This week saw the latest relaunch of the Valiant Universe with Valiant Beyond: Bloodshot #1 now being published by Alien Books. The comic, written by Mauro Mantella, is a different take on Bloodshot with the character taking on Yakuza vampires and a drug called B-S made from the nanites in Bloodshot’s blood.

In my review, I thought the new direction was derivative of Marvel’s Blade with far too many elements we’ve seen from that series and generally hardcore Bloodshot or action fans would appreciate it but it wasn’t anything special and has been done before offering little new so far.

But, one bit of dialogue went completely over my head and after being pointed out, it’s something I can’t unsee. In one scene, Bloodshot battles vampires and the narrative goes on about “normalizing blood consumption” with fake blood and influencers and “parents who force their children into that irreversible change.” It echoes language used by TERFS and in anti-Trans panic to attack gender-affirming care that has been shown to save lives.

In a climate where rights for transgender are not only under attack but also being stripped away, the panels saw a flurry of condemnation from comic fans as well as numerous creators, including some who have previously worked on Bloodshot.

Alien Books has released a statement regarding the comic and scene with steps to update the dialogue and an effort to prevent something like this happening again.

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.

The statement has received a mixed response with requests for the original dialogue to be released before it was translated. Valiant has had a very bumpy recent history, and history overall, and this attempt to relaunch the comic universe is off to another stumble with this.