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Supergirl has Bilquis Evely to thank for her movie. Bilquis Evely has Supergirl to thank for her career

Evely's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is the bedrock of the DCU's second film. And had the artist not found Kara Zor-El at a pivotal point in her life, neither the comic or the film would've been the same

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Tue Jun 23 2026

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The movie-going public is about to understand the origin of Supergirl in a way they never have, as the Craig Gillespie-directed, Milly Alcock-starring movie introduces a DC Comics staple to a DC casual audience. Part of the reason for their understanding will be Bilquis Evely, who co-created the comic upon which the second DCU film is based, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. But here's the really interesting thing: as much as artist Evely is responsible for new fans knowing the origins of Supergirl, Kara Zor-El is an integral part of her own origin story.

Let us explain.

In 2025, Evely sat down with the folks at Gizmodo for a retrospective on her book alongside author Tom King and colorist Matheus Lopes. And while the interview is filled with fascinating insights into the Maid of Might, Evely also used the discussion to reveal a central truth to her career as a comic artist: that is, she wouldn't have one without Supergirl.

"Kara has a ton of meaning to me," Evely explained, "It’s a story I always tell: I always loved to draw since I was very young, I always liked to create characters and stories. But I didn’t know doing comics was [a viable career], because there just wasn’t a thing in Brazil like that. We didn’t have access to a lot of comics."

Evely's perception changed, however, after one fateful encounter at an arts supply shop.

"When I was a teenager," she continued, "I was in a paper store, and I saw a thumbs up from Supergirl on a cover—I recognized her from cartoons, from television. But there was a little bit of text on the cover that said 'Oh, drawn by a Brazilian artist.' It was a real job, and done by a Brazilian? 'I can do that too?'"

Decades later, Evely's career had taken off, but Superman's tougher cousin wasn't done molding her destiny. Having reached "a very stressful moment," in her professional life as an artist, Evely reveals that it was coming onto the Woman of Tomorrow miniseries that revived her passion for the medium

"In the process of creating the pages, I felt like I was starting to fall in love with comics again, [...] Supergirl… I discovered my future job through her. And then she saved me again, and brought me back to what I really love."

Whether you're looking for truth or justice ahead of DC Studios' Supergirl movie, we have everything you need to know. Here are:

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.