Last week Radical Publishing halted the production of its American Manga series Incarnate as accusations of plagiarism arose against the series’ creator Nick Simmons, son of KISS founder Gene Simmons [read Nick Simmons Accused Of Plagiarism For ‘Incarnate’ Comic; Publication Halted].
Simmons issued a statement via representative today responding to the allegations, claiming that his work was “meant as an homage” to the artists that inspire him. He also apologized to Manga fans and artists who may have thought he’d gone too far in his intentions.
“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.”
Radical Publishing verified that the statement issued, which was initially posted on Manga Worth Reading, is from Simmons, who stars with his famous family in the A&E reality television series Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels.
Allegations of plagiarism against Simmons began appearing online last Thursday from Manga fansites, including Bleachness, dedicated to Tite Kubo’s popular Manga series Bleach, one of the works from which fans claim Simmons took artwork and dialogue. The Bleachness site also posted images from both Incarnate and Bleach and superimposed them in an effort to show similarities between the two works.
While Simmons’ statement addresses the allegations, he does not admit to any plagiarism or wrongdoing. No formal allegations have been brought against Simmons at this time from any other publishers. Upon learning of the claims last week, Viz Media, which publishes Bleach in North America, said they were looking into the situation, while Radical said that they were “making efforts now to contact the publishers of the works in question in an effort to resolve this matter.”
At this time, Radical has not announced whether they will resume production on Incarnate, which was scheduled for release this month as a collected trade paperback.
[Source: CBR]
