Groundbreaking actress, activist, comic book scribe and memoir, Nicole Maines made history as the first transgender superhero on television, playing Nia Naru (aka Dreamer) in Supergirl. Since playing Dreamer on TV, she has also brought her characters into the world of comics, shaping the Dreamer’s story into pages. After that, Maines expanded her creative influence by writing more stories for DC comics, further shaping the future of LGBTQ+ representatives in the superhero genre.
While at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, Beat had the opportunity to talk to Main, where she worked with her go-to Taco Bell Order, a Dreamer story that worked with the artist to guide her to the page, sharing the challenge and victory that Dreamer’s story moves on.
Interviews have been edited for clarity.
Ollie Kaplan: Starting with an icebreaker. I saw you went to Taco Bell, so what is your go-to order?
Nicole Maines: I went to Taco Bell. I like the gorgeous craving box. I love the combo with Dr. Pepper.
Kaplan: I want a soft pitch that pitches on the Taco Bell Quarterly. Because it’s very strange friendly and run by a transman.
Main: What? Who knew? Would they give me tacos for the cartoon? It’s lovely and what I want. Write as many gorgeous boxes and taco cartoons as possible. Please give me a CrunchWrap Supreme. They are very good. So my boyfriend and I rode his dirt bike. We put it in a taxi, boarded the canyon and had a picnic of small food rats.
Kaplan: My wife, Avery Kaplan, and I also go on such dates. Just as we pick up Taco Bells and eat them in the mountains.
Main: Classic.
Kaplan: When working with artists like Rye Hickman, what is the collaborative process like, and how do they help you bring that vision back to life?
Main: I give artists as much space as possible. My favorite part of reading comic books is always art, so I write my scripts and send them out, but I always try to leave the room. “Hey, this is what you imagine in this scene, but if this page seems to require additional panels, or if there’s less one panel, if the muse takes you, if you can rewrite it, then you can rewrite it.” And that’s what usually happens: they take the art back to me, and I say, “Oh, I like it,” and I go in and do my lettering pass and make sure everything fits. Yes, I’m not too stingy and I try not to get trapped in certain things.
Kaplan: Do you have a favorite moment that just follows up what you said and suggests that one of your artists later ended up in a comic?
Main: Travis Mercer and I worked on Superson and Absolute Power Tie-in. I had a very tall job. We were in John Kent’s dreamscape, “Look, there’s three consecutive two-page spreads, no panels, and there’s a vision of total confusion and surrealistness apart. What do you think?” And Travis returned with the most beautiful tapestry. It’s gorgeous. So it sticks out at me because it came out better than I could have imagined. It was beautiful.
Kaplan: I love that you’re always promoting art.
Main: Like I said, it’s gorgeous. That’s my favorite part. Travis is sitting there. He said, “No, no, she’s a bitch. She’s never going to work with her. She’s a nightmare and is set on stone.”
Travis Mercer: When we were in moments, when I was drawing them, we were like, “What is the atmosphere? What is the music?”
Main: Taylor Swift.
Mercer: That’s exactly what it was. Yes, we had a synergistic effect with our collaboration, which was a moment-to-moment. It was not a regular email to email. As I was drawing, I got a text message and then we called to confirm. That last page had to be perfect and I did it on a more stringent schedule than I thought.
Main: We were in a hurry to do that too. David came out huge.
Kaplan: What was the turnaround time for that?
Main: Ah, I don’t remember.
Mercer: I don’t remember, but I know it was right after San Diego. I was doing the layout here, and as soon as I landed, my butt was in the chair.
Main: We were at Lloyds and you said, “Look at this. This is what we’re doing.”
Kaplan: I love it.
Maines: Well, the fact that Dreamer and John Kent’s songs “don’t say it anymore.” That last panel had a reason. People think about whatever they want, and whatever they grow up for them. So we wanted to hit the moment very hard.
Kaplan: T-Swift for the President?
Main: I say no. I love her music, but I don’t love her politics.
Kaplan: You’re going to get you all the quick stuff.
Main: Ah, billionaires are fine. Like I said, I love her music. I got a live show from the limited edition in Paris.
Kaplan: Recently I had to write a dreamer in a morally grey story. So, how about making the dreamer become a morally grey character?
Main: Well, I’ve been saying a lot of time when it comes to trance representation we think we’re being kept to very high standards. And I think there’s this feeling that we need to be unexpected and perfect, as if we weren’t, everything would crash, and the doors would close behind us and we’re always blocking exercise. And for the cartoon dreamer, it was a journey to become a war criminal, a murder accessory, and avoid everything she was not supposed to do. Still, she’s still a good person. But seeing her fail so badly over and over again left her in a space that was excited to bring her back. She’s on a downswing now. I’m waiting for momentum to come back.
Kaplan: Are there any teasers for Dreamer Fans on what that trajectory looks like?
Main: We’re about to watch her team back up for the first time as she was a kid with her best friend Taylor Burtsley, the Galaxy. This is the first time I’ve teamed up in a mainline DC comic. And together they take part in a Justice League mission, with the Galaxy bringing in the Dreamer. And Dreamer is not a member of the Justice League as she didn’t get one of those flashy little cards as she is a known war criminal.
Kaplan: It’s good to see the perfect circle.
Main: I’m excited because they’re coming back together, and it’s very similar to that park and rec meme where someone dies.
Kaplan: Ah, it’s fun!
Main: Yes, that’s what it will be.
Kaplan: As Amalogram’s things have returned to style, which other universe you are – doesn’t need to be a wonder?
Main: Something related to Sandman, Dream, Morpheus, etc. I think that’s perfect. Or a legion of superheroes. It feels like several different aspects of the power and origin of the NIA have not yet been explored and expanded. I hate the realm of dreams, so I want to call it a dream. I said, “I just want to call it that!”
Keep an eye out for more coverage from SDCC ’25.
Like this:
Like loading…
