Michael Alan Nelson was a staff writer for Boom! Studios for quite some time before making his DC debut on “The Ravagers” earlier this year. As of May, he is the new writer for DC’s “Supergirl,” and has kicked off his run showing off a sense of humor and a feel for the character, only one issue in. We talked to Nelson about Supergirl as a character, both as the star of her own book, and as part of the overall DC Universe.
Special thanks to Multiversity’s Vince Ostrowski and Zach Wilkerson for providing additional questions.
What about the character of Supergirl do you find appealing? Where you a fan of the character before you took the gig?
Michael Alan Nelson: I’ve always been a fan of her as a character. I’ve always been drawn to strong female characters and she is one of the strongest. And not just physically, but I think emotionally as well. I know that if I woke up on an alien planet to discover that everyone I ever knew or loved died a terrifying, painful death and everyone else would shove me into oncoming traffic as soon as look at me, I’d be weeping in the fetal position and never come out from under the bed. But not Kara. Yes, she’s despaired as anyone would, but as much pain she’s had to endure, she doesn’t give up. That she can pull herself out of bed after all of that makes her such an interesting person to me. All the powers and crazy villains are nice, but the core attraction to her as a character is her boundless sense of spirit. Plus she’s looking for a place to belong, a place where she’ll feel loved and accepted. I think we can all relate to that.
Was it difficult taking the reins of “Supergirl” in what was essentially mid-story arc?
MAN: Yes and no. It’s always difficult coming into a series that has an established tone and feel, but it was easy in that the set-up was already in place. Well, easy is a relative term. Story telling isn’t easy (at least not for me), so having any part of a story already in place makes the process a little less painful.
As the Superman family of books grows closer together, how much of your writing is influenced by your fellow creators?
MAN: When you’re writing within the DCU, I think everyone is influenced at least in some small way by everyone else. All of these great characters are populating the same space so there’s bound to be some influencing happening across titles. But I really do try to isolate myself as much as I can for a couple of reasons. First, I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but I also really want to bring Supergirl into her own. Everyone knows that it’s Superman’s planet and Supergirl is just another satellite. But I’d like to see Kara really step outside of that supporting role and become a premiere character in her own right. It also works with her as a character since she feels some resentment towards Superman for a number of reasons. Part of her feels like she’s in his shadow and it would be fun to watch her step out from under it.
We’ve seen that the Cyborg Superman will soon make a return in “Supergirl.” Can you give us an idea of how he might differ from the pre-New 52 incarnation?
MAN: I won’t say anything specific because I don’t want to ruin it for readers, but I can say that Cyborg Superman isn’t at all what you think he is.
Humor was a big factor in your first issue on Supergirl. Do you consider yourself a humorous person in general? Do you actively look to bring humor in to your writing?
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MAN: I’m not really any more or less funny than your average person, but I have friends who are tremendously funny. So if I try to write something humorous, I just try to think of what they might say or do in a situation. Supergirl #20 was just one of those issues where the situation and the characters really all came together in a way that had a lot of comedy potential. And though I do plan on keeping an element of humor in the series, I want to use it as a way of flavoring the story, not overpowering it. The upcoming stories won’t lend themselves to that level of humor the way #20 did. Sure, they’ll be some. I do want to keep injecting a sense of fun in Kara’s world, but there’s some dark stuff coming up for her and having too much humor would seem out of place and diminish the story.
What do you hope to bring to the ‘New 52’ characterization of Kara? As she learns more about the world, how will she grow and change?
MAN: Right now, Kara is almost ready to accept Earth as home. Almost. It’s a decision she’ll come to eventually, but she’s going to falter along the way. But accepting Earth as her new home is more than renting an apartment and saying, “Here I am!” It’s going to be a lengthy learning experience for her and that education is going to be hard won. That’s where we’re going to see her grow and change. How does she fit in an alien world with hundreds of alien cultures on top of all of the things she’s going to have to deal with because she’s Supergirl? Plus, she’s only sixteen. Becoming an adult is hard enough. Add everything else into the mix and it’s going to make for some great stories.
How much of your Supergirl story do you have planned? Could you see yourself having a long run with the character?
MAN: I could most certainly see myself having a long run with Supergirl. And I have a ton of story ideas, so it’s just a question of finding the ones that work best.
We are constantly hearing in the media about the lack of “strong female characters” carrying their own books. Since “Supergirl” is one of the more iconic female characters in comics, do you feel a responsibility to portray her in a certain way? Similarly, how important is establishing a diverse book, both in terms of race/sexual orientation/gender and in terms of plot?
MAN: Wow, I could go on and on about this subject, so I’ll try to keep it brief. A few years ago I wrote a series call 28 Days Later based on the movie of the same name. The main character of the series was a black woman named Selena who journeyed home to London in the middle of a zombie apocalypse (and to all the fans out there, yes, I know they’re “infected” and not zombies, but roll with me here). To date, it’s been my most successful title and Selena is arguably the strongest female character I’ve ever written. I, along with artists Declan Shalvey and Marek Oleksicki, was awarded the Glyph Award for Best Female Character for our portrayal of Selena. For those who aren’t familiar with the Glyph Comic Awards, they “recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color.” It was an incredible honor, but I was truly surprised. Being a white man, I know absolutely nothing of the black experience, let alone what it’s like to be a woman, or even British for that matter. And If I had tried to make the story about her being black or being a woman, it would have come across as disingenuous, pandering, and most likely offensive. But I do know what it’s like to be scared, to be in love, to be angry, to be reckless, to be lonely. That’s what I tried to focus on with Selena, the things that everyone could relate to. And I believe that’s why she was so well-received.
Bringing all that back to Supergirl, it’s the same approach. I don’t know what it’s like to be on an alien planet in an alien culture, have superpowers, or be a sixteen-year-old girl with a constant stream of super-baddies looking to kill me. But I do know what it’s like to feel alone, lost,to want to be happy when it seems like the world is against you, and sadly, I know what it feels like to lose a parent. And that’s what I try to focus on. Supergirl is a strong female character, but not because she can fly or throw buses over her shoulder. She’s strong because of her resilience, her perseverance. She isn’t perfect. No one is. But if I stay true to her character, she’ll hopefully be someone readers will positively respond to.
And that approach also ties in with the diversity of a book as well. Because at our core, we all pretty much want the same things. And establishing a diverse book is important because it’s an accurate representation of the world we live in. People come in a wide variety of flavors and I like when stories reflect that.
Will Power Girl continue to have a presence in “Supergirl” going forward? Their sisterly dynamic is a nice change of pace from the usual Superman/Supergirl relationship.
MAN: I hope to have them reunited because the sister dynamic was a great deal of fun to write. But I’m not sure when or if that is going to happen. Supergirl has a lot on her plate at the moment, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Are there any specific DC characters you dream of getting your hands on?
MAN: I have a Superman story by way of Batman that I’ve been percolating for a while. It’s…ambitious so I doubt it could ever come to fruition, but I’d love to have the chance.
