Legendary comic book creator Peter David, best known for his 12-year run on theThe Incredible Hulk, has died.
He was 68.
His death was announced on Sunday by friend and fellow author Keith R.A. DeCandido.
“Just got the news that Peter David finally lost his rather lengthy battle with his failing physical form last night,” DeCandido wrote on Facebook.
“I first met Peter 35 years ago, when he appeared on The Chronic Rift public access show, and over the last three-and-a-half decades, he has been a respected creator, a good friend, a valued colleague, and a generally wonderful person,” he added.
DeCandido continued: “I have a lot to say about him, but right now I’m just sad that I won’t get to enjoy his delightfully smart and funny presence ever again. And I’m also thinking of his wife Kathleen O’Shea David, and his daughters Ariel, Shana, Gwen, and Caroline.”
Alongside the post, he included a picture from David’s wedding.
“From Peter and Kath’s wedding in May 2001,” DeCandido shared, “of Peter with his best man, the late great Harlan Ellison, a picture that Peter said perfectly summed up his and Harlan’s friendship, with Peter as the Daffy Duck to Harlan’s Bugs Bunny.
“Rest in peace, my friend,” he added.
David’s death comes months after a family friend, Graham Murphy, restarted a GoFundMe page to help raise money for David and his wife to pay off their “medical debt due to Peter being rejected for Medicaid.”
“Peter’s health issues continue to be a challenge. He has been in recovery now for three years! Peter is steadily improving — even with his kidney disease, minor surgeries, and some recent small strokes,” read a statement posted on the fundraiser.
In the latest GoFundMe update shared on May 20, David’s wife revealed that he had been temporarily put on a ventilator “due to his inability to cough or clear his throat.”
“His color is much better and he is moving his limbs which is a good sign,” she wrote. “He is under light sedation to keep him from fighting the tube down his throat.”
Over the course of David’s tenured run onThe Incredible Hulk in the 1980s, he regularly explored themes of the Marvel superhero’s multiple personality disorder. He is also credited with creating new Hulk universe characters the Riot Squad and the Pantheon.
Besides The Incredible Hulk, David also wrote for Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
David is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and his daughters Ariel, Shana, Gwen, and Caroline.
