Nick Simmons Bleach rip-off actually ‘homage’
p2pnet view Music | P2P:- What’s the difference between the pic on the immediate left and the one in the middle? Hardly anything.
Except, as Monkey D. Luffy pointed out recently in Monkey House, the one on the left is Tite Kubo’s manga Bleach and the other is Nick Simmons’ plagiarisation in Incarnate, Simmons being the son of KISS P2P file share hater Gene Simmons.
Except it isn’t plagiarisation, according to Simmons.
It’s a mark of deep respect.
Said Topless Robot when the rip-off was discovered >>>
Gene Simmons is one of the greatest douchebags of our time, but I’d hate you to think I was taking my dislike of the KISS guitarist out on his son. No, his son Nick — “creator” of the comic Incarnate, to be printed by Radical — has very much earned my contempt by his own merits, thanks to this.
You’re looking at Tite Kubo’s incredibly popular manga Bleach on the left, and Nick Simmons’ Incarnate on the right. Yes, Simmons is a plagiarist, as discovered by many, many people. Now, I know the crime of plagiary is a serious one for artists, and I don’t want to dismiss that. But what I do want to focus on is how fucking stupid Nick Simmons had to be to steal poses, dialogue and character designs from one of the best-selling manga in the world.
If that pic was the end of it, there may be some temptation to cut Nick a little slack, but it just gets worse, Topless Robot’s Rob Bricken provides this link to a livejournal page here. It is accurately described by Topless Robot as:
a massive collection of Bleach panels and Incarnate panels side-by-side; I assure the above was not an isolated incident.
Says Johanna in Manga Worth Reading >>>
“I found out about the plagiarism accusations from Robot6, which includes the news that Radical has “halted further production and distribution of the Incarnate comic book and trade paperback”. I assume that includes the hardcover … that was due out on March 16. Here’s a LiveJournal post with a whole bunch of pretty damning (if not very well labeled) art comparisons. (Update: That post has been edited to add more labels for the benefit of those of us not already familiar with the series.)
Radical uses the all-too-common “we’re taking this seriously” phrase that means nothing, because every company caught in a difficult situation says that, but they do go on to say that they are attempting to contact the publishers of the original works involved. That gets praise from Simon Jones:
Unlike so many similar cases where the party at fault sticks to their guns, makes bold-faced lies, weasel out of giving real answers with lawyer speak, and basically deny everything until the storm of outrage is exhausted and forgotten, Radical appears to be doing the right thing. … This story isn’t over yet, but thus far Radical is handling it with sincerity and honor, which is a rare-enough thing in the industry that we all should, at the very least, highlight this with the same fervor given to the initial scandal. But I also want to point out that this isn’t just the moral thing to do, but the smart thing to do. When one finds himself on the wrong end of an issue, admitting fault and fixing the problem is almost always the best course in the long term.
Plagiarism is a huge deal in Japan — look at the example of Flower of Eden, where the series was ended, the artist’s other books were pulled from the market, and a planned American translation canceled after the author admitted to copying images from Slam Dunk. I’d also like to call your attention to Radical’s Hollywood connections and interest in getting many of their properties optioned for films. They’ve already been sued once over having cloudy properties, so they know the danger of not having clear rights, especially when you’re trying to license works for movies, when the money suddenly becomes big enough to be important.
Now, here’s what Simmons has to say in a statement published in a Manga Worth Reading follow-up >>>
Like most artists I am inspired by work I admire. There are certain similarities between some of my work and the work of others. This was simply meant as an homage to artists I respect, and I definitely want to apologize to any Manga fans or fellow Manga artists who feel I went too far. My inspirations reflect the fact that certain fundamental imagery is common to all Manga. This is the nature of the medium.
I am a big fan of Bleach, as well as other Manga titles. And I am certainly sorry if anyone was offended or upset by what they perceive to be the similarity between my work and the work of artists that I admire and who inspire me.
“[ ... ] what they perceive to be the similarity between my work and the work of artists that I admire and who inspire me”? 
Gene Simmons will be proud.
Nay! Is proud!
Incarnate entered the world of manga “with heavy promotional support from Radical and A&E TV, the network that airs Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels“, says Robot 6, going on:
“The comic is showcased on the show’s webpage and sold through its online store.”
Says the waffle on the A&E TV site >>>
From Nick Simmons, son of rock legend Gene Simmons and star of A&E’s GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS, comes a revolutionary new take on the undead. They cannot die. They feel no pain. They hunger for human flesh. They are Revenants. [Yada yada yada ... ]
Creator and Writer NICK SIMMONS
Penciler NICK SIMMONS
Stay tuned.
..… and identi.ca
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Hardly anything - Gene Simmons’ son rips off manga Bleach, March 1, 2010
Monkey House – Gene Simmons son Nick accused of plagiarism, February 27, 2010
P2P file share hater – ‘File sharing stealing’: Gene Simmons (KISS), March 13, 2009
Topless Robot – Gene Simmons’ Kid Nick Is a Comic Creator, a Douchebag Plagiarist, and a Moron, February 25, 2010
Manga Worth Reading – Plagiarism, Scanlations, and Copies: Nick Simmons’ Incarnate Rips Off Bleach, February 25, 2010
Manga Worth Reading – Nick Simmons Releases Statement, Takes No Responsibility, March 1, 2010
Robot 6 - Incarnate creator Nick Simmons responds to plagiarism allegations, March 1, 2010
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March 2nd, 2010 at 5:13 pm
This just proves that celebrities have everything they could possibly want (like money), but lack everything they really need (like common sense).
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:41 am
I just looked at the LiveJournal page of comparisons and Nick Simmons’ artwork certainly looks uncannily like its original inspiration. Simmons defends himself by claiming “that certain fundamental imagery is common to all Manga”. Having a daughter who is a manga freak I know a little about it and while there is a manga canon of face and body shapes, big luminous eyes, flying hair, etc., I think duplicating every angle in the pose of a specific character or the background in which such character appears in another person’s work is not a function of “the nature of the medium”.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:06 pm
The overlays are pretty damning.
If tracing ( look at the overlays .. it’s direct tracing ) another artists work is ‘homage’ than
I am Ghandi.
I guess if one is wealthy they can buy whatever meaning they want from a word or action.
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:36 pm
It would bother me less if Nick Simmons had admitted what he was creating was essentially a mashup of several mangas (which it was) and had released it free(or cost) under some kind of creative commons license, instead of releasing it under standard copyright for profit, which to me seems hypocritical.