DC Comics has decided to remove all of Francesco Mattina's future variant covers following allegations that he used generative artificial intelligence (AI) in his artwork. The accusations were made by comic book artist Adi Granov, who accused Mattina of plagiarism and pointed out errors in his work. Fans had noticed that some of Mattina's recent work seemed off and determined that he was using AI. The allegations sparked controversy in the comic book community, with concerns about the use of AI to avoid paying artists or plagiarize their work. Marvel artist Adi Granov called Mattina a 'serial plagiarist.'
Rich Johnston, a comic book journalist, first noticed the change in solicitations and reported on it. DC Comics has replaced some of Mattina's covers with new ones and has listed his future covers as 'To Be Announced.' This is not the first time DC has dealt with AI being used for variant covers. Companies across industries are exploring the use of AI, but using it for visual-heavy mediums like comic book covers has been met with negative responses. DC Comics has not yet responded to requests for comment [7953ed2c] [3ed05adb].