (2005–2007)
Seeing Peter David on Spider-Man was already a delight. What was even better? The only book that dared to explore the consequences of Peter Parker revealing his secret identity during Civil War.
Painfully cut short by the One More Day disaster, but he still managed to sneak in a neat little run.
7) X-FACTOR (1990-1993)
I’m not a huge X-Men fan, so the fact that this might be the least X-Men book of the 90s is a plus for me. But of course what REALLY sold this book was Peter David’s masterful characterization.
While I’m not so hot on his Havok, his Quicksilver and his Polaris are probably the best the characters have ever been written, his Rahne is incredibly complex (although I still have trouble reading some of her dialogue), Strong Guy is as charismatic as the Thing… this is a cast so tight that you truly feel they’re friends.
6) SPIDER-MAN 2099 (1993-1996)
The only reason this is not my favorite 2099 book is that Doom 2099 exists.
And considering that I hold Doom 2099 in absurdly high regard… seriously, I love it so much that an eventual retrospective is guaranteed at some point… the fact that Spider-Man 2099 is a close contender should tell you everything.
He makes Miguel O’Hara distinct enough from Peter Parker, sure, but the trick was making Miguel both an unlikeable person AND a character you love to follow. Needless to say Peter David succeeds, in what is easily the 2099 series that sells you this world as a place that could exist.
I still haven’t read his second run, since I was too burned out on Spider-Man in general because of One More Day. I definitely need to get up to speed with that.
Also, this series has one of the funniest Doom moments ever.
5) X-FACTOR (2005-2013)
Yes, it’s probably a controversial opinion but I do believe that Peter David’s second run is even better than the first.
His Madrox is just incredible, he even manages to give dignity to Shatterstar, and Layla Miller is just endlessly entertaining. I would probably love this book more if I followed the X-Men titles more.
4) YOUNG JUSTICE (1998-2003)
This run needs more recognition. It’s the curse of being stuck between the more famous Teen Titans and sharing the name with an animated version that has little to do with it.
But this is an amazing run: the characters have incredible chemistry, incredible evolution, and they remain distinctly teenagers despite their personal growth.
Peter David’s Robin is one of the greats, his Secret is one of the best teenage heroes ever written…
…and he remains the only other person besides Mark Waid capable of writing Impulse without making him too annoying.
Plus this book is really, REALLY funny, even more than the typical Peter David series.
3) CAPTAIN MARVEL (1999-2004)
Peter David already made me a superfan of Rick Jones with the other series you expected to see on the podium. So how could I possibly not love a series where Rick is a co-protagonist AND is set in the cosmic side of Marvel, which is one of my favorite corners of that universe?
Well, the fact that co-protagonist Genis is as interesting as Rick Jones. Plus the second series goes much deeper than you’d expect.
His team-up with the Punisher is just incredibly chilling.
2) HULK (1987-1998)
Peter David’s magnum opus, a legendary run that redefined the Hulk. I can’t possibly praise this run enough: it has everything.
It has drama, it has humor, it has action, it has an incredibly synergy with the artists, and it’s both complex but self-contained with how it can be subdivided into several distinct eras.
The absolute masterpiece of “Ground Zero”, the Joe Fixit era, the Professor Hulk era, the Pantheon era… entire volumes wouldn’t be enough to explore everything Peter David accomplished.
And that’s not even considering the gut-wrenching Future Imperfect miniseries!!!
In terms of legacy, the Incredible Hulk run will probably remain Peter David’s greatest achievement.
But on a personal level, there’s a run that hit me more.
1) SPIDER-MAN (1985-1987)
This is where I first discovered Peter David, and it was also his break into comics. While it’s not a particularly long run, and it’s spread across multiple series… David’s mixture of humor and drama is a perfect match for Spider-Man.
His most influential work is probably the soul-crushing “Death of Jean DeWolff” storyline, which still hits like it did at the time.
Peter David jumped around a couple of Spider-Man books, and at this point I probably shouldn’t tell you that every book had amazing character work and could be really, really funny.
This period also includes my favorite Spider-Man story, specifically Web of Spider-Man #13.
I strongly urge you to consider donating something to Peter David’s GoFundMe to help his family cover the medical debt they are struggling with.
As much as this is a tragic loss for comics… I think it would be in the best Peter David spirit to acknowledge the sadness and still manage to get a laugh.
He certainly left behind a treasure trove of series and novels. His Young Justice was wonderful, he made Aquaman worth reading, and I enjoyed the oddly religious angles of his Supergirl. He continued writing Supergirl as Fallen Angel for IDW, before bringing the character back to DC.
It doesn’t seem right that a creator who accomplished so much should be left with medical debt at the end of his life.
Peter David was certainly responsible for more than his share of classic comics. While the Hulk is undeniably his magnum opus, as you so eloquently stated, my personal favorite is the series that left you cold: Supergirl.
As a fan of Kara Zor-El, I was always annoyed that her successor was little more than a protoplasmic boy toy for Lex Luthor. However, David managed to turn Matrix into a character worth caring about and his take on Linda Danvers, Leesburg, Comet and other elements of the Pre-Crisis Supergirl were equally inspired. I even enjoyed his unique take on religion.
All told, the 80 issues of PAD’s Supergirl told a complete story that ended with a true gut punch, something rare in Big Two Comics.
May he rest in peace.
I figured I would mention this in a comment on a regular column. Kudos for dedicating a column to Peter David, whose works I enjoyed very much as well. He could go from hilarious to melancholy in the same story without either seeming out of place.
Thanks for including the panels of the best-written Quicksilver segment ever since the character was created sixty years ago (though it would have been nice to have the panel with the completed snail puzzle as well). That was an absolute masterpiece.
I disagree that he “reminded everyone that Aquaman is badass”. He MADE Aquaman badass. And I would disagree with starting his tenure on Aquaman with 1994, I’d say it really started in 1990, when he wrote the amazing Atlantis Chronicles, and continued through Aquaman: Time and Tide, which started in 1993, straight into the ongoing series. I really wish we could have seen the 50th issue story that he was working toward when he got cut off by DC.
I liked the religious/philosophical elements of Supergirl, but I can see how those aren’t necessarily for everyone. And Young Justice is my favorite. “Sins of Youth” was possibly the best-thought-out “fifth week event” DC ever did. I’ll cap off this post with a link to my review (from the same baseball site I linked to for the Star Boy story in my post re: Legion # 37) of his baseball story from Young Justice # 27-28, which contains some great examples of his humor:
https://www.royalsreview.com/f/2020/5/26/21237404/kellers-comics-corner-brooklyn-baseball-on-planet-myrg
RIP, PAD.
Great article. I was also saddened to hear of Peter David’s passing, I’ve read a lot of his comics but he also made an impression on me trough his Star Trek Novels. I’ve read Imzadi twice and both times left me in tears. And his New Frontier series is my favorite Star Trek book series ever. I was so happy they included a Brikar, a species he created in his novels, in Star Trek Prodigy. His Sir Apropos of Nothing novels are also good and hilarious… Rest in Peace.