Gretchen Felker-Martin Red Hood Comic Cancelled

DC Comics has terminated its newly launched Red Hood comic book series after comments made about the passing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk by its writer, Gretchen Felker-Martin, caused controversy. The publisher took action quickly after Felker-Martin's posts on Bluesky, a new social media platform, prompted significant backlash. 

Who is Gretchen Felker-Martin?

Gretchen Felker-Martin is a transgender author, primarily of horror/speculative fiction. She has written novels like Manhunt, which was adapted into a show, and has published short stories in comics such as Harley Quinn #41. She is anarcho-trans, and makes few bones about her identity and what it means in terms of trans equity. She has drawn attention in the comic and literary space with her distinct narratives and unflinchingly honest features and positions.

Background of the Red Hood Series

Red Hood was a mature content rated comic book series and it was part of the Black Label line at DC Comics. The comic book series included Jason Todd, who was previously known as Robin and Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress and the focus was on the two heroes going through some challenges in the fictional city of New Angelique. The first issue dropped on September 10, 2025, with plans for the second and third issues also to be released in October and November, respectively.

What the Red Hood Comic Was About

The Red Hood continuing series followed Jason Todd, after Jason returned from the dead as the antihero Red Hood. The two issues of Jason Todd and Huntress was an antihero comic that followed Jason Todd and Huntress as they fought crime in the seedy fictional city of New Angelique. The comic had themes of revenge, morality, and justice, including Jason's struggles to fight crime with violent methods but a desire to save New Angelique and its citizens. The comic explored the complicated relationship between Jason and Helena, the Huntress, as they straddle the lines between being a hero and an avenger. This comic with more mature themes was more geared to appeal to adult readers looking for darker superhero stories with grey moralities. 

Following massive backlash, DC Comics has officially canceled trans writer Gretchen Felker-Martin’s Red Hood series after just one issue.

The first issue was released on Wednesday, but DC has now pulled the plug on all future installments.

In a notice sent to comic book… pic.twitter.com/zAX26MaWxv

— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) September 11, 2025

Gretchen Felker-Martin Faces Backlash on Social Media Post

After the news of Charlie Kirk's death on the Utah Valley University campus, Gretchen Felker-Martin made some posts on the social media site Bluesky that many people found to be offensive. Many of the posts were perceived to be celebrations, which brought a lot of negative social media reactions. As many of the messages were screenshotted and posted on social media, people from all groups - fans of her work, people who knew of her from public media, the public in general, etc - were critical of her social media messages. This issue also brought up a lot of social media conversations and even debates about the responsibilities of writers as creators to express personal messages on public platforms.

Reason Behind the Red Hood Comic Cancellation

The cancellation of the Red Hood comic series stemmed from controversial posts on social media by writer, Gretchen Felker-Martin. After the death of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, Felker-Martin made comments the general public deemed incorrect and highly insensitive on a social media platform. These comments created an enormous backlash online and now DC Comics was in a tough situation. To maintain DC's professional stature and a community that belies hostility or violence, DC made the right decision to cancel the rest of the issues in the series. The publisher stated that while creators have their own voices, the writers and artists need to remember that their public comments need to fall in line with the basic values that the company upholds.

Fans Reaction to the Cancellation

Fans have publicly reacted to the cancellation in many different ways. Many fans who were ready to be engaged with Jason Todd's journey were disappointed. Some felt DC overreacted, and created an imbalance between artists and their own thoughts, saying art should be pursued independent of the personal beliefs of the creator. Others felt supportive of the decision, neighbors to be cautious about their public stances against taking actions that may hurt or harm the goal of inclusion. States of response across Twitter, with a general theme of tension between creative freedom and accountability.