With the Supergirl movie set to fly into theaters on June 26, it’s no surprise that DC is in the midst of a major push for the Maiden of Might with the Summer of Supergirl, a publishing initiative celebrating Kara Zor-El through new comics and graphic novels for fans of all ages. In fact this week sees the release of Supergirl’s Family Vacation, a new middle grade graphic novel from writer Brandon T. Snider and artist Sarah Leuver that sees a planned interrupted Super Family interstellar road trip interrupted.
Over the course of his career, Snider has certainly worked on a number of high-profile projects most notably Reuben Award-winning illustrated Rube Goldberg series and even a short story in the Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution one-shot. However, it’s no exaggeration to say that this Supergirl graphic novel marks a major professional and personal milestone. Ahead of its release tomorrow, The Beat had the immense pleasure of conducing an interview with Snider via to discuss the new Supergirl’s Family Vacation graphic novel. During our conversation, Snider revealed how the project was in development long before the new Supergirl movie and many more interesting tidbits.
Taimur Dar: I guess the first and obvious question to ask is how this Supergirl’s Family Vacation graphic novel came about? As tempting as it is to assume it was always planned as a publishing tie-in to the upcoming Supergirl movie, I believe this project has been in development long before the movie was even announced.
Brandon T. Snider: This story was conceived way before the Superman or Supergirl movie was announced. I pitched it back in 2022 and then it got greenlit a year later. It came from a place of wanting to explore the Super Family dynamic with kid Jon and teen Kara which is something we haven’t seen in the DCU because of continuity shenanigans. I love Superman as a dad and who wouldn’t want to write Lois Lane? She’s the best. A vacation in space felt like the perfect premise. The story has always been the same but originally Superman was the central character. Once it got greenlit we rightly shifted it to Kara’s POV and adjusted a couple things to make that work. Those changes really opened up the story in so many ways. Kara, as a character, has a level of depth that is unmatched. She’s experienced an insane amount of trauma but she endures. Centering her story gave the book everything it needed to pop.
Taimur Dar: I’m curious if anything in the graphic novel was changed or added after details about the Supergirl movie were revealed? I’ll refrain from major spoilers, but there are some overlapping elements in both Supergirl’s Family Vacation and the upcoming movie.
Brandon T. Snider: Nope. Nothing changed. And I purposely didn’t read Woman of Tomorrow because I didn’t want anything from it to get into my head and affect the story I wanted to tell. But I’m going to read it soon! Before the movie comes out.
Taimur Dar: At this point, Superman has come to be known by most as the “boy scout.” But it recently occurred to me that there’s no one definitive take on Supergirl as a character. I love the various and vastly different interpretations of Kara over the decades, my favorite probably being the punk rocker version in the DC Super Hero Girls animated series. What’s your favorite interpretation of Supergirl and how would you describe the version depicted in the graphic novel?
Brandon T. Snider: When I was little I loved red headband Supergirl and saw the Helen Slater movie when it came out. Then when I was a teenager I read the Peter David series which was a departure from what I knew and totally its own thing. Once Kara Zor-El was properly returned to life I really gravitated toward the Sterling Gates run and the New Krypton stuff. I’m currently reading Sophie Campbell’s run and enjoying what she’s doing. There are a lot of new flavors and fun remixes. My version of Supergirl is an amalgam of everything maybe? She’s a kid for one so we’re getting some pre-teen angst with a couple twists. Kara has been through so much and continues to roll with the punches which is a tall order for someone her age.
What I think makes her special in our book is a level of moral clarity that is fairly cut and dry. She knows right and wrong. A lot of kids do. It’s adults that swing in to say “oh we can’t solve every problem” or “that’s too complicated” whereas Kara sees through all of those excuses and doesn’t just accept what an adult tells her. She’s a helper and she’s unafraid to challenge others to be helpers too. That’s what I love about her.
Taimur Dar: The graphic novel definitely features characters that diehard DC fans will recognize but even some obscure and deep cuts like Rori Dag. Even I had to look up that specific character. I’m curious how you thought to include Rori Dag and some of the other supporting characters?
Brandon T. Snider: I love a deep cut and sometimes when I’m doing research I’ll come across a character or an alien race or something that fits exactly the role that I need. It’s total kismet. My collection of Who’s Who are professionally bound and I have all the DC Encyclopedias so expect the unexpected! Rori Dag is a figure who plays a very important and specific role in DCU history but I’d never heard of them before so I thought why not repurpose them for this story?
As for someone like Natasha Irons, she was the perfect BFF for Kara. The Irons family are part of the Super Family. Kara is impulsive whereas Natasha is analytical. She’s a big thinker who sees scientific opportunity and innovation in everything. It’s not “oh look we found this incredible discovery that will make us a million dollars” it’s “oh look we found this incredible discovery that might help us save lives and change the world for better.” That makes her a hero. I love writing friends and her relationship with Kara is very special. They have each other’s backs in a sweet way. Natasha is also just a badass inventor who has tricks up every sleeve. There are a couple other character surprises in this book too. Let’s just say if there are space dolphins outside your window, lock your Supermobile doors.
Taimur Dar: I imagine Supergirl’s Family Vacation was a dream project for artist Sarah Leuver. She’s posted some amazing art of Supergirl on her Instagram over the years. Was getting her involved an easy no-brainer, and how was the collaborative experience?
Brandon T. Snider: Sarah was born to draw this book! We are so lucky to have her talents. Our wonderful editor, Kristy Quinn, suggested Sarah when we got greenlit and it was such a no-brainer. Sarah has such a great ability to mimic various house styles like the DC Animated stuff but this is her doing her own thing and I love that. The style she uses for this book has a wonderful manga influence. I tried to give her what she needed and then get out of her way. Sarah brought a lot of depth and expression to these characters in the best way. I really think her version of Kara is definitive. It makes me want to see her in animated form.
Taimur Dar: There’s no shortage of Easter Eggs in the graphic novel. I think my personal favorite is the Batman 1989 movie beach towel. Do you have a favorite Easter Egg or detail that you think only a small number of fans will notice?
Brandon T. Snider: The majority of the Easter Eggs are all Sarah’s doing. I love the Batman 89 towel. All those little nods make me so happy. My favorite is Kara’s Space Girls t-shirt which is modeled on a certain girl group from the 90’s. Sarah created a whole Space Girls group that we never actually see! If you run into me or Sarah at a con this year we’ll have the Supergirl’s Family Vacation ashcan which is filled with all those fun behind the scenes bits so you can see.
Taimur Dar: I have a feeling ’80s movies such as National Lampoon’s Vacation and Adventures in Babysitting were a big influence on Supergirl’s Family Vacation. Was that indeed the case, and what else inspired the graphic novel?
Brandon T. Snider: Oh yeah. Those films definitely served as inspiration but also I just love vacation stories. It’s a chance for characters to step outside themselves a little bit. And, of course, it’s great when we see them under duress. Weirdly I was originally inspired watching the DC Super Pets movie on a plane. HaHa. I liked it’s portrayal of Superman and thought it would be cool to tell a story where Superman is a dad on a space road trip. That felt like a natural way to tell a humorous story.
Taimur Dar: Obviously this graphic novel is a self-contained stand-alone story but I have no doubt you’d love to do more. Even if it’s a just a “wait and see” situation, do you have potential future stories ruminating in your head?
Brandon T. Snider: Oh yes. 1000%. I wish I could write the Super Family forever and definitely have a next chapter ready to go if the time comes. We’ll see. If fans clamor for it, you never know. My advice is always to let DC Comics know that you like the book and want more.
Taimur Dar: Finally, any upcoming projects you want to plug or tease?
Brandon T. Snider: I’m working on a new thing with DC that I can’t talk about yet but I’m having the time of my life. More on that soon. I’ve also got a new middle grade novel series coming from Disney next year called Monster Middle School that’s really fun. Other than that I’ve got KPop Demon Hunters Mad Libs dropping in the Fall and will be all over the place promoting Supergirl’s Family Vacation this summer so check out cootiekid.com because I might be coming to a town near you.
Supergirl’s Family Vacation will be available in stores Tuesday, May 5, 2026.
