The subject of AI art and AI writing has been a touchy one for those in the mainstream comic industry and the mainstream media. Many mediocre talents feel threatened that they won’t be able to compete with AI-generated work, and rightfully so. Now, a list has been published of artists Midjourney used to scrape to be able to learn to generate content, and several comic book legends like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko are on the list. Brian Michael Bendis, a long-time Marvel and DC Comics writer, has something to say about it.
AI art has been talked about with a sneer among mainstream comic industry professionals for some time. Those scraping by to make a living are hit hardest by concept art, as someone can use a site like Midjourney to come up with a baseline concept to generate their ideas much more quickly and cheaply than trying to hire a professional artist.
Marvel artist Mark Brooks, who’s often been accused of tracing his images for his covers, uses his platform to rally against AI art all the time, including one post to Instagram with the letters AI with a cross through it. It’s unclear how he generated that image.
Most of what AI art has been used for in the real world is making memes, like the image of the “cancel pigs,” which Fandom Pulse often uses on this site to mock the mainstream comic industry pros like Mark Brooks, based on a turn of phrase Mark Millar used to talk about these same comic industry pros who harassed an online retailer for complaining about Marvel and DC Comics’ subpar products.
Ciderhype, creator of the independent comic The Colossals, has a more nuanced take on AI, stating on X, “AI can influence design, it can even offer a dynamic poses. But it is by no means capable of making ART. Cider MAX’s design is inspired by AI renderings. I hired a human designer to bring these renderings to life. Only the human Soul makes art.”
However, mainstream comic industry pros like Brian Michael Bendis have a different take.
Phil Foglio, a long-time artist of steampunk webcomic Girl Genius, posted to the left-wing echo chamber BlueSky about AI art, stating, “hey just dropped a list of All the artists that Midjourney admits to having scraped to train its AI engine. Are YOU on it? (We are) Do you have a good lawyer? (We do).”
Very few people read posts there other than fellow comic industry professionals. Brian Michael Bendis chimed in with a quote tweet, stating, “I know there’s a billion hot takes on this AI shit nightmare we’re all in but a moment for our long gone elders. There’s no WAY Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Jack Davis, Will elder, Virgil findlay or fucking STEVE DITKO wanted their work ab/used like this. oh, and happy new year :).”
He followed up with, “also alphabetical by FIRST name? super dick move, AI! (but you already knew that.) (because you’re AI) (if you didn’t, well, scrape this.)”
Foglio has reposted similar messages multiple times, hoping to stir up some trouble for MidJourney. Why he is so agitated with the service isn’t clear, but he wants the competition sued out of business.
As far as Brian Michael Bendis, he may have good reason to be concerned, as AI most certainly can generate better stories than he’s crafted in years. Because of his influence on comics, fans coined the term “Bendis-itis” when speaking about talking heads on a page with paragraphs of long dialogue that all sound the same regardless of character. It’s undoubtedly something ChatGPT could write better than Brian Michael Bendis.
Regardless of talent, Brian Michael Bendis does have a point regarding some of the names he listed. Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko were avid creator’s rights advocates, taking on corporations like Marvel and DC Comics regularly because of their stances. The Steve Ditko family estate recently settled with Marvel over rights to some of Steve Ditko’s creations.
In 2008, Steve Ditko savaged Stan Lee in an essay titled, “He Giveth And He Taketh Away,” in which he lambasts the Marvel Comics legend about ownership, creation, and his actions, calling Stan Lee a “sneak burglar” in the rant.
Regardless, AI is ever-increasing in power, and there are more options other than Midjourney being made every day. AI art will not go away despite the protests of comic industry professionals. It appears this is another instance where professionals like Brian Michael Bendis refuse to work on their craft and improve and instead blame someone else.
What do you think of Brian Michael Bendis’ comments on AI art? Is the comic industry in trouble? Leave a comment and let us know.
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“It is unclear how he generated this image” lol!
The AI imaging today is the worst it will ever be, and it gets better by the week. Persistency of character and setting is the only thing that keeps him in a job, and that will be solved before 2024 is out. Comic books and animation will have a few years where creators have a role reminiscent of directors or executive producers, with AI fulfilling jobs now done by a large and expensive team of creatives. That will then be challenged by fully automated stories custom-made on the fly for an audience of one. “Hello StoryAI, imagine a heroic epic adventure that follows a group from Sakhalin across feudal Japan to meet their destiny on the slopes of Mount Fuji, incorporating Japanese mythology like Tolkien did with European mythology for the Lord of the Rings.”
meh, good artists like good writers will always pull ahead.
the arguments are all about greed. they always have been. People who expect to get rich becAuse of their ‘talent’ and ‘artisticness’ instead of real work need to go back to the bottom of the barrel where they belong.
I am a writer, I am AT the bottom where I belong. The water is fine.