Peter David

Peter Allen David (September 23, 1956 – May 24, 2025), often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.

David's Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.

David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.

One of the most prolific and influential comic book writers of the modern era, David earned several awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award, and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Peter David was born September 23, 1956, in Fort Meade, Maryland, to Gunter and Dalia David (née Rojansky), an Israeli Jewish mother who had worked with DNA mappers James Watson and Francis Crick, and to whom David credited his sense of humor. Peter David's paternal grandparents, Martin and Hela David, and his father, Gunter, emigrated to the United States in the 1930s after antisemitism in Nazi Germany progressed to the point that Martin's Berlin shoe store became the target of vandalism. He had two siblings, a brother Wally, seven years his junior, who works as an IT Systems Administrator in the financial sector, and a younger sister named Beth.

David first became interested in comics when he was about five years old, reading copies of Harvey Comics' Casper and Wendy in a barbershop. He became interested in superheroes through the Adventures of Superman TV series. Although David's parents approved of his reading Harvey Comics and comics featuring Disney characters, they did not approve of superhero books, especially those published by Marvel Comics, feeling that characters that looked like monsters, such as the Thing or the Hulk, or who wore bug-eyed costumes, like Spider-Man, did not appear heroic. As a result, David read those comics in secret, beginning with his first Marvel book, Fantastic Four Annual #3 (November 1965), which saw the wedding of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. His parents eventually allowed him to start reading superhero titles, his favorite of which was Superman. He cited John Buscema as his favorite pre-1970s artist. David attended his first comic book convention around the time that Jack Kirby's New Gods premiered, after asking his father to take him to one of Phil Seuling's shows in New York, where David obtained Kirby's autograph, his first encounter with a comics professional.

David's earliest interest in writing came through the journalism work of his father, Gunter, who sometimes reviewed movies and took young Peter along (if it was age-appropriate). While Gunter wrote his reviews back at the newspaper's office, David wrote his own, portions of which sometimes found their way into Gunter's published reviews. David began to entertain the notion of becoming a professional writer at age twelve, buying a copy of The Guide to the Writer's Market, and subscribing to similar-themed magazines, in the hopes of becoming a reporter.

David lived in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in a small house at 11 Albert Terrace, and attended Demarest Elementary School. His family later moved to Verona, New Jersey, where he spent his adolescence. By the time he entered his teens, he had lost interest in comic books, feeling he had outgrown them. David's best friend in junior high and first year in high school, Keith, was gay, and David described how both of them were targets of ostracism and harassment from homophobes. Although his family eventually moved to Pennsylvania, his experiences in Verona soured him on that town and shaped his liberal sociopolitical positions regarding LGBT issues. He later made Verona the home location of villain Morgan le Fay in his novel Knight Life, and often discussed his progressive views on LGBT issues in his column and on his blog.