The Big Two officially spoke out against the use of AI in comics at New York Comic Con. Following DC President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee’s keynote address at Wednesday’s retail presentation, Marvel Editor-in-Chief CB Cebulski strongly opposed the use of AI in comics.
“Yes, we have never used AI,” Cebulski said in response to a fan who asked if Marvel would be vocal about the growing intrusion of generative AI in the creative arts. “They’ve really gone to great lengths to detect AI…We’ve never used AI, we never will, and we have no intention of condoning AI in the Marvel Comics division.”
These are powerful words from Cebulski, whose credibility has often been questioned due to his past use of yellowface under the pen name “Akira Yoshida.” His record-breaking against AI is a big deal, especially after Tom Brevoort, Marvel’s senior vice president and executive editor, described AI as “a lot of fun to use” on Substack last month.
Comic Book Club Live host Alex Zalben posted Cebulski’s quote to Bluesky during the Q&A portion of the panel. Commenters have already noted the differences between Cebulski’s answer and Brevoort’s post, which talked about Google’s Gemini experiment and received understandable backlash.
Cebulski becomes the second major figure in the comics industry to speak out against the use of AI at this year’s New York Comic Con, following DC’s Jim Lee.
“DC Comics does not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork. Not now. Never as long as Anne Deppy and I are in charge,” Lee said in a retail presentation Wednesday. “What we do and why we do it is rooted in our humanity. It is this fragile and beautiful connection between imagination and emotion that inspires our media and makes our world come alive.”
“It’s an imperfect line, a creative risk, a hand-drawn gesture that no algorithm can reproduce. When I paint, I make mistakes, and there are a lot of them,” he continued. “But that’s the point. The dirt, the rough lines, the hesitations, that’s me in this piece. That’s my journey. That’s what brings it to life. It’s a product of real hard work. Inspiration and sweat.”
“Fans feel it. They feel it when something is carefully crafted, when it has taken an artist’s time, energy, heart and effort. People respond instinctively to things that feel authentic. They balk at things that feel fake.” “That’s why human creativity matters. AI doesn’t dream. AI doesn’t feel. And AI doesn’t make art, it aggregates art. Our job as creators, storytellers, and publishers is to make people feel something real. That’s why we create. That’s why we’re still here.”
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage of NYCC ’25.
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