On more than one occasion, editorial problems or corporate pressure to modify or re-script his plotlines have prompted David to leave books, particularly his decision to terminate his first run on Marvel's
X-Factor, due to constantly having to constrain his plots to accommodate crossover events with other books. He also resigned from
Spider-Man 2099 to protest the firing of editor Joey Cavalieri, and from
Aquaman over other creative differences. When David abruptly left his first stint on
The Incredible Hulk due to editorial pressures, some of the plot points of the character that David established were retconned by later creative teams.
In his "But I Digress" column, which has appeared in the
Comics Buyer's Guide since July 27, 1990, and in his blog, in operation since April 2002, David has been outspoken in many of his views pertaining to the comic book industry, and numerous other subjects. He has criticized the low regard in which writers are held,David, Peter. "Why Writers Are Scum";
But I Digress..." collection; Pages 85 - 88; Reprinted from the August 17, 1990 Comics Buyer's Guide
"What do the writers get?" "But I Digress" ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1386; June 9, 2000; Page 66
"The double standard for writers" "But I Digress" ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1502; August 30, 2002 the practice of bagged comics, so-called "poster covers" that showcase a character without indicating anything about the comic's content, the meaninglessness of killing off characters to be eventually revived, the poor commitment on the part of some to maintaining continuity in shared [[fictional universe]]s, and the emphasis on gearing monthly comics series toward eventual collection into [[trade paperback]]s. David has opined that failure on the part of consumers to purchase the monthly individual issues in favor of waiting for the trade collections hurts the sales of the monthly, and its chances of being collected at all. A father of four daughters, David has worked on a number of series that feature female leads, such as ''[[Supergirl]]'', ''[[Fallen Angel (comics)|Fallen Angel]]'' and ''[[She-Hulk]]'', and has lamented that the American comic book market is not very supportive of such books. David has spoken out about fans who are abusive or threatening to creators,
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1252; November 14, 1997
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1253; November 21, 1997
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1267; February 27, 1998; Page 86
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1410; November 24, 2000; Page 58
"Stories of fans" "But I Digress" ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1497; November 16, 2001
and against [[copyright infringement]],
particularly that committed through [[peer-to-peer file sharing]] and posting literary works in their entirety on the Internet without the permission of the copyright holder.David, Peter. "Excuses don't excuse theft" "But I Digress..." ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1428; March 30, 2001; Page 58
"You've gotta fight for your rights" "But I Digress..."; ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1475; February 22, 2002
On many occasions, he has offered criticisms of specific publishers, as when he criticized
Wizard magazine for ageism. He has criticized companies for not sufficiently compensating the creators of their long-standing and lucrative characters, such as Marvel Comics for its treatment of Blade creator Marv Wolfman and Archie Comics for its treatment of
Josie and the Pussycats creator Dan DeCarlo. He has also criticized publishers for various other business practices, including MarvelDavid, Peter. “But I Digress”
Comics Buyer’s Guide #1361; May 5, 2000; Page 58.
“Marvel musings, Part 1” “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1424; March 2, 2001; Pages 58 & 56
“Silence can be golden” “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1425; March 9, 2001; Page 58
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1426; March 16, 2001; Pages 58 & 56
“Marvel and the Neener Factor” “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1437; June 1, 2001; Page 58 and [[Image Comics]]. He has also defended said companies from criticism he feels is unfounded, as when he defended Marvel from a February 17, 1992 ''[[Barron's Magazine|Barron’s]]'' magazine article. He has criticized [[Deletionism and inclusionism in Wikipedia|deletionists]] on [[Wikipedia]] on more than one occasion.
On occasion, he has also disagreed publicly with specific industry personalities such as Frank Miller and Jim Shooter. Particularly publicized were his disagreements with
Spawn creator Todd McFarlane in 1992 and 1993, in the wake of the formation of Image Comics, the company McFarlane co-founded. This came to a head during a public debate they participated in at Philadelphia's Comicfest convention in October 1993, which was moderated by artist George Pérez. McFarlane claimed that Image was not being treated fairly by the media, and by David in particular. The three judges, Maggie Thompson, editor of the
Comics Buyer's Guide, William Christensen of
Wizard Press, and John Danovich of the magazine
Hero Illustrated, voted 2-1 in favor of David, with Danovich voting the debate a tie. David has since criticized McFarlane for other business practices,David, Peter. "But I Digress..."
Comics Buyer's Guide #1394; August 4, 2000; Page 58
"But I Digress..." ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1395; August 11, 2000; Page 58
and has also engaged in public disagreements with ''[[The Comics Journal]]'' editor [[Gary Groth]],David, Peter. "Snob Appeal"; ''Comic Buyer's Guide''; "But I Digress..." January 24, 1992. Reprinted with explanatory historical note regarding the parody's reference to Groth in the 1994 ''But I Digress'' collection.
David, Peter "The Last Word", peterdavid.net December 20, 2002 Erik Larsen, "I Understand How Erik Larsen Feels" peterdavid.net; January 16, 2009 Rob Liefeld, Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada,David, Peter. "An open letter to Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada" "But I Digress...";
Comics Buyer's Guide #1480; March 29, 2002Brent Frankenhoff. "Scuttling Peter David's proposal"
Comics Buyer's Guide #1482; April 12, 2002; Pages 12 - 13Joe Quesada. "The complete open letter"
Comics Buyer's Guide #1482; April 12, 2002; Page 16
"Peter David's response" "But I Digress..."; ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1482; April 12, 2002; Page 17
[http://peterdavid.malibulist.com/archives/001223.html YOU CAN STOP TELLING ME], peterdavid.net, December 23, 2002 writer/director [[Kevin Smith]], DC Comics Vice President and Executive Editor [[Dan DiDio]], and [[John Byrne]].
Despite his differences with Byrne, David has stated that he is still a fan of Byrne's, citing Byrne's work on ''[[X-Men]]'', ''[[Fantastic Four]]'', ''[[Next Men]]'', ''[[Alpha Flight]]'' and ''[[Babe (comics)|Babe]]''.
Politically, David identifies himself as liberal. He was critical of the George W. Bush administration in general, and the Iraq War in particular,
"And the candidates are" "But I Digress" ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1249; October 24, 1997 as well as other [[United States Republican party|Republicans]]
and the [[religious right]]. He has spoken out in favor of [[Israel]]'s right to defend itself from aggressors, and has opined that certain criticisms of Israel indicate bias and double standards.David, Peter. "Invasion of the real world" “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1492; June 21, 2002
"The Green solution” "But I Digress" ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1493; June 28, 2002
“Random thoughts on diverse topics" "But I Digress" ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1510; October 25, 2002
He favors [[gun control]],David, Peter. "But I Digress" ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1332; May 28, 1999; Page 62
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1375; March 24, 2000; Page 66 and holds progressive or liberal views on [[LGBT]] issues, including favoring [[gay marriage]] and allowing [[gays in the military]]. He opposes [[capital punishment]]. He is an advocate of [[freedom of speech]], having criticized various publicized instances of censorship in general,David, Peter. “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1354; October 29, 1999; Page 106
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1356; November 12, 1999; Page 58 such as the targeting of comic book retailers for prosecution for selling certain comic books,David, Peter. “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1249; October 24, 1997
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1345; August 27, 1999; Pages 58 & 56
“Risky propositions” “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1497; July 26, 2002 and the [[Comics Code Authority]] in particular.David, Peter. “Code in my Nose” ''But I Digress'' collection; Pages 34 — 36; Reprinted from ''Comics Buyer’s Guide ''; October 9, 1992
“But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide '' #1347; September 10, 1999; Page 58 He is a promoter and activist for the [[Comic Book Legal Defense Fund]], which comes to the aid of such creators and retailers.David, Peter. “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1417; January 12, 2001; Page 58
“What else doe the CBLDF do?” “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1432; April 27, 2001; Page 58
“Fighting fire with the CBLDF” “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1452; September 14, 2001; Page 82
He has, however, also criticized extremism stemming from leftist or [[politically correct]] sensibilities, as with publicized cases of alleged sexual harassment or discrimination that he deems unfounded,David, Peter. “But I Digress” ''Comics Buyer’s Guide'' #1269; March 13, 1998; Page 78
and has not shied away from criticizing or disagreeing with prominent liberals and Democrats, including [[Bill Clinton]], [[Al Gore]], [[Hillary Clinton]] [[Michelle Obama]] and [[Caroline Kennedy]].