Peter David, legendary comic book author, passed away on May 24, 2025, at the age of 68.
David’s Body of Work
David wrote countless novels and comic books, both under his own name and pseudonyms, and in collaboration with other authors. For many superhero movies, David wrote novels to accompany those movies, including for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man film trilogy, Hulk (2003), The Incredible Hulk (2008), and Iron Man(2008). Beyond novelizations of superhero movies, he also wrote countless Star Trek books, novels of his original ideas, short stories, and a column on his website. If you’re interested in reading more of his work, it’s all compiled here.
But perhaps what David is most well-known for was his comic books; he created stories for DC and Marvel, some of which have very recently been adapted into the DC and Marvel Cinematic Universes. For instance, he created Miguel O’Hara, also known as Spider-Man 2099, with Rick Leonardi. That version of Spider-Man became a crucial part of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). David is also well-known for his twelve-year run as a writer for The Incredible Hulk comics.
Unfortunately, David suffered from long-term health issues. Even more unfortunately, David was swimming in medical debt and was rejected for Medicaid. This is according to updates from his wife, Kathleen O’Shea, on the GoFundMe set up to help fund his medical expenses.
The Irony of David’s Medical Expenses
Following his death, fans have taken to social media to point out the irony: Peter David, creator of countless characters and stories—many of which generated huge profits for the companies he created them for—had medical expenses so high that his family and friends had to start a GoFundMe to cover them.
One X user posted a GIF of Woody Harrelson using hundred-dollar bills as tissues and wrote, “Marvel when they post their Peter David tribute (He had to use GoFundMe to pay his medical bills while they made millions off his characters).”
Another X poster, after summing up the story about David’s medical expenses, wrote, “And none of the big two went their way to help him despite all the work he did,” referring here to Marvel and DC.
Though large companies, like Marvel and DC, profit off of David’s work, he most likely never saw most of that money. The mainstream comic book industry typically employs “work-for-hire” contracts; the “third party” (here, the comic book company) owns the work created by the creator, rather than the creator owning their own work. In creating work under this type of contract, the creator earns their pay at a flat rate, but cannot benefit from the royalties or future use of that Intellectual Property.
Intellectual Property and Work Ownership
Let’s return to Spider-Man 2099 — David created that character, along with the plot and storyline, for Marvel. After creating Spider-Man 2099 and writing a comic book run, even though David is credited for its creation, Marvel owns that work. While companies only profit so much off of comic books, their adaptation into blockbusters turns a much larger share. While Marvel made more off of Miguel O’Hara in the Spider-Verse films, David likely never saw those profits, leaving him in his tragic financial state.
Some claim that this became the norm in the comic book world following Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s sale of Superman to DC for only $130. While they made money at the time, neither they nor their estates profited from the most iconic superhero ever (though since Siegel’s death, his estate has sued DC).
While copyright law is incredibly complicated, this strategy may be forced to change in the future. Whether that is because of the Siegel estate’s lawsuit, outrage over favorite creators dying in destitution, or general changes in the creative industry, perhaps the world may see forced alterations in IP creation. Hopefully, that change will bring comfort and solace to David’s family.
David’s Impact on His Industry
The legendary author was remembered by his wife, Kathleen O’Shea, in her update to the GoFundMe page.
“He seemed larger than life. He always loved talking to the fans,” O’Shea wrote. She continued, “I remember one young man, who found out much later in life he was dyslexic, saying the Starfleet Academy books taught him to read and made him want to read.”
She finishes her statement with this, “Peter will be remembered by many people for many things. I will remember my steadfast husband who was always in my corner and helped me become a better person.”
His contributions to storytelling—and to those who knew him personally—won’t be forgotten.
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