DeWolff", a violent murder mystery darker in tone than the usually lighter Spider-Man stories that ran in issues #107–110 (October 1985 – January 1986) of that title. Responding to charges of conflict of interest, David made a point of not discussing editorial matters with anyone during his 9-to-5 hours as Direct Sales Manager, and decided not to exploit his position as Sales Manager by promoting the title. Although David attributes the story's poor sales to this decision, he asserts that such crossing over from Sales to Editorial is now common. In the Marvel offices, a rumor circulated that it was actually Owsley who was writing the stories attributed to David. Nonetheless, David says he was fired from Spectacular Spider-Man by Owsley due to editorial pressure by Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, and has commented that the resentment stirred by Owsley's purchase of his stories may have permanently damaged Owsley's career. Months later, Bob Harras offered David The Incredible Hulk, as it was a struggling title that no one else wanted to write, which gave David free rein to do whatever he wanted with the character. During his 12-year run on Hulk, David explored the recurring themes of the Hulk's multiple personality disorder, his periodic changes between the more rageful and less intelligent Green Hulk and the more streetwise, cerebral Gray Hulk, and of being a journeyman hero, which were inspired by The Incredible Hulk #312 (October 1985), in which writer Bill Mantlo (and possibly, according to David, Barry Windsor-Smith) had first established that Banner had suffered childhood abuse at the hands of his father. These aspects of the character were later used in the 2003 feature film adaptation by screenwriter Michael France and director Ang Lee. Comic Book Resources credits David with making the formerly poor-selling book "a must-read mega-hit". David collaborated with a number of artists who became fan-favorites on the series, including Todd McFarlane, Dale Keown and Gary Frank. Among the new characters he created during his run on the series were the Riot Squad and the Pantheon. David wrote the first appearance of the Thunderbolts, a team created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, in The Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997). It was after he had been freelancing for a year, and into his run on Hulk, that David felt that his writing career had cemented. After putting out feelers at DC Comics, and being offered the job