--- title: "President of DC Comics Says It Will Never Use AI" description: "DC Comics president and publisher Jim Lee announced that the company will \"not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork.\"" date: "2025-10-09" modified: "2025-10-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/president-dc-comics-never-use-ai" categories: - "Art" - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" - "Future Society" --- # President of DC Comics Says It Will Never Use AI ![DC Comics president and publisher Jim Lee announced that the company will "not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork."]() *Aldara Zarraoa/Getty Images for SDCCMalaga* At this year's New York Comic Con, DC Comics president and publisher Jim Lee made a striking announcement: that the company will "not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork." "Not now, not ever, as long as \[SVP, general manager\] Anne DePies and I are in charge," he added, as [quoted by *The Verge*](). "People have an instinctive reaction to what feels authentic," he added. "We recoil from what feels fake. That’s why human creativity matters." "AI doesn’t dream," Lee argued. "It doesn’t feel. It doesn’t make art. It aggregates it." It's a refreshing sentiment, considering the Hollywood studio execs who have welcomed the controversial tech with open arms. While early attempts to harness the power of generative AI have [turned out to be a headache]() in practice, studios and investors alike are nonetheless chomping at the bit to [turn the film industry into a conveyor belt of AI slop](). The comic book industry has been far from immune. Just last month, the late Marvel comic book legend Stan Lee was [resurrected in the form of an AI-powered hologram]() at the Los Angeles Comic Con, [leading to backlash](). Lee's comments were reportedly [well received and met with "cheering]()" at the New York Comic Con panel discussion, highlighting growing disillusionment and frustration among fans of the ever-encroaching and seemingly unstoppable tide of AI sloppification. It's a noteworthy commitment, especially given Lee's standing at the helm of the largest and oldest publishing company in the comic book industry. Could the tides finally be turning as [public sentiment of generative AI continues to plummet]()? Artists have long warned that AI poses a [direct threat to the livelihoods]() of creatives everywhere. That's despite worries that execs could be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. As Lee suggests, true human creativity, by definition, can't come from an AI, which was trained on a copious amount of material that predates it, and simply remixes it. "Anyone can draw a cape," Lee said at the event. "Anyone can write a hero. That’s been around as long as comics have been. It’s called fanfiction, and there’s nothing wrong with fanfiction." "But Superman only feels right when he’s in the DC universe," he added. "Our universe, our mythos. That’s what endures. That’s what will carry us into the next century." While many users on social media [lauded]() Lee for his latest comments, some took a more hesitant tone. "Jim Lee openly disparaging AI in no way guarantees anything, no one knows what the future of AI is and no one knows who will be in charge at DC Comics down the line," comic artist Evan Dorkin [wrote in a post](). "But I think it's important that a popular artist publicly shot AI down," he added. "Fans and artists ignorant of or using AI need to hear this." **More on comics:** [*Stan Lee Resuscitated for AI-Powered Hologram at Comic Con*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()