Mike Deodato Jr. rejects accusations of using AI in AWA’s ULTIMATE OZ
AWA states "AI was not used to create the art in Ultimate OZ Universe: The Lost Lands. Mike is a veteran in comics, a world-renowned artist with decades of work behind his name, and Ultimate OZ is very much in line with his recognizable style and storytelling approach."
It’s been a wild year of AI “development” and probably faster than anyone could have imagined. The comic book industry has been quick to point out such instances. Before the end of the year, we get one last example as comic artist Sean Northridge accused AWA’s Ultimate Oz Universe: The Lost Lands of “a mix of AI Slop, Trace Photo Ref, and Actual (mostly rushed) Art.”
Ultimate Oz Universe: The Lost Lands is a new graphic novel co-written by Cullen Bunn and Larry King, with art by Mike Deodato Jr., and a foreword from Elton John. Northridge raised this complaint as a backer of the Ultimate Oz Kickstarter, posting his frustration on Bluesky that “AWA Studios really pocketed 100K in Kickstarter Money and ran with this.”
Fans online have compiled examples of “inconsistent character, location, and face designs, telltale AI rendering on buildings, trees, and foliage” in the book. Calling into question the integrity of the book as well as asking for refunds.
When reached for a comment by The Beat, Deodato Jr stated “there is no AI-generated art used in Ultimate OZ Universe. The artwork is entirely created by human artists, using standard professional digital tools, in the same way comics have been made digitally for years. I’ve been drawing comics professionally for decades, and this project is no exception — it’s all hand-crafted work, guided by experience, storytelling, and artistic intent.”
In a separate statement, AWA also dismissed any AI rumors.
“The interior art is entirely by Mike Deodato Jr. (with colors by Ive Svorcina)… AI was not used to create the art in Ultimate OZ Universe: The Lost Lands,” the publisher wrote. “Mike is a veteran in comics, a world-renowned artist with decades of work behind his name, and Ultimate OZ is very much in line with his recognizable style and storytelling approach. We hired Mike for this project precisely because of that legacy and the craft he brings to the page. We’re incredibly proud of Mike’s work on this book, and of what the whole team has built together, and we hope readers enjoy it.”
This isn’t the first accusation thrown at AWA for using AI, as earlier this year, AWA’s book Polis (written by Mark Russell) used AI-generated art to accompany the conclusion essays.
“Our partners at Futurific Studios, wanted to explore new tools and artists for the backmatter, but for the comic stories we publish we do not use AI generated art — we hire the best creators in comics and will continue to do so” said NahuelFanjul-Arguijo, AWA’s Senior Marketing Director.
In this instance, AWA seemed not to inform Russell about this, and the writer only found out once the book was on the shelves.
“I did not collaborate with any of these people. I had nothing to do with any of them and today is the first I am hearing of any of this,” Russell posted back in April.
There is no AI art in Russell’s story; the AI art in the backmatter is used to provide examples of theoretical projects that could make the in-story world into a reality. These are mock-ups, in the same way an architecture firm would put out a 3D render of a building they might put out.
Your resident luddite here at The Beat is here to tell you that the cat is out of the bag, and we live in a world with no general consensus on reality. The rapid rise of AI has opened any piece of art to accusations from anyone, with no real end in sight. We as fans and media professionals need to be careful about raising these alarms.
