NFTs
Comics’ Two Least Favorite Technologies Are Back in the News
Since the early 2020s, it’s hard to think of two less well-received developments in the world of comics than NFTs and AI. Both carry the vaguely fraudulent odor of over-the-top nonsense concocted by tech cronies and VCs to funnel more wealth to themselves at the expense of fans and creators. And both are in the news this week, along with another interesting digital announcement from Marvel Comics.
Marvel reveals a new digital strategy. Marvel was in the news this week with several big announcements made in conjunction with the SXSW technology conference.
The first is a repositioning of Marvel Unlimited, the subscription-based digital service that offers unlimited access to Marvel archives, to take advantage of vertically scrolling webtoon-style comics, which have proven to be the most popular format for reading sequential graphics. stories on mobile devices.
Marvel’s approach to this feels smart and uncontroversial. Younger fans of the brand and characters need a smooth way to get into the habit of reading about their favorite comics, and the webtoon format is a proven winner in this regard. If the content is good and readers like what they see, this is a good way to turn casual fans into comic readers and, potentially, retail comic buyers.
“The new comic reader app and online store fills a current gap in the industry, bringing fans subscription-free access to licensed and premium digital comics with richer experiences and a fan-centric approach to reading and collecting,” said Veve in a statement announcing the program.
The announcement emphasizes the fan- and creator-friendly aspects of the technology, particularly its ability to replicate the scarcity and collectability of comics online. This is arguably something that’s been missing on the digital side, and Marvel is isn’t the only publisher researching some version of this strategy.
The dirty secret of blockchain. The concept of blockchain-based “digital collectibles” remains controversial because of the despicable speculative market that has developed around NFTs in 2021 and 2022, and the sheer number of schemes driven by greed and hype that have collapsed amid numerous “rug pulling”. internal manipulation and total criminality.
But… the failures of entrepreneurs and business models during “web3 v1.0” cannot completely discredit the ultimate value of blockchain technology in the digital economy. Regardless of what happened, it still seems better for individuals to own the digital content they have purchased, rather than paying for the “use” (e.g., rental) of digital assets that reside on cloud servers that can be arbitrarily changed or terminated. It’s better for people to be able to resell digital content whose value can grow through supply and demand, like physical goods, rather than having platforms fully control all revenue streams. It’s best for these transactions to occur on open books, where you can establish creator rights, ownership, and provenance. There’s also a compelling argument that blockchain’s ability to track digital assets online could help mitigate some of the biggest issues around AI, specifically in protecting data from unauthorized “scraping” and authenticating content so we know what was generated by AI and what was generated. it was not.
Blockchain-based consumer technology continues to be a work in progress, and the implementation strategies of companies like Marvel and Veve deserve close scrutiny. However, this Veve announcement also deserves to be considered on its own merits, and the value it could bring to the comic book economy should not be discounted.
Meanwhile, AI continues to be embarrassing. I once heard an economist tell what is considered a joke in this field. He said a colleague asked how his wife was doing, and after training he responded, “compared to what?”
This comes to mind because regardless of what we may say about blockchain and NFTs, generative AI will always make it seem like the lesser evil in comparison, especially in the creative industries.
This week we have two alleged examples of AI-generated artwork making an unwelcome appearance in the comics space. The first involves the “Spawnuary” contest sponsored by Todd McFarlane, asking fans to create their own versions of some of the franchise’s iconic characters in hopes of gaining recognition and the possibility of publication. Several Comic YouTubers noted that one of the winning entries was produced by someone whose Instagram feed shows a lot of AI-generated work, triggering a firestorm of condemnation from fans and professionals alike. The person who produced the work denies using AI for that specific image.
At the same time, online sleuths believe they have uncovered evidence that AI-generated art was used in DC Comics’ Batman #143, violating DC policy. Artist James Leach posted the allegations on X (formerly Twitter) on March 10, writing “Now that I’ve read every issue of Batman that [artist Andrea Sorrentino] contributed, I feel like there’s a pretty strong case for AI Art being used. I would love to be wrong about this, especially since the run has been so good, but it’s hard to avoid.” DC said it is looking into the matter.
Both examples came under suspicion due to the clumsiness of their execution and the failure of the “creators” to sufficiently cover their tracks. This seems like a temporary problem, especially as technology improves and its users become more wary of being caught in the act.
Outrage helps. While companies may have problems with fans and professionals controlling the adoption of new technologies, it seems to me that this helps more than it hurts. The online backlash to the abuses of the NFT era has helped warn companies away from investments in unproven technology and business models that would likely have been disastrous.
The same outrage we have seen mobilized by creators against generative AI trained on works of art without consent or compensation, with a view to deskilling the creative professions, shifting more power to publishers, and drowning the market in bland, derivative AI-generated content, is having the same effect, shaming and exposing cynical practitioners.
Today’s blockchain-based digital collectibles ventures are approaching the market with considerably more humility thanks to this backlash, and consequently have a better chance of realizing some real benefits for the industry beyond just making some tech-friendly friends a little richer. We hope that one day the same can be said of generative AI, when the current bubble of enthusiasm runs aground.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the ICv2.com editorial team.
Rob Salkowitz is the author of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture and an Eisner Award nominee.