Creator of 'This Is Fine' Says AI Startup Used His Comic Without Permission in Subway Ad

Cartoonist KC Green has publicly alleged that Artisan, an AI startup, placed his widely shared 'This Is Fine' comic on a subway billboard to promote an AI sales assistant without his permission. Green posted about the poster on social media and told followers that the image had been used without his consent; he urged people who encounter the ad to intervene, saying the work had been 'stolen' in a manner he likened to how AI systems appropriate material.

The advertisement as described in the social post appears to repurpose the familiar anthropomorphic dog from Green’s comic, with the dog’s caption altered to read that its 'pipeline is on fire' and an overlaid message encouraging passersby to 'Hire Ava the AI BDR.' The post that brought the ad to wider attention was shared on Bluesky and included photos taken at a subway station, giving the claim a visible, public context rather than a private or limited circulation placement.

TechCrunch reached out to Artisan for comment, and the company responded by saying it respects KC Green and his work and that it was contacting him directly. In follow — up communications cited by TechCrunch, Artisan said it had scheduled time to speak with Green. Those responses indicate the company is engaging with the artist after the social media allegation, though the public record in the reporting does not include the outcome of any discussions.

Artisan is not new to controversy over its outdoor messaging. The startup previously ran billboards that told businesses to 'Stop hiring humans,' a slogan its founder and CEO Jaspar Carmichael defended as a critique of particular categories of work rather than an attack on people. That prior campaign had already placed the company at the center of broader debates about automation, labor and how blunt ad copy from AI companies can inflame public sentiment.

'This Is Fine' first appeared in Green’s webcomic Gunshow in 2013 and has long since become a durable meme; Green has occasionally repurposed the character himself, including turning the comic into a game. Still, the history of the comic’s migration beyond his direct control is part of a larger trend that other creators have experienced: artists have complained that images scraped from the web are used to train generative models or are reproduced commercially without consent, and some have pursued legal or public — action responses.

Green told TechCrunch he will be looking into legal representation, saying the dispute is forcing him to divert time away from making comics. Beyond this individual case, the episode highlights practical questions for advertisers, platforms and AI vendors about verifying that imagery is properly licensed and about vetting creative supplied by third parties. Reporting to date documents the allegation, Artisan’s outreach, and the broader context, but it does not provide a final resolution, leaving open questions about licensing practices and how creators can enforce their rights when AI and advertising intersect.