Marvel Comics writer and Spider-Man 2099 creator Peter David has been struggling with severe medical issues for some time, and the situation has gotten worse according to what his wife’s posted on Patreon.
In recent years we’ve seen increasingly that working for corporations like Marvel Comics doesn’t pay well, even for long-time creators who have done some of the company’s best work. Not a year goes by where we don’t see a GoFundMe asking for help paying bills as the comic industry churns through talent and spits them out.
Part of the problem with an author like Peter David is doing tie-in work gets a fee but does not provide much in terms of royalties because the work is “work for hire” as contract labor, and he doesn’t own any of his own creations. David’s creator-owned work, such as Fallen Angel or Sir Apropos of Nothing, never reached anywhere near the height of sales as his work on books like The Incredible Hulk or Spider-Man 2099 or in novels like his work on Star Trek.
In 2017, Peter David revealed he was in disastrous shape financially even after decades of service to these mainstream comic companies. He wrote on his blog at the time:
Many years ago I had a television series on the air called "Space Cases." And I made a lot of money that year. I mean a lot. And I had a ton of money sitting in my bank account ready to send to the IRS on April 15th. It was all good.
And then the day that I was going to send the check, I swung by the nearest ATM to withdraw some cash and was astounded to see that half the money in my account was gone. Why was it gone? Because my then wife withdrew it in order to pay for a divorce lawyer, which was how I found out my marriage was dissolving. So the money never went to the IRS because I had to use the remainder to hire my own attorney.
Over the years, I never managed to land another project that would pay me that much. I had lots of people make promises–I even did the work for some of them–and none ever came up with the money. Meanwhile I tried to make payment arrangements with the IRS but they didn't last, because throughout the year I'd send in the payments but then on April 15 I had no money to pay the income tax because I'd already sent them all my spare money.
Then they seemed to just forget about it. Which was great.
Except recently they now seem to have remembered. And they want all the money, plus penalty and interest, or they are going to financially destroy me.
How much? $88,000.
At the time, he raised $45,555 of that on a GoFundMe and said he got help from online friends to pay off the debt.
His situation only got worse from there, however, as his health began to deteriorate in the early 2020s. He suffered kidney failure, a heart attack, and numerous strokes making it difficult for him to work at all and adding a ridiculous healthcare bill to his problems. Once again, he opened a GoFundMe.
Over the years, the GoFundMe has raised $300,614. While it seems like a lot, going through the updates to see the amount of surgeries, dialysis, doctor’s appointments for infections that he’s gone through, the money evaporated rather quickly.
His wife provided an update on December 13, 2024:
Well I have a mountain of paperwork to find. Peter was rejected for Medicaid after being on it for a year and a half. Insurance pays only for so many weeks unless there is a new diagnosis then the clock goes back to zero and he has that many more weeks. Medicaid is why we are not totally broke the other reasons are GoFundMe and Patreon. We shut the GoFundMe down because I thought we were financially secure while I continue to try to find a job I can live with. Now this has reared its ugly head.
Yesterday’s meeting was both good and bad news. We do have a plan to fight the rejection starting with an appeal to the Suffolk county social services office. Gives us a little time to get the paperwork together. However this is all happening during the holiday season which, actually gives us less time over all.
Getting the paperwork has been like pulling teeth. I have power of attorney but I have to get vetted for every company that Disney uses for payroll and the like. Then it has to go through the Disney lawyers who sign off on it and that can take a long time like seven to ten business days or two weeks to us mortal folk.
I am making progress however it is like I get a puzzle piece I have to use to finish the Medicaid paperwork.
I am tired and very frustrated. But I will continue to work on this because in the alternative I loose everything.
The situation got worse again at the end of the year as the Davids had already closed the GoFundMe thinking that they were in sound financial shape, but it seems like they have bills piling up once more even though his health has stabilized:
Peter is at his new normal and no infections
Our big problem is Medicaid rejecting Peter. We have a hearing on Wednesday. There may be a new go fund me to pay his medical bills which are stacking up. I have kept up so far but the budget is squeaking.
The saddest part about the situation is that he worked for so long at Marvel Comics with almost nothing to show for the situation. Even though Marvel continues to reprint his work and get it into new hands through books like the Epic Collections and Omnibuses, Peter David isn’t able to get any reward from the continued sale of his classic works.
Working for hire on corporate properties often results in problems like this. DC Comics writer William Messner-Loebs ended up homeless in 2018 after having worked on properties like Flash and Wonder Woman. These stories of the comic industry not taking care of its own are more common than they are not, and without the fans, many writers and artists would starve after slaving for these companies on harsh deadlines for years.
What do you think of Peter David’s financial woes after years of working at Marvel and DC Comics? Leave a comment and let us know.
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Moral of the story: never work for Marvel or DC because no matter how good you are (and Peter David is one of my favorite comic writers ever), you're disposable to the big 2.
This is a crime.