Sterling Gates’s Supergirl #35 last week cleaned up Supergirl’s varied backstory in one issue, which is continuing to breathe new life into the character. Go, Sterling!

Supergirl Comic Box Commentary gave the issue an A: “The big thing is we have a solid origin now, one devoid of crystal powers, Phantom Zone entities, and murderous tendencies. And it was explained in a neat plausible manner and in one fell swoop.”

A Newsarama review called Supergirl “the turn-around comic of the year:” “Supergirl was once the most confusing, awful, rudderless series heading straight for cancellation-ville. But now? Holy jamoley, Supergirl is readable again, and what’s more, actually enjoyable!”

Also at Newsarama, Sterling talks about re-establishing the character in an exclusive interview!

Do your Christmas shopping at Speeding Bullet, and get something for yourself too!

With every $50 purchase today through Dec. 24, you’ll get a coupon for 30% off any one item in the store! Coupons will be redeemable Dec. 26-Dec. 31.

Think of it as your little insurance policy — just in case you don’t get what you really wanted.

See store for more details!

While the line to get into Target wraps around I-35, spend your Black Friday at Speeding Bullet.

We’ve dug through our warehoused back issue collection and pulled out runs of comics you haven’t seen in years and bundled them together at incredible prices!

Entire sets start at 25 cents! And many sets price out at $1 per comic!

We’ll open early for you (but not too early — Dan is planning on eating a lot of pie Thursday). It’s first-come, first-served, and the best sets are sure to be gobbled up fast.

Turkey Sale starts at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 28!

During the holidays, New Comics Day isn’t always on Wednesday!

Here’s the comics holiday shipping schedule for this year:

After Thanksgiving: Thursday, Dec. 4
No change Christmas Eve: Wednesday, Dec. 24
After New Year’s: Friday, Jan. 2

Please make note of Speeding Bullet’s holiday hours:

CLOSED Thanksgiving Day
Open til 5pm Christmas Eve
CLOSED Christmas Day
CLOSED New Year’s Day

Sterling Gates’s second issue of Supergirl comes out this week! Supergirl #35 is Sterling’s first solo-writing chapter in the New Krypton storyline.

Supergirl’s life is in flux as Kryptonian-human relations are strained even further! The turmoil forces Supergirl to make a terrible decision: Does she stand with the Kryptonians, the people she’s longed to be reunited with, or with the humans, the race she’s sworn to protect? On top of that, one of her greatest foes is reactivated with a burning hatred for anyone from Krypton — Rao help us all!

Plus, Sterling gives a special nod to Pauls Valley, OK, in this issue! Art by Jamal Igle & Keith Champagne. Cover by Alex Ross. Variant cover by Stephane Roux.

Missed the other parts of the New Krypton storyline? This arc is shaking up to be one of the greatest Superman story arcs ever. Check out New Krypton Special, Superman #681, New Guardian Special and Action Comics #871.

Matt scoured Artist’s Alley at Wizard World Texas and talked to a few comics creators there on camera for NewsOK.com.

Check out interviews with Scott Chitwood from Red 5 Comics, Robert Luedke of Head Press Publishing, “Love and Capes” creator Thom Zahler, as well as a spokesman for the Heroes 4 Heroes charity.

Matt and I trekked down to Arlington last weekend for Wizard World Texas. Travis went too. … At least he said he was going. But where were you, T? It must suck when your bosses go to the same place you go on vacation.

Even though we didn’t see Travis, we did talk to some cool people. One of the highlights of the trip was talking to Billy Tucci on Saturday night.

I am somewhat reluctant to meet creators if I’ve first met them through their work. But Billy is not only extremely talented, he’s also a neat person. We didn’t talk too much about comics. Instead, we talked about our kids. He has two boys, ages 6 and 2. He said he can already tell his youngest is built for West Point.

Billy claims his wife is the disciplinarian. But his discipline shows in his work. His first issue of Sgt Rock: The Last Battalion came out last week, and it’s the first appearance of Easy Company in a while. Billy said in the DC panel that he’s met with the veterans who fought in the battle that inspired the story. His art comes directly from his visits to the battlefield. This homage to Japanese-American soldiers who faced discrimination at home may be the work of his career.

- Annette

P.S. - For more convention coverage, visit Matt’s Nerdage blog.

The Captain America movie now has a director, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Joe Johnston, who is finishing up a remake of “The Wolfman” starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins will direct “First Avenger: Captain America” due out summer 2011. The movie does not have a writer attached yet, but will be set in the World War II era.

Best-selling comic book writer/director Kevin Smith (Green Arrow, Daredevil, Clerks) steps into Gotham City to write Batman: Cacophony. Issue #1 of this 3-part miniseries is out this week! Practically from out of nowhere, the mysterious masked killer known as Onomatopoeia returns and sets his sights - and sounds - against The Caped Crusader! Art by Walt J. Flanagan and Sandra Hope. Cover by Adam Kubert.

Bat-fans rejoice! Also out this week, Detective Comics #850, and the phenomenal Joker hardcover graphic novel that flew off the shelves last week is back in stock!

Lori Murphy tells us even unicorns read Supergirl.

This is how she found her daughter Elizabeth reading Supergirl #34. Makes sense to us!

Thanks for the picture!

Catch up on the graphic novel that started it all. Three new hardcovers are now in the store:

Watching the Watchmen Artist Dave Gibbons opens his archives to reveal the secrets behind the book’s creation with a stunning array of previously unpublished sketches, early script extracts and exclusive photographs. Speeding Bullet has the comic-shop edition featuring a variant Comedian cover, a signature page from Gibbons featuring unseen archive art, and a set of eight wrapped art cards drawn from Gibbons’s Watchmen archive. $49.99

Watchmen: The Absolute Edition This oversized slipcased hardcover collects each page of art restored and recolored and approved by Gibbons to appear as originally intended. Additionally, this grand tome includes 48 pages of supplemental material produced exclusively for this edition and not seen since their original publication, including samples of Alan Moore’s scripts, the original proposal, Gibbons’s conceptual art, cover roughs, and much, much more! $75

Watchmen Hardcover Edition This is the first-ever hardcover edition of the Hugo Award-winning epic from writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, offered at DC’s standard trim size. This volume features a new cover by Gibbons and contains the high-quality, recolored pages found in the Absolute Edition. Also included are selected bonus sketch materials. $39.99

If you pre-ordered Watching the Watchmen, you’re already getting $10 off! For a limited time, buy Watching the Watchmen with either of the Watchmen hardback editions, and get an additional $20 off! That’s a savings of up to 60% off!