Paul Pope has written and drawn some of the most gorgeous comics of the twenty-first century — from “Batman: Year 100,” in which Batman challenges a dystopian surveillance state, to “Battling Boy,” with its adolescent god proving his mettle by fighting giant monsters.
Pope acknowledged in a Zoom interview with TechCrunch that the years since his last significant comics production, which was more than ten years ago, had been frustrating. He once claimed, “The public has not seen any of it yet,” while holding up a sizable stack of sketches.
Pope asserted that creating graphic novels differs from creating comics. It can take years, because you are essentially creating a novel while adhering to a contract. It can be really annoying because no one can see the work.
Fortunately, the drought is coming to an end. Pope’s career-spanning exhibition at the Philippe Labaune Gallery in New York has officially opened. In March, a larger version of his art book—now called “PulpHope2: The Art of Paul Pope”—was released. Additionally, Pope’s self-published science fiction epic “THB” will be collected in its first volume in the fall.
Pope reluctantly acknowledged that it was all part of “a number of chess moves” that were intended to “reintroduce” and “rebrand” him.
With publishers and authors suing AI businesses and generative AI tools going viral by imitating well-known artists, Pope’s comeback comes at a sensitive moment for the comics industry and creativity in general. He went so far as to say that it is “very feasible” that AI may soon replace comic book artists.
Given that Pope is renowned for mostly using brushes and ink rather than digital tools, the contrast is especially striking in his case. However, he stated that he is not ruling out using AI, which he currently employs for his study.
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