Making Friends with Superheroes

The Opportunity:

I never thought buying a domain would lead to where it has. The ".tv" domain wasn't particularly popular but it was getting great SEO and Google rankings. On a whim I bought Supergirl.tv and started a website to follow, then, CBS' new show Supergirl. Before I knew it, Warner Brothers was reaching out to me to see if I would work with them in covering the show!

Iterating for Growth:

The second version of the site was created to accommodate the increasing demand for visitor interaction. On top of a complete redesign, each article was fitted with a comments section where users could comment on news and events. Furthermore, a forum section was added so users are able to create their own articles on a series of pre-approved topics both about the show and other topics.

The third version of the site was designed to add new design trends to the look and feel. Utilizing parallax animations, full screen imagery, and fixed positioning on navigation, the current site is fresh and appealing to new and returning visitors. This version of the site also includes a members-only section of the site to help boost donations.

The More Heroes the Merrier:

While Supergirl.tv was experiencing fantastic success, whispers of other new shows were also coming. Doubling down on the strategy that worked so well for Supergirl, I purchased; Thewitcher.tv, Batwoman.tv, Stargirl.tv, Youngjustice.tv, Harleyquinn.tv, DCTV.news and finally Supermanandloistv.com. As each new show was announced I would spin up a new website utilizing the templates I designed for the content management system Joomla. Running these websites was growing more and more difficult to do so I invited my wife and mother to join me. Before we knew it, we had a staff of seven volunteers who also loved comicbook tv as much as we did.

Shake-Up in the Industry:

Jumping into this world of comic book television and entertainment journalism was a crazy ride. It led me to some serious once in a lifetime opportunities. I interviewed cast members, met them in person, conducted interviews on the red carpet, went to swanky Hollywood parties and even attended Comic-Con as a member of the press! I think the crown jewel for me was being able to see the first episode of Stargirl with the executive producer at his office on the Warner Brothers lot months before the show would even air!

But just as companies grow, change, experience RIFs and alter priorities, so to does the entertainment industry. The covid pandemic hit television particularly hard. Shows like Stargirl and Superman and Lois would have to start and stop production every covid test. Warner Brothers was looking to make changes too. The CW, the primary network these shows were airing on, was going to be sold. In the end, DC Comics completely rebuilt their entertainment model and with James Gunn now in charge, DC Comic book television would have to go through him. This effectively ended the shows that were in production. The final episode of Superman and Lois was aired December 2nd, 2024. This ended my journey into the comic tv world. A decade of absolute fun and life experiences I will never forget.

Hanging Up My Cape:

While this experience is something I wouldn't trade anything in the world for, it is a bit of a gift that this journey has found its conclusion. Every night that an episode of a show I was covering was on meant I would be watching it on the East Coast feed and recapping it as it happened, then publishing my review before the West Coast feed began. When that would happen, my wife and I would live tweet reactions to the episode along with cast and crew. On nights where two or more episodes would air, we would be working late into the night! But as I said before, I wouldn't trade this for anything. Here's one of my favorite interviews I ever did on the red carpet with Supergirl series star Melissa Benoist.

The business impact:

There isn't much of a business impact here. I did create a business to cover all of these sites that I was doing with my wife but we never did it for profit. At best we could maybe cover a flight or two. It did, however, develop my interview skills, SEO and social media skills as well as push my development and visual design abilities. At it's peak, we had over 1/2 million followers on Facebook, 100,000+ on Twitter and would see daily visits that hit 80,000 homepage views. For me, more importantly: