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Sterling Gates was a comic fan from a young age. His father owned a comic book store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and remembered that, "We had a garage full of comics for as long as I could remember and I would sit and read them for hours, then sneak them under the covers and read them in bed." When he started college, he also worked part-time in a local comic shop.

Gates attended the University of Oklahoma and earned a degree in Fine Arts with a specialization in film and television production. His professors used to get annoyed due to his desire to relate all of his schoolwork to comics in some way, shape, or form. His capstone thesis was about sequential art theory and relating time theory in comics to training in film and television. He went on to say that he, "must've referenced Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics a hundred times in that paper!" After moving out to Los Angeles, California to "do something with his life," he and a friend attended WonderCon in San Francisco where he met writer Geoff Johns.

One night in San Francisco, Gates and a friend went out to dinner and then to a bar. Afterwards, upon returning to their hotel, Gates and his friend spotted Johns and editor Steve Wacker in the lobby. After going to a nearby diner, Johns and Wacker had arrived there as well. After striking up a conversation, Gates, "...told them about how I just moved to L.A., and it turned out that Geoff and I shopped at the same comics shop, DJ's Universal, so we talked about that. We said our 'good-byes' and our 'nice-to-meet-you's' and then the host sat them, and then came back and sat us at the table literally right next to theirs. A table maybe five inches from their table. And we kind of all looked at each other and I thought, 'Can this get more awkward? I doubt it.'"

When Gates' friend, who was a rabid Johns fan, was not making the best first impression, Gates paid for Johns' and Wacker's meal as an apology. Gates hoped the meal would make up for his friend's behavior and after the generous act, Johns asked Gates directly, "Do you want a job?" Gates then interviewed with the writing staff for The Series on Johns' recommendation and was hired. After the series' cancellation, Gates discussed his history of writing comics with Johns, which was previously unbeknownst to him. Johns asked to read Gates' early comics work. Johns was impressed, and after Gates submitted outlines to Johns inspired by the Sinestro Corps War, Gates was interviewed by editor Eddie Berganza and was hired by DC Comics.

Gates told a back-up story about Sinestro Corps member Kryb with artist Jerry Ordway in Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman Prime. He went on to write a two-part story about Alpha Lantern Boodikka in Green Lantern Corps #21-22. He then took over full writing duties of the current Supergirl title featuring Kara Zor-El, starting with issue #34, in October 2008. Gates' involvement in that title places him as a writer for the New Krypton story arc.

Recent projects include the "Prometheus" Faces of Evil one-shot with artist Federico Dallocchio.

He is the co writer of the War of the Supermen storyline alongside Superman writer James Robinson.

Personal life

Gates lives in Los Angeles, where he is good friends with fellow writers and collaborators James Robinson and Geoff Johns.

Comics work includes:

• "Fear Is A Baby's Cry!" (with Jerry Ordway, in Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime, one-shot, DC Comics, December 2007)
• Green Lantern Corps #21-22 (DC Comics, April—May 2008)
• "New Krypton Special" (one-shot, DC Comics, December 2008)
• Supergirl #34- (ongoing series, DC Comics, December 2008-ongoing)
• Faces of Evil: "Prometheus" (with Federico Dallocchio, DC Comics, 2009)
• Secret Files 2009 (DC Comics, October 2009)
• "The Hunt For Reactron" (with Pete Perez, in Action Comics #881-, DC Comics, November 2009-ongoing)
• World's Finest (with Julian Lopez, 4-issue mini-series, DC Comics, December 2009-March 2010)