I was lucky enough to meet Sterling Gates a couple years ago at Comic Con, through one of my favorite authors – Mel Odom. Gates had just been hired to write for the Supergirl comic series, and was able to share some of the preliminary sketches. I was very excited, as Supergirl is one of the few comics that I still keep up with. (This will be no surprise to those who know I named my dog “Lois Lane.”). From the Silver Banshee to the latest New Krypton storyline, Supergirl has had quite a wild ride since Gates came on board. Now Gates shares with SciFiChick.com readers about what’s coming next for Supergirl and his experience with the DC Comics world.
What can you tell us about the latest Supergirl story arc?
It’s a dark time for the Girl of Steel. We’re coming out of the WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, an arc that featured the destruction of the planet New Krypton and the death of Supergirl’s mother, Alura. So she’s in a pretty dark place, both physically and emotionally. She’s been away for a few weeks, just getting her head back on straight, and she’s just returned to Metropolis and moved back in with Lana Lang. Lana acts as a big sister-type to Kara, helping her in ways that not even Superman can. And that’s where we pick up.
Kara’s dealing with the loss of her people, and coming to terms with what she perceives as her culpability in their deaths. That’s a lot for a teenager to handle, even if they are a superhero, so she’s got a lot to think about.
Then a twisted and scary version of Supergirl arrives in the form of a villain named BizarroGirl. BizarroGirl is exactly that, a Bizarro version of Supergirl, and she crashes down in the middle of Metropolis. Intense mayhem ensues. [laughs]
The next arc is about responsibility and dealing with regret and remorse, though. It seems like a romp though the streets on the surface, but there’s a lot going on there emotionally and physically for Supergirl.
Can you tell us about any new villain(s) Supergirl will be facing? Any spoilers?
Well, coming out of New Krypton, I wanted to start adding new and different villains to Supergirl’s rogue’s gallery We’re introducing a completely new “cosmic” villain to the DCU in the BizarroGirl arc, and then I’m dusting off an old Legion of Super-Heroes villain for Supergirl Annual #2, which is out this fall.
After that, there are a couple familiar faces coming, and a couple new ones that I’ve been setting up since I started writing the book. Long time readers will be rewarded for their patience!
Tell us a bit about yourself and your experience in writing. How did you get your start?