Yesterday (August 15), news about a seemingly transphobic bit of narration in Alien Books/Valiant’s Bloodshot #1, the official kick-off to the new-reader-friendly Valiant Beyond initiative, spread across every bit of social media from Reddit to BlueSky. While Alien Books, publisher of Valiant, was quick to issue an official statement apologizing on behalf of themselves and writer Mauro Mantella, per unearthed tweets, it seems Mantella has been reposting anti-trans and other dicey posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) for a few years now.
In the comic book, which hit stores on Wednesday (August 13), the character of Bloodshot is hunting vampires who have been hypercharged thanks to a version of his own nanite-infused blood. While killing a vampire, Bloodshot’s narration reads, “There are kids who want to be bitten to become vampires because their favorite influencer says they are 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.”
These lines in particular stood out as a thinly veiled allegory for anti-trans talking points. In the released statement, Alien said, “That was never the intention. The original line was written by an Argentinian creator and was unfortunately a case of nuance being lost in translation.”
While many online were quick to point out that Mantella’s official bio on Simon & Schuster’s author page touts that he is an, “Argentinian Comic Book writer and translator,” far more to the point are posts that Mantella reposted over the past few years on X.
Comic book writer Joshua Dysart, who previously wrote Harbinger for Valiant, posted the following screenshot of a tweet from the account Agenda 2030, a parody account that regularly posts anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ memes and videos, among other things. The post includes a cartoon featuring a superhero woman versus a smoking businessman with the caption “what feminists think the gender war is,” while it’s contrasted with “what it really is,” depicting a man/woman/two kids family of four versus the businessman holding a feminist on a leash.
Meanwhile, Zoe Tunnell, the comic book writer who went viral yesterday on BlueSky for reposting the offending panel from Bloodshot #1, added a few of her own:
Both of the above posts are from Illuminatibot (which you can probably figure out what that account is about for yourself), and depict a video of a woman on a mic with the caption “when they’re not at home why men are being feminized,” and another with the man putting on clown makeup meme going from “there isn’t any DNA in the shots” to “Turbo Cancer is good for you.”
One additional tweet, per the user HuMaNPeRSoN, “is a video espousing basically every anti-trans/anti-lgbtq opinion,” alongside the previously detailed “what feminists think the gender war is” tweet.
All of these reposts seem to be from 2023, and an independent check of Mantella’s Twitter feed this morning (most of the above were screenshots shared last night) shows that most of these reposts are no longer present… Meaning they were either altered in some way, or the posts were unreposted given the continued online furor.
While most of Mantella’s remaining Twitter feed from the past few years is concerned with gaming memes and promoting his own comic book work (we reviewed posts going back to 2021) and the work of others, a few curious reposts, per the above, remain. One calls out “plummeting testosterone rates” and seems to be referencing either wearing masks and/or the COVID pandemic:
Another, also reposted, shows a meme equating COVID and vaccines with the Ukraine and UFOs:
The translation of the repost is roughly, “Well, that’s that, they’ve been scamming us. And now it’s the UFO’s turn. In recent days, according to reports, the US shot down one, Canada another, in China they’re about to shoot down one, in Uruguay they’re spotting one. In no time, UFOs will be the next pandemic. What do you think?”
While the conversation continues online, Alien Books — and Mantella — have promised to “do better” in their statement. Valiant Beyond: Bloodshot #2 is scheduled to be released on September 24, and the third issue on October 22, 2025.
You can read Alien Books’s previously released statement in full, below:
Alien Books and writer Mauro Mantella sincerely apologize for the harm caused by the phrasing in Bloodshot #1. While the story takes place in a fictional world of vampires and cults, we understand that a specific line of dialogue has been read as alluding to real-world issues, specifically, the discrimination faced by trans people.
That was never the intention. The original line was written by an Argentinian creator and was unfortunately a case of nuance being lost in translation. We fully recognize that intent does not erase impact, especially when dealing with subject matter that affects real lives and communities.
We are taking the following steps immediately:
The dialogue in question will be updated for all digital and collected editions to better reflect the intended fictional context.
Going forward, all scripts will undergo a more intense review by our proof readers as part of our editorial process to ensure clearer, more responsible storytelling.
We appreciate the feedback from readers, creators, and industry peers who brought this to our attention. We take this seriously and are committed to learning from it.
Alien Books values inclusion, empathy, and creative responsibility. We will do better.
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I’m argentininan too. That’s a bullshit excuse, there’s no way that would’ve been less terrible in Spanish.