Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle are leaving Supergirl

DC just announced some devastating news at NYCC: Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle are being replaced on SUPERGIRL. Because they, uh, hate good storytelling and a super family book they can be proud of?

I’ve been really excited about this series recently, after the terrible ending to New Krypton, so this is an incredible punch to the gut. This has to have been a total surprise to Sterling Gates as well, who clearly believed he was on the book for the long haul. What happened to that year-long plan that Gates laid out just a few months ago in Superman #700? What on earth prompted this? What are they thinking?

What a kick in the teeth to Gates and Igle, who have evidenced so much love and passion for this book and made it something people were excited to talk about. This is how they reward them?

JMS has made a mess of Wonder Woman and Superman is a joke. Gates is the only one doing real storytelling and dealing with the fallout of New Krypton, while the writers on the other super books are acting like it never happened. For the past two years Supergirl has consistently kicked the other super books’ butts. So now DC takes one of their few really great books and fires the creative team because, what, they hate all the accolades a “girl” book gets?

Thanks DC. I hate you too.

Update: Elayne Riggs notes in the comments that it was Jamal Igle’s decision to leave the book.

“It’s going to sound cliche but the truth is, at least for myself, I chose to leave. I approached Matt Idelson about 4 months ago right after we finished War of the Superman and let him know I wanted to move on. Two years on a series as an artist is a long time creatively, and like any artist, you feel the need to stretch and do new things. There was no malice, no secret agenda on DC’s part.”