Peter David has died at age 68. The Punisher returns in a new Red Band book. Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming bring back Powers for 25th anniversary series.
SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON BLUESKY, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON.
Powered by RedCircle
Episode Transcript:
Peter David has died at age 68.
The Punisher returns in new Red Band series.
Powers is back to celebrate 25 years.
This is Comic Book Club News for May 27, 2025.
Peter David Dead At Age 68:
Peter David, a legendary comic book writer known for his work on The Incredible Hulk, X-Factor, Spider-Man, and more, has died at age 68. The news comes via his wife, who reported that he passed away during the night on May 24, 2025, after a lengthy illness.
David’s first work was in prose and journalism, before snagging a job in Marvel’s sales department in the 1980s. There, he managed to impress editors, and his first published comic book work was in 1985’s The Spectacular Spider-Man #103. From there, he wrote the classic “The Death of Jean DeWolff” storyline in Spectacular Spider-Man, before moving over to his signature work on The Incredible Hulk.
David’s run on the title lasted 12 years and defined the Green Goliath for an entire generation of fans, bringing depth and pathos to the Hulk in a way that hadn’t been seen before. He also added signature storylines, like fleshing out abuse from Bruce Banner’s father, something that gave a realistic grounding to the Hulk’s rage, introducing a smart hulk, and the grey Joe Fixit version of the character.
Other Marvel work included X-Factor and Spider-Man 2099, before he moved over to DC Comics in the ’90s. There, he took on Aquaman, giving the character a hook hand and bringing his humor and grounded take to the king of the seven seas. He also wrote Star Trek for DC while the license was there, and along with Ron Marz, was responsible for DC vs. Marvel, as well as lauded runs on Supergirl and Teen Titans.
Since then, David has written nearly every character in the DC and Marvel pantheon, as well as other comics, novels, and works throughout multiple publishers. Some highlights include the Dark Tower comics for Marvel, co-writing Stan Lee’s autobiography Amazing Fantastic Incredible, and a beloved run on Star Trek novels, mostly focusing on the villain Q.
David has suffered from various health problems since 2012, when he had a stroke, losing portions of his vision and use of his right leg and arm. Then, in 2022, his wife Kathleen started a GoFundMe to help David out after more strokes, kidney failure, and a general decline in health. As of May 20, David was temporarily on a ventilator and on light sedation, though he had seemed to be doing better.
David is the winner of the 1992 Eisner Award, a 2011 GLAAD Media Award, and a 2016 Inkpot Award, among many other awards and nominations. His impact on the comic book industry and culture at large is undeniable, and he will be missed.
The Punisher Returns In New Marvel Red Band Series:
All the way back in 2023, Jason Aaron wrapped up his run on The Punisher by sending Frank Castle to another dimension. Since then, there’s been a new Punisher named Joe Garrison and nary a peep from the picnic-adverse avenger. That is, until now, as Marvel has announced Punisher: Red Band a new series from Benjamin Percy and Julius Ohta that brings him back to the Marvel Universe.
And this isn’t just the return of Frank, it’s the return of his classic skull costume, which went away for most of Aaron’s series. And as Marvel teases, Frank has “no memories, a full clip and a thirst for wrathful vengeance.”
So…. Listen. This is a great team on this book, and given Jon Bernthal’s successful appearance as The Punisher on Daredevil: Born Again, it makes sense that Marvel would want a brutal Punisher book on the stands. However, there’s a reason Frank had his skull excised, and was put on the shelf for a while, and that is because some of the worst people in real society including police officers were coopting the Punisher symbol to justify them brutalizing “criminals” whether those people were criminals or not. It is frankly (no pun intended) hard not to think now that we are supposedly in a post-woke society that Marvel thought, “eh, it’s fine,” and are bringing The Punisher back, skull costume and all.
Is this a shift in priorities in terms of what is and isn’t appropriate? The answer will be in the book, of course, so it’s too early to say. But bad actors haven’t stopped using the Punisher symbol, to the point that it was a timely plot point in Born Again. Here’s hoping the comics don’t forget about that, too.
Punisher: Red Band #1 of 5 will hit stores on September 10.
Powers Is Back For A 25th Anniversary Series:
Powers, the series that helped make the careers of Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, is back for a 25th anniversary series titled, appropriately, Powers 25.
Starting in September, the new Dark Horse series will run 12 issues, and promises to include classic characters from the cops meets superheroes book, while still being new reader friendly. In the series, per PR from Dark Horse, “This new tale is a fun, dangerous, adult look at a world of heroes through the eyes of special homicide officer Detective Kutter and her brand-new partner, and the first power to ever make the powers division, Moebius Moon. Under the watchful eyes of legendary Captains Deena Pilgrim and Enki Sunrise, the new detectives run through a minefield of all-new dangers. A new unsolvable powers murder has Kutter and Moon questioning EVERYTHING about the world and their place in it.”
Powers 25 #1 hits stores on September 10.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And a real mixed bag of news stories today, huh?
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
For more comic book news, reviews, and interviews, check out comicbookclublive.com.
Listen early and ad-free on Patreon.com/comicbookclub.
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.