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In Defense of Synthetic Comics

The Comics Journal • Published on 10 Feb 2025 • ~2750 words
Ilan Manouach makes a case for embracing generative AI for comic production, or at least, against stigmatizing it. He argues for using the term "synthetic comics" over "AI comics," highlighting the historical symbiosis between comics and technological innovation.
… the apprehension surrounding the introduction of ML tools in comics contradicts the medium’s longstanding, symbiotic relation to technology. I believe it’s fair to write that in a medium that has historically served as a laboratory for today’s global entertainment industries, the vast majority of contemporary comics artists are not only unwilling to see the potential of computational tools, but are also vehemently opposed to the idea of integrating them for the production of their work.
It is surprising that this industry, which has historically embraced "swiping"— the deliberate replication of panels or pages from prior works and arguably one of comics' most innovative contributions to the history of creativity— would now rigidly assert the "human hand" as the only warrant of authentic creativity. While comics communities have long celebrated artistic borrowing and reinterpretation as sources of innovation, they pain to understand how new technologies can help them, much like previous generations refused to acknowledge how digital tools would empower them. Today, few would claim that contemporary comics are a weaker form of expression due to digital photo editing tools such as Photoshop or Procreate.

Read on The Comics Journal

Added on 10 Feb 2025 13:55

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