Artificial intelligence is spreading fast across nearly every industry, and even showed up at DC Comics, but now they say they’re drawing a line. Jim Lee, the President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics, told fans at New York Comic Con that the company “will not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork. Not now, not ever as long as I am in charge.”
Lee’s comments made it clear that he sees creativity as an effort rooted in human experience. “It’s that fragile, beautiful connection between imagination and emotion that fuels our media, the stuff that makes our universe come alive,” he said. “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.”
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He believes fans notice the difference. “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.”
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Lee’s position comes as many creative industries experiment with AI image generators and text tools. While some claim these technologies can help artists save time or explore new styles, their use in comics often results in artwork that looks mechanical and uninspired. AI art may be easy, but it lacks effort and emotion. It is lazy by nature, and many fans see through it.
DC Comics, however, has another problem it still needs to address. The company has become known for inserting overt political themes into many of its stories, which alienated longtime readers who just want compelling characters and good stories. If DC can maintain its refusal to rely on AI art in addition to pumping the brakes from its unwelcome trend of pushing politics into its comics, it might find a path back to the kind of engaging, genuinely human storytelling that once set it apart.
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It’s not that hard. Most fans care about merit, talent, and good stories, not algorithms or propaganda.
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English (US) · 