Sterling Gates to Write “Adventures of Supergirl” Comic Starting Jan 2016

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Melissa Benoist’s trademark glee is captured in this promotional art from Adventures of Supergirl (art by Bengal)

DC Comics has announced a much-anticipated digital-first comic series set in the world of the Supergirl TV series.

CBS’ Supergirl is off to a rocking start. One of the few breakout hits on network television’s fall lineup, the show has made its mark as an all-ages series led by strong, independent, and non-reductive female characters. Building off the framework the show’s success has provided, today DC announced a digital-first comic, Adventures of Supergirl, set in the same timeline as the CBS show.

– The Beat

Adventures of Supergirl debuts January 25, 2015 and will be released bi-weekly on Mondays to coincide with Supergirl episodes. The comic is currently slated to run for thirteen chapters, taking the series into July. A trade paperback collection will be released in August.

It won’t directly tie into the show, but will tell stories in that universe with Supergirl teaming with the DEO to protect National City while also working a job at CatCo as Kara Danvers. DC also told us that she will take on classic villains like Rampage, Vril Dox, and Psi.

– IGN

Best of all, the series is being written by Sterling Gates. The TV show draws heavily from Gates’ run on the Supergirl comic, and this news will delight the many fans who have wished for his return to writing Kara. According to Gates, the shows’ producers approached him about the job:

The series will be illustrated by a rotating list of artists, some of whom previously worked on Supergirl: Bengal (Batgirl #44, Batgirl: Endgame 2015) will illustrate the first three chapters (equal to one print issue), followed by Jonboy Meyers (Supergirl #35, 2014), Emanuela Lupacchino (Supergirl #36-40, 2014), and Emma Vieceli (Jem and the Holograms #7+). I’m thrilled by both the creative team and the editors that Gates notes above. Now if we can only get Kate Perkins and Mike Johnson back for a second season comic!

Unlike the Arrow and The Flash TV show companion comics, Adventures of Supergirl will not be reprinted in single issue format but will be printed in trade paperback form upon the series’ conclusion. This explains why there wasn’t a Diamond solicitation back in October – no need for the absurd 3-month-in-advance order system with digital!

The lack of a single issue print edition will concern old-school comics readers, but I don’t see this as a lack of faith on the part of the publisher or network. The floppy reprints of Arrow and Flash sold in low numbers through Diamond, which isn’t surprising when they’re competing with the DCU versions in comics shops.

I expect Adventures of Supergirl will do better in digital and bookstores (hence the trade paperback being released a mere month after the comic concludes). The Supergirl viewing audience is bigger than both the CW shows combined, and that audience is far more likely to buy comics through more mainstream channels.

The absence of a DCU-based comic benefits the TV-based version and avoids turning off new readers brought in by the show’s more inspiring tone. I have to wonder if the ongoing comic was cancelled and the New 52 version of the character quietly removed from the DCU because the comics conflicted with the TV series. It may not have been DC Comics’ decision. Given how much support CBS has thrown behind the series, perhaps DC Entertainment decided that a hit TV series on a major network was a better venue for the Supergirl brand than the small potatoes comics division.

Cat Grant would approve.