Windsor Knott and His 18-Wheel Assistant
What is art without struggle? It's impossible to know exactly what Gus Arriola's opinion would've been towards generative AI in the world of art, but this strip from July 3, 1960, suggests that it wouldn't have been favorable. As an artist, Arriola was a tireless innovator and ardent creator. In forty years of producing one of the most detailed and decorative strips to have ever graced the funny pages, he only briefly employed a single assistant, and only once required fill-in help -- from close friends Hank Ketcham and Eldon Dedini -- during recovery from a back injury. When shrinking strip sizes necesitated it, he simplified his style without sacrificing its intricacy. In short, you might expect that Gus Arriola would have limited patience with egregious shortcuts. The criticisms of Jim Davis' Garfield nestled in this week's worth of strips from 1983 certainly seems to be saying as much. While Arriola never had to contend with AI, increasingly capable compu...