Posted in: Comics, IDW, Valiant | Tagged: ai, AIWatch, Ignition Press, Jeremy Haun

A.I.Watch: Valiant, Ignition Press And An A.I. Eisner Award Nomination

A.I. in Valiant Entertainment and Ignition Press Instagram ads... and an A.I. Eisner Award nomination for Super Wizard Anthology?

Valiant Entertainment has been posting the following A.I. generated images on Instagram, somewhat based on Valiant characters (although Bloodshot looks more like Blade). Now, these are just the ads, but still. Is this Valiant? Or, um… vA.I.iant?

"We've been on watch. Some think they're just stories. We know the truth. Follow the trail to see what's coming. Register at the link in bio to track what's next."

In response, artist Raphael Stephan replied, "Are you serious?!?!?! So we, the artists, are finishing the last piece of bread!!!! We work for years, we draw every day, we take care of our health to at least somehow break through!!! And you just decided to generate everything through AI?!!!! Are you kidding me!!!??? I've sent you my portfolio for so many years, so many times!!!!! And I haven't even received an answer from you once!!!! I've been trying to get through for so many years!!!! I get up at 6 a.m. every damn day, draw, you can say I put off my life to draw and improve!!! Yes, I may not be the coolest and best artist, there are those who are better than me and they deserve a chance to draw such posters!!!! I go to bed at one o'clock in the morning!!!, and train my drawing skills to become better, to get a chance to make a living from it! And I'm not the only one like that! There are thousands of us! Artists who have devoted their whole lives to it! And you just took and decided to replace the artists with a generation?! Have you gone crazy with the whole publishing house there?! You just spit not only in the face of readers, you also spit on artists and illustrators."

However, I understand that this is a decision from DMG, the current owners of Valiant, rather than Alien Books, who are making the comic book line, published and distributed through IDW. And that whatever this is, it's nothing to do with the comic books. But something that definitely is a comic book…

Because the Eisner Awards 2026 have nominated Stardust the Super Wizard Anthology, edited by Van Jensen, from Blue Creek Creative, crowdfunded on Zoop in 2023, under Best Anthology which raised over $39,000 from 614 supporters on Zoop and included Michael Todasco, a "Visiting Fellow at the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence at SDSU, Writer, Angel Investor, Advisor" who says he "spends his days thinking about how AI will change how we create Using generative tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and the ever-growing slate."

And a year ago, Michael Todasco wrote on Linkedin, "My AI persona, Alex Irons, is being published in a new comic book compilation starring the 1940s, public domain superhero, Stardust the Super Wizard. I trained a model on the original Fletcher Hanks artwork and story structure, and the AI generated the published tale. However, don't buy it for that reason. There are 139 pages of insanely talented human creators who fill the rest of the book, including legends like Mike Allred. A couple of days remain to pre-order a copy. (And per my standard disclaimer- any proceeds I receive from this go directly to charity)"

He has previously published entire books under the name of Alex Irons, and also previously said "My AI-Written book, Artificial America, was just released in 13 countries. You can purchase a digital copy in the US for only $4, and all proceeds from global sales will benefit Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. If you pick up a copy, let me know what you think. Are the bots going to take over writing? If not now, when?"  Is that the Super Wizard Anthology? Or should that be Super Wizard A. I.nthology?

And then there's Airwalker, a graphic novel written by the late Stan Lee, with The Beauty co-creator Jeremy Haun, to be published by Ignition Press later this year. Nickel City Comics is an online comic book retailer. And they promoted a free ashcan comic previewing the graphic novel with this A.I. image that summons Stan Lee back from the afterlife to promote it…

And this A.I. generated text:

"#bolo Airwalker delivers a fast-paced origin story that blends street-level grit with cosmic superhero energy in a way that feels both classic and modern. Bo Chang is an instantly likable lead, carrying the emotional weight of family responsibility while being thrown into a much larger conflict involving science, power, and survival. The story moves quickly, making it an easy and entertaining read, but still gives enough depth to make readers care about Bo's struggles in Chinatown and his relationship with his mother. Fans of classic Stan Lee concepts will recognize the underdog spirit and larger-than-life transformation at the heart of the book. Danny Luckert's variant cover is a standout and gives this ashcan edition an energetic, collector-friendly appeal. While the story mainly serves as a setup for future adventures, it succeeds in introducing an interesting hero with plenty of potential. Overall, Airwalker is a fun and promising launch that comic fans should definitely grab at their local comic shop. #readcomics #comicsaregoodforyou #ignitionpress #ashcan @jerhaun @d_luckert @ignitionpress FYI all orders from Nickel City Comics will receive a FREE copy just mention this post (while supplies last)."

Is this Airwalker? Or is it A.I. rwalker? The post was liked by Ignition Press founder Jeremy Haun, Ignition Press EIC Jamie Rich, Comic Book Yeti, Ande Parks, Capes And Tights Podcast and many more. Ignition Press tells me that this was created by an independent retailer and was shared in that light before the A.I. aspect was brought to their attention. Ignition Press states that they have "a firm "no AI" stance as a publisher and in fact, all of our contracts explicitly prohibit the use of AI in any of the content we generate… Since its inception, Ignition Press has been firmly committed to not using generative AI in any of our comics, marketing, or other content. In fact, all our agreements with creative talent explicitly prohibit its use. We and our creators are also committed to supporting our retail partners, and fans, and do our best to signal boost enthusiasm for our titles on social media. We routinely share and engage with hundreds of posts on a weekly basis. We don't knowingly engage with, or signal boost any AI-generated content. If and when it happens inadvertently, we rescind or remove our support and make our creators aware of it as well."

Then there are the Substack posts by Mad Cave Studios CCO and CEO, Mark London, which seem to be entirely A.I. written, unless he really has a love of certain sentence structures… you be the judge whether or not it's Mad CA.I.ve or not.

And right now ComicBook.com has an A.I. vending machine on their homepage… or should that be… hang on, I'll get this… ComA.I.icBook.com? Yeah, okay, I'll stop now.

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