INCARNATE Accused of Plagiarism

Sister sites Comic Vine and Anime Vice are reporting two sides of the same story today. What’s the reason for this bridging of Eastern and Western comics news?   Radical Publishing’s publishing halt on Nick Simmons’ INCARNATE after accusations that it plagiarizes the manga, BLEACH, among others. 

Here’s Radical’s official statement on the matter…

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.

A Live Journal community has been fanning the flames of this controversy, posting several page-by-page and panel-by-panel comparisons of art from the series.

For those of you unfamiliar with INCARNATE, it’s written and drawn by Nick Simmons, the son of rock legend Gene Simmons, the front man of Kiss. Here’s the official synopsis from Radical…

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. Centuries ago, the Revenant known as Mot was worshipped as a God. Now, he walks the Earth in search of a purpose to his immortality – but when a secret society discovers a way to kill Revenants, Mot and his fellow immortals must make a choice: Hunt or be hunted. Nick Simmons’ breakout American Manga title reveals a world that challenges even the imagination, planting its tongue firmly in cheek, then biting it off...And swallowing it.

 The two’s father/son dynamic’s gotten quite a big spotlight over the past couple years with the A&E reality show following their lives, GENE SIMMONS: FAMILY JEWELS. Simmons is a noted comics fan, having said he partially based his face-painted Demon stage persona on Marvel’s Inhuman Black Bolt. And, of course, there have been so many Kiss comics over the years, it’s been hard for me to keep track.

I’m not going to comment one way or the other on these accusations - - innocent until proven guilty, I say. However, if you’re interested in the subject of swiping in comics, I recommend you check out the regular Swipe File feature in Rich Johnston’s Bleeding Cool for many examples in American comics.  Until then, I turn the verdict to you, Comic Vine community? Do you think these accusations are accurate, or baseless?

-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia Comics.   Watch out for the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover collection this March - - available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.