[5] Upon learning that Gates just recently moved to Los Angeles and had aspirations to work in television and film, Johns recommended him for an interview with the writing staff of Blade: The Series, where he was eventually hired as a production assistant.

[6] Despite planning to be a television writer, he created a few short scripts inspired by then-upcoming Green Lantern storyline "Sinestro Corps War" and gave them to Johns, who in turn passed them on to the editor Eddie Berganza.

[1] Soon after, Gates made his debut as a comic book writer with a back-up story in Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime, illustrated by veteran artist Jerry Ordway.

[18] Other projects of the period include a Kid Flash-centered tie-in to the "Flashpoint" crossover storyline[19][4] and a Captain Victory series for Dynamite created as part of the "Kirby: Genesis" initiative.

[25][26] In addition to Vibe, Gates ventured into the larger DC Universe with a number of one-off issues and a mini-series tying into the company-wide crossover storyline "Forever Evil".