Rock legend Gene Simmons' son in manga plagiarism storm

Amid reports of Nick Simmons' manga publisher pulling his work, "Bleach" author Tite Kubo tweets his surprise at hearing Gene Simmons' son is a manga artist

26 February, 2010

Nick Simmons performing at the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego.

Anime News Network is reporting that American company Radical Publishing has ceased its distribution of comic "Incarnate" -- created by 21 year-old artist and musician Nick Simmons, son of KISS bassist Gene Simmons. The reason? Websites in the American otaku community have accused "Incarnate" of borrowing from Tite Kubo's ultra-popular manga title "Bleach."

Side-by-side analysis of the images can be seen here.

After receiving numerous messages from American fans, Kubo made a public statement about the uproar on his Twitter account. His first message expressed confusion over the affair, but his second message cut to the heart of the matter (our translation): "More than whether his comic looks like mine, I'm intrigued by the fact that Gene Simmons' son is a manga artist."

There's no official response from Nick Simmons as of yet (other than some Facebook messages of unknown authenticity) so the full story is yet to be heard.

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otaku culture