Manhunt author Gretchen Felker Martin says he has no regrets following the cancellation of the red hood. Written by Felker-Martin and featuring the art of Jeff Spokes, the title was suddenly cancelled yesterday after DC deemed some of the writer’s Bluesky’s posts about the murder of right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk as violating the company’s social media policy.
Felker Martin told the Comic Journal that he felt bad about the rest of the comic’s creative team being affected by the cancellation, but he “had no regrets about what I said (Kirk).” She said she personally reached out to other members of the creative team amidst the controversy.
Kirk passed away Wednesday after being shot on stage at an event in Utah. While elected officials are united in condemning political violence, many users on social media say they don’t lament his loss given Kirk’s history of prejudice and violent rhetoric.
Transgender Felker Martin cited Kirk’s history of inciting violence against strange communities when talking to the TCJ.
“(Kirk’s murder) didn’t attack me as a particularly poor point,” she said. “This is a very nasty person. Everyone on the entire internet talks about how much fun he’s getting him. …I saw that he died while spreading the prejudice that spread all his awakening moments. He should be caught up in stoned death like I did.”
In 2024, Kirk confronted the child entertainer Rachel, who cited New Testament instructions to “love your neighbor” regarding LGBTQIA+ people. He answered X by misquoting the Leviticus passage. “You don’t lie with a woman, it’s hatred, just like women” – “… you’ll be stoned to death.” This same X-exchange led Stephen King to criticize Kirk this week, but he later deleted the tweet and apologized.
Felker Martin has a history of inflammatory remarks on social media, including comments on the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She told TCJ she warned that hiring her to DC would bring her luggage.
“As soon as you hire me, you scream my head and your head between the ages of five and 100 of the craziest people you’ve met in your life,” Felker Martin said she told editor Ariana Tarturo when she was recruited for Red Hood.
In fact, comics were basically targeted by ComicGate and other right-wing commentators as soon as they were released. Although DC weathered the controversy, she received a call three weeks ago from Rob Levin, the group editor of Tarturro and Batman, after Felker Martin critically reported on some of Felker Martin’s comments about the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel three weeks ago.
Apparently during the conversation, Felker Martin was asked to be aware of her social media posts. In a TCJ article, both DC and other freelancers report that basic social media policies are part of the company’s standard employment agreement.
Speaking to TCJ, Felker Martin admitted that she knew that her post about Charlie Kirk was “as soon as I said it” was a problem for the publisher. Still, she says she didn’t do another opportunity differently.
Felker Martin said that his main job is writing prose, but it’s unlikely that DC would ask her to write more cartoons, and that if she was offered a job there, she wouldn’t take it. She told TCJ that she felt that DC was “disposable” as a transgender creator and wanted to embrace her controversial nature until DC was inconvenient for the company.
Felker Martin joins MSNBC’s Matthew Dowd. Dowd later apologized.
Felker Martin’s critics and supporters aren’t surprising on social media. Roxan Gay advises the DC for the shooting, saying, “All writers here should deceive this because they have to stand up against each other! This is ridiculous.” Right-wing comic artist Ethan Van Cyber is reportedly told to be communicated in his own social media posts.
DC offered retailers a full refund for Red Hood #1 on all copies purchased. Lunar Distribution reportedly asked retailers to pull the first issue off the shelf, but online chatter suggests that most copies of the title have been in the hands of collectors and females. Of the dozens of eBay copies, the cheapest “buy now” copies run between $20 and $30.
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