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Peter David
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Comic book workIn the early 1980s he worked for Marvel Comics in their sales department under Carol Kalish. While there, he submitted a storyline for The Spectacular Spider-Man entitled "The Death of Jean DeWolff". The story was published, illustrated by Rich Buckler, and ran in issues #107-110 of that title. The story focused on the death of the eponymous supporting character in the Spider-Man continuity and the characters' reactions to it. The story was acclaimed, both critically and popularly, and David left his sales job and became the regular writer of The Spectacular Spider-Man for a time. David credits Kalish for influencing him personally and for pushing him into a writing career, writing a moving eulogy to his former boss in "But I Digress" after her sudden death from an aneurysm in 1991.
Soon after his run on The Spectacular Spider-Man, he began a lengthy run writing The Incredible Hulk, reviving interest in the flagging title and receiving a great deal of critical praise for his efforts. Many fans consider David's work on The Hulk to be the definitive interpretation of the character. David's recurring themes of Bruce Banner's struggle to deal with the childhood abuse he suffered by his father (a theme first introduced by writer Bill Mantlo), his periodic changes between the more rageful and less intelligent Green Hulk and the more streetwise, cerebral Gray Hulk, and of being a journeyman hero (trying to find a new home after leaving The Avengers) gave The Hulk what many felt was much more emotional depth than had been seen before. The parental abuse aspect of the character's origin was again seen in the 2003 feature film adaptation by screenwriter Michael France and director Ang Lee.
David’s other Marvel Comics work during this time frame includes runs on Wolverine, the New Universe series Merc and Justice, a run on the original X-Factor, the futuristic series Spider-Man 2099, about a man in the year 2099 who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man (the title character of which David co-created), and the 2000 and 2002 versions of Captain Marvel.
At DC Comics in 1990, David wrote a 7-issue Aquaman miniseries, The Atlantis Chronicles, about the history of Aquaman's home of Atlantis, which David has referred to as among the written works of which he is most proud. He would later write a 1996 Aquaman miniseries subtitled Time and Tide, which would lead to a relaunched monthly Aquaman series, the first 46 issues of which he would write from 1994–1998. His run on Aquaman gained notoriety, for in the book's second issue, Aquaman lost a hand, which was then replaced with a hooked spear, a feature of the character that endured for the duration of David's run on the book. He also wrote the Star Trek comic book for DC from 1988–1991, when that company held the licensing rights to the property. David's run on that title was also a fan favorite, again highlighting his use of humor, stories with strong ties to Trek's existing continuity. David also enjoyed considerable runs on Supergirl and Young Justice, the latter eventually being cancelled so that DC could use that book's characters in a relaunched Teen Titans monthly that would coincide with the debut of a new animated television series based on that team.
David's work for Dark Horse Comics has included the teen spy adventure, SpyBoy.
He also wrote a 1997 miniseries, Heroes Reborn: The Return, for Marvel Comics.
Other comics series David has worked on include his creator-owned Soulsearchers and Company, which is published by Claypool Comics, and the Epic Comics title Sachs and Violens, with art by George Pérez, which is also creator-owned. David also took over Dreadstar during its First Comics run after Jim Starlin left the title.
David and his second wife Kathleen also wrote the final English-language text for the first four volumes of the manga series Negima for Del Rey Manga.
In 2003, David began writing his newest creator-owned comic, Fallen Angel, for DC Comics. DC cancelled the title after 20 issues, but David re-started the title at IDW Publishing at the end of 2005. Other IDW work included a one-shot and the Spike vs. Dracula mini-series, both based on the character from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel television shows.
In 2005, David briefly returned to Incredible Hulk, though he left after only several issues because of his workload. He also started a new series, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, beginning with a 12-part crossover storyline called "", which, along with J. Michael Straczynski's run on Amazing Spider-Man, and Reginald Hudlin's run on Marvel Knights Spider-Man, depicted the webslinger as he discovered he was dying, lost an eye during a traumatic fight with Morlun, underwent a metamorphosis and emerged with new abilities, and new insights into his powers. As tends to be the case when fundamental changes are introduced to long-standing classic comics characters, the storyline caused some controversy among readers for its introduction of retractable stingers in Spider-Man's arms, and the establishment of a "totem" from which his powers are derived. David's final issue of that title will be #23.
David also wrote a MadroX miniseries that year, whose success led to a relaunch of a monthly X-Factor by David. This was a revamped version of the title starring both Madrox and other members of the former X-Factor title that David had written in the early 90's, now working as investigators in a detective agency of that name.
On February 11, 2006, David announced at the WonderCon convention in California in that he had signed an exclusive contract with Marvel Comics. Fallen Angel, Soulsearchers and Company and David's Spike miniseries were "grandfathered" into the contract, so as to not be affected by it. The first new project undertaken by David after entering into the contract, which he announced on April 5, 2006, was writing the dialogue , the comic book spinoff of Stephen King's The Dark Tower novels, which would be illustrated by Jae Lee.
David took over Marvel's She-Hulk after writer Dan Slott's departure, beginning with issue #22.
NovelsDavid has written dozens of novels, many of which have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. His Star Trek novels are among those for which he is best known, including Q-in-Law, I, Q, Vendetta, Q-Squared, and Imzadi, one of the best-selling Star Trek novels of all time. He created the ongoing novel series, , a spin-off from , with John J. Ordover in 1997. He has also written five Babylon 5 novels, three of which were originals, two of which were adaptations of the tv movies Thirdspace and .
His other novel adaptations include those of the movies The Return of Swamp Thing, The Rocketeer, Batman Forever, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2,Spider-Man 3, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and the adaptation of an unused Alien Nation television script, "Body and Soul".
David has also written original fantasy works. His first novel, Howling Mad, is about a wolf that turns into a human being after being bitten by a werewolf. His novel Knight Life, about the reappearance of King Arthur in modern-day New York City, was also one of his earlier novels, and became a trilogy with the sequels One Knight Only, and Fall of Knight. His Sir Apropos of Nothing fantasy trilogy, Sir Apropos of Nothing, The Woad to Wuin and Tong Lashing, features characters and settings completely of David’s own creation, as does his 2007 fantasy novel, Darkness of the Light, which is the first in a new series of novels titled The Hidden Earth.
Other published work- Before David became a professional writer, he was a prolific author of fan fiction, including .
- His opinion column "But I Digress" appears in Comics Buyer's Guide, a monthly comic-book industry newsmagazine.
- David assisted Star Trek actor James Doohan with Doohan's 1996 autobiography, Beam Me Up, Scotty.
- David's instructional book, , was published by Impact Books in June 2006.
- David's short story, "Colors Seen by Candlelight", appeared in Tales of Zorro, the first collection of original Zorro short fiction ever authorized by Zorro Productions, Inc. The anthology, edited by Richard Dean Starr, was published by Moonstone Books in 2008.
Other mediaDavid has written for several television series. He wrote two scripts for Babylon 5 (the second-season stories Soul Mates and There All the Honor Lies), and one (Ruling from the Tomb) for its sequel Crusade. With actor/writer Bill Mumy, he is co-creator of the television series Space Cases, which ran for two seasons on Nickelodeon. He has also written and co-produced several films for Full Moon Entertainment and has made cameo appearances in some of the films as well.
David also had one unpublished script for the fifth season of Babylon 5 called Gut Reactions which he wrote with Bill Mumy.
Public personaOn more than one occasion, editorial problems or corporate pressure to modify or re-script his plotlines have prompted David to leave books, particularly his decision to leave Marvel's X-Factor, due to constantly having to constrain his plots to accommodate crossover events planned around it and other "mutant" titles (such as X-Men, X-Force, etc). When David abruptly left The Incredible Hulk due to editorial pressures, some of the plot points of the character that David established were reversed by later creative teams. While such creative-editorial conflict is a commonplace occurrence in comics, departures of creators whose books are fan favorites, as David’s often are, tend to generate more notoriety and press within the comic community.
Also as such, David's personality and high visibility in the comics profession has led to creative or personal differences with some of his comic peers, in particular several public disagreements with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane through much of the 90s as the comic book company McFarlane's co-founded, Image Comics, came into prominence. This came to a head during a public debate they participated in at Philadelphia's Comicfest convention in November 1993, which was moderated by artist George Pérez. The topic of the debate was McFarlane’s claim that Image was not being treated fairly by the media, and by David’s weekly "But I Digress" column in the Comics Buyer's Guide in particular. The three judges, Maggie Thompson, editor of the Comics Buyer's Guide, William Christensen of Wizard press, and John Danovich of the magazine Hero Illustrated, voted 2-1 in favor of David, with Danovich voting the debate a tie. David has also engaged in public disagreements with The Comics Journal editor Gary Groth, Erik Larsen, John Byrne, Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada, writer/director Kevin Smith, and DC Comics Vice President and Executive Editor Dan DiDio.
In an interview with the Girl-Wonder podcast at Dragon*Con, David stated that his favorite female character of his own creation is Lee, the protagonist of Fallen Angel. He attributed this to the positive reaction he got from female fans for Lee's character.
Awards and nominations- In 2007 Peter David won the Julie Award named after the late Julie Schwartz.
- In 1992 Peter David was nominated for Best Novel in the Prometheus Award.
- David has also won the Haxtur Award, OZCon Award, Comics Buyer's Guide 1995 Fan Awards, Wizard Fan Award Winner 1993, Golden Duck Award for Young Adult Series, UK Comic Art Award, 1993, and Will Eisner Comic Industry Award.
Personal lifeA seminal moment in David's life occurred when he met writer Stephen King at a book signing, and told him that he was an aspiring writer. King signed David's copy of Danse Macabre with the inscription, "Good luck with your writing career.", which David now inscribes himself onto books presented to him by fans who tell him the same thing.
In 1977, David married Myra David, whom he met at a Star Trek convention. Together they had three daughters, Shana, Guinevere and Ariel By 1998, their marriage was over, and they eventually divorced. David began dating Kathleen O'Shea, a puppeteer and writer/editor. After dating for three years, David proposed to O'Shea at the Adventurers Club in Disneyworld on September 3, 2000. They married on May 26, 2001. Their daughter, Caroline Helen David, was born on December 5, 2002, and named after David's late friend and coworker, Carol Kalish.
David is an avid fan of bowling, and a bowler himself, as is his daughter Ariel. He is also a fan of the New York Mets.
Bibliography
- Howling Mad, Ace Books, 1989. ISBN 0-441-34663-4
- The Rocketeer, Bantam, 1991. ISBN 0-553-29322-2
- But I Digress, Krause Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-87341-286-9
- The Best of Marvel 1994 (with Mark Gruenwald), Marvel Comics, 1995. ISBN 0-7851-0071-7
- Soulsearchers & Company: On the Case! (with Richard Howell, Amanda Conner, Jim Mooney), Boffin Books, 1996. ISBN 0-9653109-1-4
- DC vs. Marvel Comics (with Ron Marz, Dan Jurgens, Claudio Castellini), DC Comics, 1996.
- Onslaught: Eye of the Storm, Marvel Comics, 1997. ISBN 0-7851-0283-3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 1 (with LeSean), Dreamwave, 2003. ISBN 0-9732786-8-4
- Fantastic Four, Pocket Star, 2005. ISBN 1-4165-0980-1
- Fallen Angel Volume 1 (with J. K. Woodward), IDW Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-933239-77-8
- Red Sonja vs. Thulsa Doom (with Luke Lieberman and Will Conrad), Dynamite Entertainment, 2006. ISBN 1-933305-96-7
- Untold Tales Of The New Universe (with Tony Bedard, C. B. Cebulski, Tony Lee, Arnold Pander, Fred Van Lente, Jeff Parker, Javier Paludo, Carmine Di Giandomenico, M. D. Bright, and Leonard Kirk), Marvel Comics, 2006. ISBN 0-7851-2185-4
- Writing for Comics with Peter David, Impact Books, 2006. ISBN 1-58180-730-9
- Darkness of the Light, Tor Books, 2007. ISBN 0-765-31173-3
- Tigerheart, Del Rey Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-345-50159-2
Aquaman- Time and Tide (with Kirk Jarvinen), DC Comics (1996), ISBN 1-56389-259-6.
Alien Nation- Body and Soul, Pocket Books, 1993. ISBN 0-671-73601-9
Babylon 5Based on an outline by J. Michael Straczynski:
- Legions of Fire, Book 1 -- The Long Night of Centauri Prime, Del Rey, 1999. ISBN 0-345-42718-1
- Legions of Fire, Book 2 -- Armies of Light and Dark, Del Rey, 2000. ISBN 0-345-42719-X
- Legions of Fire, Book 3 -- Out of the Darkness, Del Rey, 2000. ISBN 0-345-42720-3
Movie Novelizations
Based on a screenplay by J. Michael Straczynski:
- In the Beginning, Del Rey, 1995. ISBN 0-345-48363-4
- Thirdspace, Del Rey, 1998. ISBN 0-345-42454-9
Battlestar Galactica- Sagittarius Is Bleeding, Tor Books, 2006. ISBN 0-7653-1607-2
Batman
Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)- Nothing to Lose, Marvel Entertainment Group, 2003. ISBN 0-7851-1104-2
- Crazy Like a Fox (with Michael Ryan, Paul Azaceta, Chris Sotomayor, and Andy Schmidt), Marvel Comics, 2004. ISBN 0-7851-1340-1
- Odyssey (with Aaron Lopresti), Marvel Comics, 2004. ISBN 0-7851-1530-7
Dinotopia Digest Novels- The Maze, Random House Books, 1998. ISBN 0-679-88264-2
Doctor Who
The Incredible Hulk- Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, Volume 1 (with Todd McFarlane), Marvel Comics, 2005. ISBN 0-7851-1541-2
- Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, Volume 2 (with Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, and Jeff Purves), Marvel Comics, 2005. ISBN 0-7851-1878-0
- Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, Volume 3 (with Jeff Purves, Alex Saviuk, and Keith Pollard), Marvel Comics, 2006. ISBN 0-7851-2095-5
- Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, Volume 4 (with Bob Harras, Jeff Purves, and Dan Reed), Marvel Comics, 2007. ISBN 0-7851-2096-3
- Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, Volume 5 (With Jeff Purves, Dale Keown, Sam Keith, and Angel Medina, Marvel Comics, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7851-2757-4
- Ground Zero, Marvel Comics, 1991. ISBN 0-87135-792-5
- Future Imperfect (with George Pérez), Marvel Comics, 1994. ISBN 0-7851-0029-6
- What Savage Beast, Diane Pub Co, 1995. ISBN 0-7567-5967-6
- Ghost of the Past (with Dale Keown), Marvel Comics, 1997. ISBN 0-7851-0261-2
- Hulk, Del Rey, 2003. ISBN 0-345-45967-9
- Tempest Fugit (with Lee Weeks), Marvel Comics, 2005. ISBN 0-7851-1543-9
- The Incredible Hulk, Del Rey, 2008. ISBN 978-0-345-50699-3
Modern Arthur- Knight Life, Ace Hardcover, 1987. ISBN 0-441-00936-0
- One Knight Only, Ace, 2003. ISBN 0-441-01174-8
- Fall of Knight, Ace Hardcover, 2006. ISBN 0-441-01402-X
PhotonWritten as David Peters:
- For the Glory (1987)
- High Stakes (1987)
- In Search of Mom (1987)
- This Is Your Life, Bhodi Li (1987)
- Exile (1987)
- Skin Deep (1988)
Psi-ManWritten as David Peters:
- Mind-Force Warrior, Diamond/Charter, 1990. ISBN 1-55773-399-6
- Deathscape, Diamond/Charter, 1990. ISBN 1-55773-450-X
- Main Street D.O.A., Diamond/Charter, 1991. ISBN 1-55773-492-5
- The Chaos Kid, Diamond/Charter, 1991. ISBN 0-441-00745-7
- Stalker, Diamond/Charter, 1991. ISBN 1-55773-617-0
- Haven, Diamond/Charter, 1992. ISBN 1-55773-709-6
Sir Apropos of Nothing- Sir Apropos of Nothing, Pocket Books, 2002. ISBN 0-7434-1234-6
- The Woad to Wuin, Pocket Star, 2003. ISBN 0-7434-4832-4
- Tong Lashing, Pocket Star, 2003. ISBN 0-7434-4912-6
Spider-Man- The Amazing Spider-Man: The Death of Jean DeWolff (with Rich Buckler), Marvel Comics, 1991. ISBN 0-87135-704-6
- Spider-Man, Del Rey, 2002. ISBN 0-345-45005-1
- Spider-Man 2, Del Rey, 2004. ISBN 0-345-47054-0
- Spider-man 3, Del Rey, 2007.
- Spider-Man: The Other (with Reginald Hudlin, J. Michael Straczynski, Pat Lee, Mike Wieringo, and Mike Deodato), Marvel Comics, 2006. ISBN 0-7851-2188-9
Spike- Spike (with Scott Tipton and Fernando Goni), IDW Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-60010-030-9
- Spike vs. Dracula (with Joe Corroney and Mike Ratera), IDW Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-60010-012-0
SpyboyWritten with Pop Mhan and Norman Lee.
- Deadly Gourmet Affair, Dark Horse, 1999. ISBN 1-56971-463-0
- Trial and Terror, Dark Horse, 2001. ISBN 1-56971-501-7
- Bet Your Life (and with Carlos Meglia), Dark Horse, 2001. ISBN 1-56971-617-X
- Undercover, Underwear!, Dark Horse, 2002. ISBN 1-56971-664-1
- Spy-School Confidential, Dark Horse, 2002. ISBN 1-56971-834-2
- The M.A.N.G.A. Affair, Dark Horse, 2003. ISBN 1-56971-984-5
- Final Exam (and Dan Jackson), Dark Horse, 2005. ISBN 1-59307-017-9
Star Trek- The Trial of James T. Kirk (with James W. Fry and Gordon Purcell), Titan Books, 2006. ISBN 1-84576-315-7
- Death Before Dishonor (with James W. Fry and Arne Starr), 2006. ISBN 1-84576-154-5
Captain Sulu Adventure
- Cacophony (with George Takei), Simon & Schuster (Trade Division), 1994. ISBN 0-671-85331-7
Captain's Table
- Once Burned, Pocket Books, 1998. ISBN 0-671-02078-1
Deep Space Nine
- The Siege, Pocket Books, 1993.
- Wrath of the Prophets (with Robert Greenberger and Michael Jan Friedman), Pocket Books, 1997. ISBN 0-671-53817-9
Gateways
Starfleet Academy
- Worf's First Adventure, Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-85212-4
- Line of Fire, Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-87085-8
- Starfleet Academy -- Survival, Simon & Schuster, 1994. ISBN 0-671-85214-0
- House of Cards, Pocket Books, 1997. ISBN 0-671-01395-5
- Into the Void, Pocket Books, 1997. ISBN 0-671-01396-3
- The Two Front War, Pocket Books, 1997. ISBN 0-671-01397-1
- End Game, Pocket Books, 1997. ISBN 0-671-01398-X
- Martyr, Pocket Books, 1998. ISBN 0-671-02036-6
- Fire on High, Pocket Books, 1998. ISBN 0-671-02037-4
- Star Trek: New Frontier (collection), Pocket Books, 1998. ISBN 0-671-01978-3
- The Quiet Place, Pocket Books, 1999. ISBN 0-671-02079-X
- Dark Allies, Pocket Books, 1999. ISBN 0-671-02080-3
- Double Time (graphic novel), DC Comics, 2000. ISBN 1-56389-760-1
- Excalibur, Book 1: Requiem, Pocket Books, 2000. ISBN 0-671-04238-6
- Excalibur, Book 2: Renaissance, Pocket Books, 2000. ISBN 0-671-04239-4
- Excalibur, Book 3: Restoration, Pocket Books, 2001. ISBN 0-7434-1064-5
- Being Human, Pocket Books, 2001. ISBN 0-671-04240-8
- Gods Above, Pocket Books, 2003. ISBN 0-7434-1858-1
- Stone and Anvil, Pocket Books, 2004. ISBN 0-7434-9618-3
- After the Fall, Pocket Books, 2004. ISBN 0-7434-9185-8
- Missing in Action, Pocket Books, 2006. ISBN 1-4165-1080-X
The Next Generation
- Strike Zone, Pocket Books, 1989. ISBN 0-671-74647-2
- A Rock and a Hard Place, Pocket Books, 1990. ISBN 0-671-74142-X
- Vendetta, Pocket Books, 1991. ISBN 0-671-74145-4
- Q-In-Law, Pocket Books, 1991. ISBN 0-8359-1105-5
- Imzadi, Pocket Books, 1993. ISBN 0-671-02610-0
- Q-Squared, Pocket Books, 1994. ISBN 0-671-89151-0
- Double Helix -- Double or Nothing, Pocket Books, 1999. ISBN 0-671-03478-2
- Imzadi II: Triangle, Pocket Books, 1999. ISBN 0-671-02538-4
- I, Q (with John de Lancie), Pocket Books, 2000. ISBN 0-671-02444-2
- Imazadi Forever, Pocket Books, 2003. ISBN 0-7434-8510-6
- Before Dishonor, Pocket Books, 2007. ISBN 1-4165-2742-7
The Original Series
- Beam Me Up, Scotty (with James Doohan), 1996. ISBN 0-671-52056-3
- The Rift, Pocket Books, 1991. ISBN 0-671-74796-7
- The Disinherited (with Michael Jan Friedman and Robert Greenberger), Pocket Books, 1992. ISBN 0-671-77958-3
- The Captain's Daughter, Pocket Books, 1995. ISBN 0-671-52047-4
Supergirl- Supergirl (with Gary Frank and Terry Dodson), DC Comics, 1998. ISBN 1-56389-410-6
- Many Happy Returns (written with Ed Benes), DC Comics, 2003. ISBN 1-4012-0085-0
Wolverine
X-Factor- X-Factor Visionaries: Peter David volume 1 (with Larry Stroman), Marvel Comics, 2005. ISBN 0-7851-1872-1
- X-Factor Visionaries: Peter David volume 2 (with Larry Stroman), Marvel Comics, 2007.
- X-Factor #55
- X-Factor #70 - 90
- MadroX: Multiple Choice (with Pablo Raimondi), Marvel Comics, 2005. ISBN 0-7851-1500-5
- X-Factor volume 1: The Longest Night (with Ryan Sook), Marvel Comics, 2006. ISBN 0-7851-1817-9
- X-Factor volume 2: Life and Death Matters (with Ariel Olivetti), Marvel Comics, 2007.
- X-Factor volume 3: Many Lives of Madrox (with Pablo Raimondi), Marvel Comics, 2007.
- X-Factor 1 - ? (2005 - present)
Young Justice- Young Justice #1-55 (With Todd Nauck and Larry Stucker), DC Comics, 1998-2003.
- Young Justice: A League of Their Own (with Todd Nauck), DC Comics, 2000. ISBN 1-84023-197-1.
External links
Interviews
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