The comic book industry has nearly died before. Some artists fear AI will kill it

It may surprise some people unfamiliar with the US comic book industry, with its multibillion-dollar movie tie-ins, that it’s been on death’s door multiple times over the decades. Now AI tech tools are adding new fears of a grim reaping.

It may surprise some people unfamiliar with the comic book industry, with its multibillion-dollar movie tie-ins, that it’s been on the verge of collapse multiple times over the decades. Now AI tools are adding new fears of a death knell. From political censorship in the 1950s to a sales crash in the 1990s and the modern era of digital distribution, creators can be understandably hostile to a technology widely viewed as a vehicle for copyright theft. Still, some artists are embracing generative AI despite tensions over its use, hoping to ride the disruptive wave like comic book creators have done time and again to survive. In November, comics legend Jim Starlin, creator of the archvillain Thanos of the Marvel films, revealed in an interview with Popverse that he would be incorporating AI in a future book. While he noted he would be transparent about what parts of his work would be touched by AI, he also likened opponents of the technology to Luddites. “Embrace the fact that you can do three book projects at once now where before you couldn’t do one. Embrace the fact that you can take your thing and extrapolate it, you can basically create a world of assistants,” illustrator and AI art instructor Steve McDonald told CNN. “There’s a positive way to look at it is my point.” Comic book publishing platform WEBTOON agrees. In its SEC filing for its IPO earlier this year, the digital publisher pointed to its new AI tools being rolled out for creators to speed up production.