In some recent columns, I’ve talked about AI. A few days ago, I mentioned some of the ways I use AI tools. On Mondays, I try to cover Archie for a lot of reasons. Recently, for the fun of it, I asked some AI to give me their Archie picks just out of curiosity. As usual, I am here to change anyone’s mind about anything. All I try to do is give a different perspective.
Like many, I see a lot of chatter about people stopping the use of AI. I wish they didn’t, because it’s here and not going away. If anything, the role of AI in so many things will only grow. Do I think there should be no guardrails? Absolutely, not. However, that’s out of my wheelhouse.
I often go to AI for, say, a podcast episode description or a social media post. More often than not, it’s better than anything I could come up with on the fly. Ethically, I don’t have a problem with that. I think it should be harder for high school and college students to write AI-generated papers.
When I bring a guest on the show, I always create talking points. They at least have an idea of what we’re going to talk about. For some guests who have repeatedly discussed the same topic, I try to find new angles.
Recently, I was prepping a show and working with a specific publisher to ensure the talking points were in order. One of the creators, whom I didn’t reach out to, wrote this: Just got through probably the most well-researched bunch of questions for an upcoming appearance. I mean, I was half-expecting it to mention that one time I split my trousers whilst playing football at school, aged 9!
That’s common, and I don’t brag about it. It just means I am doing things right. Another example: many Bronze Age creators are getting older. When they go, not only do we lose their voices, but we also lose the last to have known some of the greats of the Golden Age, like Carmine Infantino and Julie Schwartz.
A good example is Elliot S! Maggin. I taped him last summer and again for a show out right now for the Super Weekend. Okay, from a geeky fanboy perspective, to be communicating in whatever way with someone whose comics I grew up—well, any fanboy gets the idea.
The other day, I put out, Elliot S! Maggin: The Superman Writer Every Fan Should Know. Okay. I was geeked out as that fanboy to get an email saying he liked it. From someone who tries to take comic journalism seriously, it’s, again, nice to know I am at least on the right track.
One more Maggin example, for the longest time, I wanted to take the tapings and convert them into a print format to post on a website. Doing it manually was too time-consuming. However, with Maggin’s taping, I went to AI with specific parameters to take the transcript and condense it to around 1000 words. And this was very important: keeping the guest’s EXACT words. No paraphrasing or any changes.
I sent it to him for approval, then did some light grammar editing, inserted some backlinks, and put it up on First Comic News today. It is only AI the correct way, and I have another thing in my toolbelt.
It isn’t about, “Look at me! I interviewed Maggin!” It provides another way for fans to learn more about a creator or some comic books. And one of my personal mandates is to get more comics read by all ages—because there are tons of fantastic comics waiting for fans to discover.
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