By Dan Brown

Two comics-related announcements jumped out at me last week.

They are both about the current state of the industry.

What to make of them? I honestly don’t know. At this point, I’ve got more questions than answers.

So I’m going to lay the two statements out for you, along with some thoughts, in hopes some kind of meaning will emerge.

The first was a speech delivered by DC Comics President Jim Lee to comic-store owners at New York Comic Con, in which he said the company will never use artificial intelligence, so long as he’s the boss.

“DC Comics will not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork. Not now, not ever, as long as I am in charge,” he promised the crowd.

“Because what we do and why we do it is rooted in our humanity. It's that fragile, beautiful connection between imagination and emotion that fuels our media, the stuff that makes our universe come alive. It's the imperfect mind, the creative risk, the hand-drawn gesture that no algorithm can replicate.”

“And when I draw, I make mistakes, a lot of them. But that's the point. The smudge, the rough line, the hesitation. That's me in the work. That's my journey. That's what makes it come alive. It's the product of true effort, of inspiration, and perspiration. Fans know this. They sense this.”

“They can feel when something was made with care, when it cost the artist time, energy, heart, and effort. People have an instinctive reaction to what feels authentic. We recoil from what feels fake. That's why human creativity matters. AI doesn't dream. It doesn't feel. It doesn't make art. It aggregates it. Our job as creators, as storytellers, and as publishers is to make people feel something real. That's why we create, and that's why we're still here."

That’s about as passionate a defence of the human element in comics-making I’ve ever heard. And, cards on the table, I have no interest in reading comics or graphic novels that aren’t created by human hands.

But what if that’s what the market wants? What if young fans, who don’t have the same sentimental connection to comics history that I and my peers share, demand AI comics? Doesn’t DC have an obligation to serve the needs of those readers?

I ask because, for instance, there’s an entire segment of fandom that don’t want to read about characters like Batman – they want to be Batman, which they can do via online gaming. I’m not sure those fans care who (or what) is rendering their favourite characters. 

The second thing I noticed last week was a social-media post (I saw it on Facebook) from legendary comic writer Gail Simone, who has penned stories featuring heroes from Superman to Batgirl to Deadpool to her own creator-owned characters.

“It's been a really weird time for comics, there's no question about that,” she wrote.
“But I've spoken with the very biggest of wigs at three of the top five publishers in the last six weeks and they all said the same thing: Comic sales are up, a lot.”

“One also said there is a definite trend towards specifically physical things, particularly a subset, newish physical things, that people want to purchase. The message seems to be that different formats and variants and specialty items are growing in sales in a big way, while digital sales remain flat. It is honestly the most excited I have seen these companies in years.”

“This is going on through the pandemic and the election and inflation and tariffs and the distribution nightmare that retailers have to deal with. All those challenges, and comics are up and rising. I'm talking physical sales from U.S. publishers. In spite of all that stuff. And several companies have produced some genuine banging hits requiring multiple printings.”

“Not everything is rosey, but I think that's pretty exciting. I know there are caveats but without strong sales, nothing else matters, nothing is fixable without people getting the books. There's a lot of people who wouldn't give up . . . creators, publishers, retailers, and I'm thankful because you guys, I love this artform more than just about anything. But it all starts with readers. SO THANK YOU, READERS!”

Simone’s comments echo news coming out of the same gathering where Lee spoke, New York Comic Con. A report by Heidi MacDonald of Publishers Weekly quoted numbers showing sales are up by 27 per cent at many comic shops in the U.S. “despite looming threats from tariffs, recessions, book bans, and the turmoil generated by the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy.”

That all sounds like good news to me.

And maybe an indication AI may not be as much of a threat as some think.

Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.