San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2026 was last week/weekend (July 22nd - 25th). It’s the biggest celebration of the last surviving, successful, print media: comic books. I was there for the first time last year. Throughout my time on the floor, I could feel the ultimate villain’s specter everywhere I turned. Artificial intelligence (AI) was the bogeyman, the bad guy, the scourge of all things art.

Long story short, every single artist attending the show was against the use of AI in the generation of images. I spoke to dozens of pro-artists, like Marc Silvestri, David Peterson, Michael Golden, Bob Burden, Stan Sakai, Jae Lee, just about every pro in the artist alley. It was a resounding NO-AI EVER.

Just after the convention ended, famed artist Jim Lee, who is now the President of DC Comics, stated that DC Comics will never use AI art or storytelling in anything.

It was a staunch rebuke of AI-generated content overall. It makes me wonder about all the AI generation in our tools. I made a shockingly long list of AI engineering tools in an editorial recently. Go take a look here. Every part of engineering can be AI generated. Is it OK to use all these?

My Inspiration

When I got back from the show, I drew this. It’s the embodiment of everyone’s feelings… AI vs. hand-drawn art. 

I took some inspiration from how various X-Men (Marvel Comics) artists drew their heroes in the 1990s. But zero chance I’d be able to sketch and render like a Marc Silvestri or Jim Lee (yes, the DC President), though I tried.

For the record, I have to state that I used AI to generate the “Major A.I.” character in the background. I thought it would be cool if Major A.I. wore a costume with other villains’ faces pasted all over it. Why? Cuz he’s just a copier, a fraud, a fake, unskilled, with no personality of his own. Here’s the kicker: It turned out well-proportioned and pretty startling to look at. I only had to do a few cleanup fixes by hand. (Time to create Major A.I.: 15 seconds)

The character of the “Illustratress” is my first attempt ever at drawing a superhero. Her weapons are drawing tools. Perhaps her power is the strength of human creativity. Destroying AI art with real hand-drawn sketches come to life. (Time to draw and color Illustratress: 4 hours)

Analyzing if AI-Generated Work is Ethical

Drawings aside... AI can do just about anything now. But does that make me a producer of whatever it cranks out? Let’s analyze.

AI could make me a symphony. Am I a great composer because I asked it to do it for me?

AI could design a circuit. Am I that circuit's designer because I asked it to do it for me?

AI could generate the code for a whole game. Am I a game designer because I asked it to do it for me? 

You get the idea. AI could make me a BLANK. Am I a professional BLANK because I asked it to do it for me?

Can someone ethically claim they created these AI-generated works as if it’s their own? Chime in — in the comments below (follow this link).

This is a growing issue in the scientific research world, too. Papers, formulas, results all generated by AI, where the researchers sign their names to it. But AI in research is a debate for another time. But, I hope soon. 

Ironically, I'm putting together an upcoming “Special Report” all about using AI to augment engineering practices. Making an argument that it’s essential to use AI tools to become better engineers. All the while, I rally against AI use in certain areas.

To be honest, I'm using this to help put my opinion to paper, so to speak. If you read my editorial from a few EDWs ago, you can read a little about my views on AI’s use in engineering design. Also, a debate for another time.

The Big Question

We all agree that AI use in writing, or storytelling in Jim Lee’s case, is not something that's “OK” for an author to put forth as their final product. Even if they directed the AI to do whatever. It’s an immediate rejection, and you will get called out, or worse. Like all those AI-generated papers. But, what about everything else that AI can generate?

How do you, personally, feel about AI generated works? Whether is be writing, images, video, sound, anything AI generated, let us know how you feel about it in the comments below. Click this link to automatically scroll to the comments. 

This debate will return again in my Special Report. AI’s use in engineering, coming soon. 

See the rest of my cartoons in the Engineering on Friday comic gallery.