DC's Silence on AI Art Speaks Volumes

Back in February 2024, Andrea Sorrentino came under fire for alleged use of AI art in his pages of Batman #142. There were several tell-tale signs that the art came from an artificial intelligence image generator, such as inconsistencies from Sorrentino's usual style, oddities with the hands, as well as several technical parts of the art that make it suspicious (excellently outlined in this X thread by James Leech: https://x.com/jamesdleech/status/1766874645423120670?t=RFO1W1tQsXFYmlXOo62ofA&s=19 )

In March 2024, when DC solicitations were released for the following June, and artist Daixong was accused of using AI art, at least in part, to generate covers for Powergirl #10, Wonder Woman #10, and Shazam #15. While Daixong posted to Instagram his process to clear his name, it was inconclusive as he posted after the initial sketch was done - meaning it easily could have been a tracing of AI art. DC pulled the covers but did not issue an official statement condoning the use of AI art.

Then, just this past weekend, the solicitations for September 2024 were released. Among the variant covers for Action Comics #1069 is Cover C by Francesco Mattina. Mattina's cover shows a glaring mistake on the Superman emblem - a second loop at the bottom of the S. As a result, many are accusing Mattina of using an AI image generator to create this cover.

While every artist makes mistakes, the issues with Sorrentino's, Daixong's, and Mattina's covers are common issues seen with AI art. Sorrentino's complete change in art style is rather telling. I do think the Daixong covers are a different story as while there are some odd choices on the covers, such as some sort of long thin sash on the Power Girl cover, or the oddly shaped star on Wonder Woman's shield, I would say they are hardly definitive enough to accuse someone of using AI. However, Mattina's mistake on one of the most iconic emblems of all time, a mistake that reeks of the type of error an image generator would make. I don't know if the solution to avoid these types of scenarios is to require artists to supply some kind of evidence that no AI was used (that seems impractical) or just go through a rigorous screening process, which these obviously haven't gone through; otherwise this art never would have been released in the first place.

Regardless of all of this, I am in no position to accuse these artists because I am not an artist and these artists are the only ones that know for sure if they used AI image generators to enhance, speed-up, or even replace their art. I am not here to cast stones, and I urge everyone to not start witch hunts when you think art is AI generated. But one thing I do know is that DC Comics (and other comic publishers for that matter) needs to make a definitive statement on their position in regards to AI art. We have had 3 incidents in the last 5 months, and this problem will only get worse as AI becomes more trained and difficult to detect. While I can understand the pressure that artists are under to hit deadlines, the completely and totally unethical use of AI to essentially do their work for them. Regardless of whether or not these are actual uses of AI, DC should make it very clear where they stand.

If DC chooses to endorse the use of AI art, the backlash will be huge from both creators and consumers alike. They will lose creators that don't want to work for a company that uses AI art, they will lose customers that don't want to pay top dollar for computer generated images, and perhaps most importantly, they'll lose customers because they won't be able to attract top creative talent while having this stance.

I'm sure DC is looking at this from a business standpoint: AI could very well save them a lot of time, and thus, a lot of money. However, the consequences of AI use could irrepably damage their brand and relationship with their customer base. This sort of damage would easily outweigh any positives of using AI.

Most importantly, comic publishers have a responsibility to protect the creators they hire. This is more than the printing press replacing handwriting, even more than self-checkout replacing cashiers - this is bypassing what makes art important and worthwhile; the human element. Without the creators that make their comics (movies, TV Shows, etc.), these characters that DC holds the rights to are worth significantly less.

The executive leadership at DC Comics has a responsibility to the Warner Bros. Discovery stockholders to keep earnings high. They have a responsibility to the creators that they hire to create an environment in which the creators' writing and art can get out to its audience. They have a responsibility to the fans that buy their comics (movies, TV Shows, etc.) to provide the best possible product they can.

The best way for DC Comics to fulfill these responsibilities is to make a strong statement against the use of AI art in its media, and follow it up with strong stances taken against offenders.