A post on the Bleachness Livejournal Community has exploded in ways only an Internet Flame War could — in this case, allegations that Nick Simmons plagiarized numerous images in his Radical Comics debut Incarnate from famous, famous manga like Bleach and Hellsing to obscure items like someone’s DeviantArt page.
With the heat coming fast and furious from the more vocal sides of the online community, Radical has halted production of the comic, issuing the following statement:
We at Radical Publishing, Inc. and Radical Comics, Inc. are quite concerned to hear the news surrounding Nick Simmons’s Incarnate Comic Book. We are taking this matter seriously and making efforts now to contact the publishers of the works in question in an effort to resolve this matter. We have halted further production and distribution of the “Incarnate” comic book and trade paperback until the matter is resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. Rest assured that Radical is taking swift action regarding this matter and will continue in its efforts to maintain the integrity and protect the intellectual property of artists throughout the world whose creative works are the bedrock of our Company and the comic book industry.
That said, while a lot of these images are pretty tough to ignore — and even more hard to ignore when you take into consideration the sheer number of “assisting artists” that Simmons had for this book — there has been a little bit of blowback on the Internet. One instance that seemed too-crazy-to-be-true was a post on Topless Robot, which had the following post from “Nick Simmons” on Facebook:
“Okay.. now looking at some of these photo comparisons, I can see why a few people are up-in-arms. I can tell you right now these are all purely coincidences. I never even heard of Bleach! Who would name a comic after laundry detergent? When I channel my energy when drawing my book sometimes I can pull stuff in that I never seen before. It’s like i’m possessed when I start thinking and drawing. Perhaps I just got on the same wave length that all artists share. My dad just called and said I have a real case against all this slander. If Facebook doesn’t give into my demands soon there’s going to be hell to pay. Now, I have to damage control on another site – more people being mislead. Now I have to deal with this and my book’s deadline. I’m not sure how I can think and draw under all this pressure.”
The only problem? That ain’t Simmons. According to the organizers of the group, even they admit that this so-called “Nick Simmons” was an online troll who just wanted to stir things up. Indeed, if you click on this guy’s profile, it’s got only one photo, not much in the way of real information, and has joined the group “I [Heart] Bleach” and “Calling for legal action against Nick Simmons for plagiarism of other works.” So here’s where we open up the discussion to you — what’s your thoughts on this? Does this comic cross a line? Does any of the comments made against the author? Speak out!
February 26th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
I’m glad you linked my BSE because that is what sprung to mind when this controversy came to light. The fact that he has credited “assisting artists” already had some eyebrows raised, mine included, but I gave the kid the benefit of the doubt.
I want to hear what he says. I’d like to know his thought process, if the plagiarism is indeed true, about copying such a famous manga and thinking “Nah, NOBODY is going to notice.”
When so many individuals out there with the skill and talent are trying to break in, and this guy gets a gig because of his famous father and not on merit and pulls this crap really upsets me and the message it sends.
That being said, I could not be more proud of Radical with their decision and hopefully will do the right thing should Simmons’ charges be truthful.
February 26th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
1. On Nick’s Deviant Art site (the real one), he actually has some of the Deviant Art in question saved in his favorites.
2. There is a side by side comparison of Bleach, and then Incarnate, then after the side by side they placed the two on top of each other in an overlay… and they are so identical.. it’s hard to tell the difference between the two.
example here: http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff330/Kylara21/plag/2i9tonajpg.png
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff330/Kylara21/plag/merge2.jpg
now, one is coincidental… two is odd… but 5 is a pattern.
3. he’s also stealing text.
Orihime says “Please… just don’t hurt yourself anymore like this”… Nick’s blonde Orihime look alike says “Please… just don’t hurt yourself anymore.”
Ichigo in Bleach (grabbing his chest) says… “Wasn’t there… a hole in my chest?!” after finding his wounds have eerily healed. Nick’s toon (grabbing his chest in the same way) says… “My wounds… HOW??” after finding his wounds have eerily healed.
and overlay of the two scenes show this is much more than similar wording.
it’s tracing and plaigerism. plain and simple. no matter how “nick” fans want to spin it.
February 26th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
The thing ab manga is the art is noteven that good It is just the artists flow that
makes it addicting. However simmons lacks that and it just looks like poorly made bleach fanart
February 26th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
i never even heard of incarnate
but after seeing this i can say is definitely a copy of bleach
February 13th, 2011 at 10:47 am
You are my breathing in, I own few blogs and often run out from to brand : (.