Gretchen Felker-Martin #

Introduction #

Gretchen Felker-Martin is an American horror novelist and film and television critic whose relationship with DC Comics effectively ended in September 2025, when the publisher abruptly cancelled the Red Hood series she was writing. The cancellation came around September 10, in the same week right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on stage in Utah. Per Comics Beat, DC moved against the title after deeming some of the writer’s Bluesky posts about Kirk’s murder a violation of the company’s social media policy. The consequence fell on the work itself, and it drew a sharply divided reaction.

Background Information #

Felker-Martin grew up in rural New Hampshire, was raised Baha’i before becoming an atheist, and moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2007. She is a transgender writer who uses she/her pronouns. Her writing career spans 2016 to the present across horror fiction, science fiction, and film criticism published in outlets such as Polygon and Time.

She is best known as a novelist. Her novels include Ego Homini Lupus (2019), Manhunt (2022), Cuckoo (2024), and Black Flame (2025). Manhunt, published by Tor Nightfire, placed No. 1 on Vulture’s list of “The Best Books of 2022,” and in October 2024 Lilly Wachowski announced she would adapt it into a television series with Felker-Martin involved. Her most recent novel, Black Flame, was published on August 5, 2025.

Before Red Hood, Felker-Martin had written for DC Comics on an irregular basis since 2023, with stories in Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and DC Pride.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

In June 2025, DC Comics announced that Felker-Martin would write an ongoing Red Hood series, with art by Jeff Spokes. The first issue hit the stands on September 10, 2025 — the same day Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on stage in Utah. Per Comics Beat, DC abruptly cancelled the series after deeming some of the writer’s Bluesky posts about the murder a violation of the company’s social media policy.

The posts at the center of the decision included “Thoughts and prayers you Nazi bitch” and “Hope the bullet’s okay after touching Charlie Kirk,” both published on her since-suspended Bluesky account. The Popverse reported that DC cited unspecified “posts or public comments that can be viewed as promoting hostility or violence,” and that the Hollywood Reporter explicitly tied the series’ conclusion to Felker-Martin’s Bluesky posts about Kirk’s assassination, noting that, according to anonymous sources inside DC, those posts were “merely the final straw that broke the camel’s back, rather than the sole reason for Red Hood’s cancellation.”

The Popverse reported that roughly three weeks before the cancellation, Felker-Martin received a call from editor Andrea Turturro and Batman group editor Rob Levin regarding resurfaced past social media posts about the Israeli attacks on Palestine. During the call, she said, she was told there “had been some internal hesitation about going forward, just because of the breadth and vitriolic nature of everything going on. I know the concern was coming from higher up. I don’t know who, exactly, just that it was coming from someone at the more executive level.” DC confirmed to The Comics Journal that this call took place, as well as a second call with editor-in-chief Marie Javins on September 10.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

Felker-Martin said she had no regrets about her comments. She told The Comics Journal, “I had no regrets for what I said about [Kirk],” and added that she feels bad the rest of the creative team was impacted by the cancellation and had privately reached out to other team members amid the controversy. Citing Kirk’s history of inciting violence against the queer community, she said of the killing, “[Kirk’s murder] just didn’t strike me as an especially hot flashpoint. This is such a loathsome person.”

She also framed the cancellation in terms of how DC treated her. The Popverse reported that she said, “Frankly, I feel that they were interested in my cachet as a transgressive horror author, and the moment that became politically disadvantageous for them, they cut and ran.” Comics Beat reported that she felt “disposable” to DC as a transgender creator and that she has expressed no desire to return to the publisher. The Popverse also reported that she said, “I have no desire to be part of any organization that wants to pretend that people like Charlie Kirk are decent human beings who deserve respect.”

Reaction outside the controversy was mixed. Per Comics Beat, the author Roxane Gay admonished DC, saying, “Every writer here should be decrying this because we have to stand up for each other! This is ridiculous.” Right-wing comics artist Ethan Van Sciver celebrated the news, tweeting “we got one.” DC offered retailers a full refund for all purchased copies of Red Hood #1, including those already sold; Lunar Distribution reportedly asked retailers to pull the first issue from their shelves, with most copies reportedly ending up with collectors and scalpers, and the cheapest “Buy it Now” listings on eBay running between $20 and $30.

Current Status #

As of the sources reviewed, Felker-Martin has no active role at DC Comics and has publicly said she has no desire to return. Her prose career, however, continued through and past the cancellation. Black Flame, published in August 2025, became a USA Today best-seller, was named one of Them magazine’s Best LGBTQ+ Books of 2025, won the 2025 Transfeminine Review Reader’s Choice Award for Outstanding Horror, and was nominated for a British Fantasy Award. A new novel, Chimera, is set for 2026, and the Lilly Wachowski television adaptation of Manhunt remains in development.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The cancellation of Red Hood was the defining event of Felker-Martin’s brief run at DC Comics. Because she worked as a freelance, contract writer rather than a staff employee, the consequence was not a termination but the abrupt end of a creative project and of her relationship with the company. For supporters, the cancellation highlighted an inconsistent application of DC’s own standards; for critics, it underscored the publisher’s right to distance itself from statements it could not defend. Either way, the Red Hood series was cancelled within days of its debut, and Felker-Martin has said DC cut and ran “the moment that became politically disadvantageous for them.”