A Tribute to Peter David

 

Peter David, who passed away this week, famously called himself “writer of stuff”. He was a legendary comic book writer, known for his famous 12-year run writing the “Incredible Hulk” comic book series. He also famously created Linda Danvers, his take on “Supergirl” and “Spider-Man 2099”, which is an alternative universe “Spider-Man” in the future. “Spider-Man 2099” would have a re-introduction to a new generation of fans in the “SpiderVerse” series of movies. David also wrote many novels and screenplays including “Knightlife” where King Arthur and Merlin the Magician time travel to New York City and King Arthur decide to run for mayor. He wrote dozens of other novels and screenplays, a famous column for the Comic Buyers Guide, co-created the 90s Nickelodeon show “Space Cases” with Billy Mumy and was one of the first bloggers.

David was an author many would have nostalgia for. I have a “Star Trek” novel signed by him when I met him at ICON, a comic book convention in New York. In the book, he signed it to me and drew the “Star Trek” logo over his signature. I remember handing him the book I got for free because it was discarded from the local library, and him going “great” when he saw the discarded copy. However, he signed everyone’s stuff for free, a rarity at comic cons.

He was great at giving new edges to existing comic book characters, like “The Incredible Hulk” or “Supergirl”. One of his “Incredible Hulk” issues had one of the most famous covers of any Marvel Comic, with Wolverine yelling and a reflection of the Hulk seen through his metal blade claws. One of my favorite things David wrote was his “Supergirl” series which gave Supergirl an edge in Linda Danvers, a new version of the character. A fusion of two people, a troubled teenager and the original Supergirl, she starts to fight crime going back and forth between the two forms. There was something great about reading this more angsty Supergirl, instead of the more clean-cut versions we have gotten in the past of her.  David, often at comic book conventions, would tell the audience that he felt his version of “Supergirl” was way too short lived, and if it had continued, he would have loved to see her team up with other female superheroes, in a “Birds of Prey” kind of crime fighting team.

“Spider-Man 2099” was similar in some ways to his new version of “Supergirl”, in the fact it was a new version of an existing comic book character. Taking place in 2099, this futuristic version of Spider-Man was an Irish Mexican geneticist living in Neuva York (a futuristic New York City), who re-writes his DNA code to become the new Spider Man. Reading these comics are cool, with the flying cars, and different types of beings, including aliens and hologram people. Reading “Spider-Man 2099” felt like a more adult version of “The Jetsons”, which was cool, with flying cars and buildings in the sky. Seeing a Spiderman in this futuristic type of environment was a blast to read. “Spiderman 2099” #1 was also the highest selling comic book issue David ever wrote.

David had a great sense of humor in his novels “Knight Life” and its squeals, poking fun at New York politics and New York City while keeping the supernatural theme going with his fun time travel plot. David would travel more into the world of books outside of comics, by infusing comics and books into one. He wrote the graphic novel adaption of Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series, and the novelizations of the “Spide-Man” and “Batman” movies.

A whole generation of comic book readers and anyone who picked up a paperback “Star Trek” novel owe a great debt to Peter David.  He was one of the best comic book writers around.