The recently released ‘Bloodshot’ #1 and writer Mauro Mantella have come under fire for espousing anti-trans rhetoric.
Earlier this week, comic book publisher Valiant continued its recent “Beyond” reboot with Bloodshot #1. Shortly after its release, readers noted the comic—written by Mauro Mantella with art by Fernando Heinz Furukawa—contained narration that felt like a pointed jab at transgender people.
In the panels below from the issue, Bloodshot muses about his struggles against vampires and how the Yakuza have worked with the local government to “normalize blood consumption, and that’s messing with the minds of the younger ones. […] There are kids who want to be bitten to become vampires because their favorite influencer says they’re one. And parents who force their children into that irreversible change just to feel modern, and believing that they’ll be thankful for it when they grow up.”
The character’s inner thoughts aren’t that dissimilar to how transphobic people seem to think people begin to question their gender identity—the idea that trans people do it for kicks, or that they’ve been led astray by a particular person online who’s spreading the message, particularly when it comes to kids.
