Once upon a time, comic-book icon Peter David was one of the hottest creators, writing for twelve years The Incredible Hulk, which he and artist Dale Keown 1992 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist or Writer/Artist Team. He’s written many Star Trek comics (In fact, he wrote for the series from 1988-1991, back when DC had the license. ) and novels. Newer fans might not know much about him, but we fans who’ve been around for a while truly enjoyed what David wrote over the years.
Unfortunately, in the last few years, David has had some health problems, a few small strokes, kidney disease, and some minor surgeries. All of us long-term fans wish him the best, and his health in recent years has gotten better. Unfortunately, his health insurance and Medicaid were cut from him last fall.Things have gotten so bad that the family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help with his struggles. If you can, do a little research. If you’re unfamiliar with Peter David, go to the campaign and help out.
At that, the crux of the one thing—more than anything—is how DC and Marvel historically treat creators. Marvel, owned by Disney, and Star Trek, owned by Paramount Global, are multi-billion dollar companies, but – yet, like in David’s case—they sort of look the other way.
It goes back to the Golden Age with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman. By the mid-1970s, Shuster, who had become almost entirely blind, resided in a nursing home, while Siegel, unable to secure writing opportunities, took a job at the Post Office. It wasn’t until the release of the first Superman Movie in 1978, and lots of advocating by Neal Adams and other creators, that the creators of Superman werefinally—somewhat taken care of.
Another creator that has always bothered me is the iconic Bill Mantlo, who is said to have written more characters thanStan Lee himself. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the more prolific writers. I fondly remember his run on Rom and Micronauts. Mantlo also co-created Cloak & Dagger, White Tiger, and Rocket Raccoon. People forget that Mantlo wrote some classic stories in The Incredible Hulk for five years.
In the late 1908s, he started to do less comic book work, enrolled in law school and became a public defender. Sadly, tragically, in 1992, while rollerblading In New York City, Mantlo was struck by a car. That car fled the scene and has never been identified. The accident left Manlo with brain damage he suffered in the accident was irreparable.
Mantlo is still alive, but throughout the years, the accident and his activities of daily living were severely curtailed, and for a time, Mantlo resided in a healthcare facility. For years, until his death, Mantlo’s brother, Mike, took care of him. It wasn’t until the release of the Guardians of the Galaxy film that Marvel gave the Mantlo family $100,000, which allowed Bill to move into a house close to his family. Still, in 2019, the Mantlo family also started a campaign to help with Bill’s medical costs.
The above is just a sampling of creators who once worked for DC and Marvel and eventually found themselves in need of medical care, and seldom have those big companies helped them out. My hope is one day, with enough force from creators and fans, that publishers will set up a fund to help creators in need.
Until that day, creators like Peter David and Bill Mantlo continue to struggle. Again, if you can, go to the Peter David campaign—pitch in whatever you can because every dollar does help.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-peter-david
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