u/Chozogirl86

Hi, everyone. I just released a new book section focusing on survivors of SA and anti-predatory vampire poetics (the Gothic) and wanted to share it—namely a video of me reading an essay about SA and surviving but also communicating it in vampiric language.

CW: discussions of SA and surviving it, vampires and blood, sexism, racism, transphobia, fascism and police abuse

tl;dr - trans author (and sex worker) releases a surprise eighth book, honoring her mother as a fellow SA survivor

original introduction (with multiple essays, including the one about Mom, SA, ghosts and vampires): https://nicksmovieinsights.com/2026/04/interview-with-the-vampire-retracing-my-steps-post-book-series-to-recall-how-i-got-here.html

video section "vampires, SA and anti-predation": https://youtu.be/zo2FJrAl5aI?t=667

video section "honoring Mom (rememory essay, surviving abuse and vampiric ghosts and avengers)": https://youtu.be/zo2FJrAl5aI?t=2557

One, this piece comes from my own survivor's perspective as gleaned from my mother (formerly a homeless woman who taught me a lot about respecting sex workers, homeless people, and women [and people treated like women] who are abused by all manner of bad actors).

It also comes from me as a trans-woman Gothic researcher, academic, activist and sex worker invested in media analysis, politics and critical-thinking skills helping prevent future abuse on a systemic level. I was gearing up to release a new book volume, which—while it focuses on older work, before my book series, PhD, master's or even undergrad—includes a 2026 introduction section, "Interview with the Vampire" (on account that I'm on a bit of a vampire kick). This ties to my interest in Atun-Shei's upcoming vampire quasi-documentary and historical horror movie, The Vampires of New Orleans (ETA late 2026), but also my work interviewing other sex workers and work on Gothic media, anti-fascism and TERFs.

Hi, everyone. I recently watched Invincible and noticed it had a lot of vampire themes in it, which made me think of my prior query here about vampires being Socialist or, at the very least, tied to historically "Socialist" figures (where or not they always were in practice; e.g., Stalin and company's homophobia); re: can vampires be socialist? Specifically Stalin and Red Scare Themes in Invincible; or, is the "Man of Steel" Tied to America's Superman in Ways that Reflect in Socialist Dogma and Great Men (of History)?

My cited essay above (first link) includes with Thragg (and his "therapy skull") echoing historical figures like Alexander the Great and Octavian, but also Vlad the Impaler and Stalin in real life. The show is super violent, but also fixated on fascist and Communist "Red Scare" tropes that take "Nazi Superman" and really run with it. I've seen others like Vivian Strange and Thought Slime comment on Superman's existence within kayfabe and punk, for example, but not Invincible specifically (though Bornok's video on Tighten from Megamind hits on similar notes Invincible does). And conversely, James Gunn has made a similar "vampire Superman" with his 2019 Brightburn film.

I was wondering what people here thought about Invincible in particular? Namely its vampire themes on the Superman myth, similar to DBZ and other revivals, having fascist face/heel kayfabe elements (etc). To that, centrist kayfabe tends to elide fascism and Communism on and offstage vs America. Then again, Stalin (originally an American ally; re: "Uncle Joe") adopted, along with the other ruling bureaucratic elements of the USSR, various homophobic ideas and policies seen in Nazi Germany and America. But what do people think?

Edit: I was noticing a trend in the comments of this question asked elsewhere, namely the "supermen aren't vampires" kind. To anyone who says/thinks that, think about it like this: "vampire" = a metaphor, meaning to compare two unlike things.

To that, asking "are supermen vampires?" is a poetic invitation to make such a comparison; i.e., supermen to vampires, or legendary alien beings tied to great power and wealth from other/older more notably barbaric (and extravagant) worlds and time periods; e.g., most famously, Dracula (demonized after his death but being a giant dick in real life), but also the Kurgan or Connor MacLeod, and evil Superman (or just Superman period, as vampires aren't exclusively evil beings; e.g., the Count from Sesame Street). Same goes for Thragg or anyone else in that show (even humans can have vampiric qualities; e.g., evil lawyers, or supervillains with no superpowers [other than money and unscrupulously abusing it] like Lex Luthor).

Hi, everyone. I recently watched Invincible and noticed it had a lot of vampire themes in it. This includes with Thragg (and his "therapy skull") echoing historical figures like Alexander the Great and Octavian, but also Vlad the Impaler and Stalin in real life. The show is super violent, but also fixated on fascist and Communist "Red Scare" tropes that take "Nazi Superman" and really run with it. I've seen others like Vivian Strange and Thought Slime comment on Superman's existence within kayfabe and punk, for example, but not Invincible specifically (though Bornok's video on Tighten from Megamind hits on similar notes Invincible does). And conversely, James Gunn has made a similar "vampire Superman" with his 2019 Brightburn film.

I was wondering what people here thought about Invincible in particular? Namely its vampire themes on the Superman myth, similar to DBZ and other revivals, having fascist face/heel kayfabe elements (etc). :)

Edit: I was noticing a trend in the comments, namely the "supermen aren't vampires" kind. To anyone who says that, think about it like this: "vampire" = a metaphor, meaning to compare two unlike things (and which, in academia, is called "synthesis," or the [dare-I-say-commonplace] merger of differing ideas and works to make something new).

To that, asking "are supermen vampires?" is a poetic invitation to make such a comparison; i.e., supermen to vampires, or legendary alien beings tied to great power and wealth from other/older more notably barbaric (and extravagant) worlds and time periods; e.g., most famously, Dracula (demonized after his death but being a giant dick in real life), but also the Kurgan or Connor MacLeod, and evil Superman (or just Superman period, as vampires aren't exclusively evil beings; e.g., the Count from Sesame Street). Same goes for Thragg or anyone else in that show (even humans can have vampiric qualities; e.g., evil lawyers, or supervillains with no superpowers [other than money and unscrupulously abusing it] like Lex Luthor).

Andrew Rakich, a YouTuber essayist and activist, is also a horror nerd releasing a documentary/horror movie hybrid: The Vampires of New Orleans. According to the wiki, "The Vampires of New Orleans is an upcoming feature-length docudrama from Atun-Shei Films. Incorporating both educational and fictional elements, it will explore how the horrors of New Orleans history resonate to the present day" (source).

As a scholar of vampires and the undead (tied to Gothic more broadly), myself, I'm interested in Rakich's approach, as such; e.g., I came across his work initially through critiques of the Lost Cause myth and Civil War histories, on YouTube, but also really enjoy his use of camp (Nazi outfits) to "bash the fash" and punch up for a variety of worth causes (Indigenous activism, eco-Socialism, anti-racism, etc). "New Orleans" appears to do all of that while walking the line between fiction/non-fiction, all while focusing on vampires. So I wanted to discuss the film and its approach, here; i.e., as part of vampires and the Gothic mode, as a whole.

For further details on my interest in this work by invite Atun-Shei, I invite them to discuss their upcoming film, The Vampires of New Orleans, alongside my own work: https://youtu.be/l8EeziQWOpo