Graphic novel Gigs depicts human creativity against AI-controlled world
Leeds-based illustrator Si Smith and writer Mark Mosedale have completed Gigs, a 276-page graphic novel that explores what happens when artificial intelligence controls the job market. Top Shelf will publish the book on June 16 at $24.99.
The project began in 2019 when Smith approached Mosedale about collaborating on a comic. What started as a speculative story about AI and employment has become unexpectedly prescient. Seven years of work went into the finished product.
"When we embarked on the project, the idea of artificial intelligence hollowing out the job market felt like an interesting sci-fi avenue to explore," Smith said. "But now that the book is here, it feels like the advent of that world is unstoppably imminent."
The story: survival in an AI-run economy
The narrative takes place in a world where AI has automated most work. Everyone receives basic income, but earning extra requires taking gigs assigned by an algorithm. The characters-a street artist, a stranded writer, an elderly punk in a care home-all push back against this system through their creativity.
"I think anyone creative will see themselves in the book," Mosedale said. "We've got a street artist who paints towering murals by night, then is forced to paint over them by day to keep his basic income coming in."
The graphic novel isn't only about economics. It explores how humans relate to systems built without them in mind. "We're being squeezed from all sides by structures-physical, social, economic, political-that are built and organized for inhuman things: businesses, technologies, political forces, the whims of billionaires," Mosedale said.
Hand-drawn artwork as counterpoint to AI
Smith drew each page on a Wacom Bamboo tablet in Photoshop, working at 600 dpi. Each of the 276 pages took roughly three days to complete. The artwork layers multiple elements-graffiti rendered in four separate transparency levels, atmospheric haze, English weather-to create depth and texture.
"I draw the pages at 150 per cent of the print size, which means that in the printed version, you can't really read much of that detail, but I think it's still important that it's there," Smith said. "It's the texture that hopefully makes the world feel real."
The meticulous hand-drawn work stands in sharp contrast to AI-generated imagery. Smith's panels contain visual information that rewards close reading-details that wouldn't survive in mass-produced or algorithmically generated work.
Creatives working in AI Design Courses and other fields are navigating similar questions about what human-made work offers that algorithms cannot. AI for Creatives resources increasingly focus on this distinction.
What comes next
Smith and Mosedale are already working on a follow-up, either a direct sequel or a spiritual successor. They're also pitching a young adult graphic novel centered on football and magic.
The book is available through Top Shelf and OK Comics.
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