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The Baltimore Sun’s AI cartoons have drawn a blistering response from the artists they imitate
13 months after the Baltimore Sun fired its staff cartoonist, his former co-workers have begun using AI to illustrate new ones.
NewsbyChris Arrant, Editor-in-Chief
Published on Wed Sep 09 2026
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The usage of artificial intelligence tools by Baltimore Sun staffers to create editorial cartoons has drawn criticism, including from the world’s largest organization of political cartoonists.The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists has published an open letter to the newspaper, condemning the action and calling for an immediate reversal on this AI comics initiative.
“On September 4, 2026, The Sun published what can only technically be called an ‘illustration’ intended its readers to accept as an editorial cartoon,” writes AAEC president Marc Murphy. “Whatever the intent, the only message The Sun actually delivered was that it has finally and completely surrendered any remaining claim it may have had to journalistic legitimacy and its former place among the nation’s important newspapers.”
Looking back, it appears the Baltimore Sun began using unspecified AI tools to create editorial cartoons with its August 25 edition. It has done so again on August 31, September 1, the aforementioned September 4 edition, and its September 5 edition. While this is a new initiative, the Baltimore Sun continues to also publish handmade editorial cartoons syndicated by its former owner, Tribune, from other affiliated newspapers.
This comes two years after Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired the paper, and one year after the organization fired its resident editorial cartoonist of 31 years, Kevin ‘Kal’ Kallaugher.
These AI-generated editorial cartoons would be the second known usage of generative AI by the Baltimore Sun staff to generate editorial content, following two stories in February 2026 that were, in the paper’s own words, “generated by an artificial intelligence tool at the request of the Baltimore Sun and reviewed by staff members.”
At the time, Baltimore Sun publisher/editor-in-chief Trif Alatzas defined this as “an alternative way” to conduct journalism in a statement to the Baltimore Brew.
“We plan to work with our staff to find various ways to use the technology responsibly to aid our reporting and better serve readers. There might be some mistakes along the way, but we plan to learn from them and be transparent about our efforts.”
The AI-generated Baltimore Sun editorial cartoons don’t disclose which member(s) of the staff took part in these efforts, instead generalizing it as “The Baltimore Sun editorial staff.”
Inside the Baltimore Sun’s offices is a quote by one of its most revered editors and executives, the late Mary J. Corey. The quote, attributed as being from 2012, reads, “How could our forebears have imagined the tools we have to tell stories today? Journalism is now a spirited conversation with our audience rather than a monologue. In the end, what makes The Sun successful is people.”
Baltimore Sun has a listing on its website of its editorial staff and how to reach them.
Interested? Here’s where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here’s a guide to how (and where) to read comics online. If you’re looking for the best comics in recent memory, check out the Eisner Awards winners and the Harvey Awards nominees. And if you like free comics, here’s everything we know about Free Comic Book Day 2027.
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Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse’s Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher’s Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)
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