DC Comics 'looking into' claims that Batman artist used AI for comic book art

DC Comics have confirmed they are investigating claims on social media that an artist use AI to generate Batman imagery in a new comic.

The claims originate from a thread from Twitter/X user James Leech, who took to the platform to argue that AI-generated artwork may have been utilised in the new publication which is part of the Joker: Year One story arc.

The comments were made specifically about DC Comics' Batman #143 edition. The comic was written by Chip Zdarsky and illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino and Giuseppe Camuncoli

"Now that I’ve read all the issues of Batman that (Andrea Sorrentino) contributed to, I feel like there’s a pretty strong case that AI Art is being used,” Leech wrote.

“I’d love to be wrong about this, especially as the run has been so great, but it’s hard to avoid."Leech pointed out what he perceived to be "the usual telltale signs" of AI-generated artwork in, picking out the "strange anatomy, errors a human is unlikely to make".

He also wrote: "Another thing that stands out is how low resolution the 'painted' panels are compared to the rest of the art. Look at the pixelation and jpeg artefacts compared to the smooth speech balloons and non-painted art."

He noted the Joker's "weird hands" and "wandering nipples” as he picked through the artwork in a thread which has racked up more than one million views.

A spokesperson for DC Comics told indy100: "DC Comics has longstanding policies in place that all artwork must be the artist's original work. We are looking into the specifics of this situation."

Artificial intelligence being used to create art has become a controversial subject among artists.

One piece of AI art to go viral is a depiction of what Da Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa would look like today, and the result is… interesting to say the least.

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