Likes & Dislikes - Peter David

There are a few writers out there whose work I will buy based solely on the fact that they are the writer. This is true of Alan Moore, James Robinson, Keith Giffen, Christopher Priest - and Peter David.

Peter David doesn't get the respect of the writers cited as the top ten writers by Wizard (this is an interesting thing in and of itself, as Wizard originally did not have a top ten writer list), but, in my opinion, he is miles ahead of most of the names on that list.

Think about this - he wrote some of the best Spider-Man stories (this includes Amazing, Spectacular, Web Of and Spider-Man 2099) in recent years. I am still bummed that he was never made the regular writer of Amazing Spider-Man. That would have been great. He also wrote, bar none, the best Hulk stories in recent memory. Same goes for Aquaman and Supergirl.

Add to this list his great runs on Captain Marvel (both runs), Fallen Angel, SpyBoy, Star Trek, Atlantis Chronicles, X-Factor, Justice, Soulsearchers and the many miniseries he's done, and it's hard to find a bad issue.

I must admit that I wasn't wild about Sachs & Violens or Young Justice, but I'd be willing to give both a second chance now.

The thing is, David gives his readers credit. I've seen some complaints that David is too self-referential, and maybe there's some truth to this, but really - you should have been reading his work all along.

And even if you haven't been reading Peter David's work all along, do yourself a favor and give it a try. His comics read like comics should - they're funny, clever, serious when they should be - and always thought provoking.

He can do the Bendis the-entire-issue-is-conversation thing, and he can do punch-'em ups. He is able to get to the core of the characters and present them to us in a way that they were not presented before.

I've read a lot of comics in my time - and Peter David has rarely, if ever disappointed me. If you give him an open-minded chance, I doubt he'd disappoint you.

He's currently doing She-Hulk. And I think that Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been cancelled, but I would recommend that even though I only have about 5 or so issues. Peter David is that good that I'd recommend reading something of his that I have not even read yet.

And if its true that FNSM is cancelled, that would be just another example of the amazing shortsightedness that Marvel has shown toward the guy that is (and has been) their best writer of the past 20 years. Come to think of it, he's also one of DC's best writers of the past 20 years.

Even if Marvel, DC and Wizard won't admit it - see (read) for yourself. You might see comics in a new and better way if you do.