Peter David, who wrote millions of words of science fiction, fantasy and comic-book adventures, becoming a favorite of fans by making it clear that his enthusiasm for genre fiction matched or exceeded theirs, died on May 24 in Patchogue, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 68.
His wife, Kathleen, said the cause was a stroke.
Known for his puckish sense of humor and for elaborate plotlines that sometimes spanned decades, Mr. David wrote scripts for the television series “Babylon 5,” highly opinionated columns for the magazine Comics Buyer’s Guide, and dozens of “Star Trek” novels. But it was with his 11-year run, from 1987 to 1998, on the Marvel title The Incredible Hulk, which began as a collaboration with the rising artist Todd McFarlane, that Mr. David left his imprint on the industry.
The green-skinned Hulk, the muscular and rage-filled alter ego of the scientist Bruce Banner, had once been a flagship character for Marvel, even starring in a network TV series from 1978 to 1982. But sales of his comic had declined precipitously after the show ended, and the monosyllabic character was seen as marginal.
By emphasizing the Hulk’s menace and delving into the traumatic childhood that gave rise to the character’s split personality, he helped turn the series from a basement dweller into a hit.
Valentine De Landro, an artist who drew a dozen issues of Marvel’s X-Factor (an X-Men spinoff title) written by Mr. David in 2008 and 2009, praised him as a generous partner and pointed to the afterlife of his work. “Story lines that he helped build and concepts for characters that he developed from almost 50 years ago are currently being referenced and leveraged,” Mr. De Landro said in an email.
Mr. David’s path to comic book writing was not straightforward. He spent four years trapped on Marvel’s business side before he broke through to editorial, and it would be another two years before he could afford to write full time. As he recalled in his memoir, “Mr. Sulu Grabbed My Ass, and Other Highlights From a Life in Comics, Novels, Television, Films and Video Games” (2020), his father had warned him, “Your hobbies are nice, but you can’t make a living out of science fiction and comic books.”
