Incarnate (comics)
Encyclopedia
Incarnate is a 3-issue comic book
limited series
created, written and penciled by Nick Simmons
and published by Radical Comics
. Incarnate was first published in August 2009.
, who publish the Simmons Comic Group family of titles, headed by Nick's father Gene Simmons
. However, this deal fell through because, according to Nick Simmons:
Simmons was planning on continuing the series in some form, perhaps as a webcomic
, but Radical Comics
co-founder Barry Levine saw some art when negotiating a deal with Gene Simmons and offered to publish Incarnate, although he did tell Nick Simmons to start over. The series was then relaunched in mid-2009 with Radical holding a launch party at the San Diego Comic Con. The 3-issue mini-series is intended as the first part of a longer story: "I've always planned to make this a long-running series and it continues to evolve as I plan the second and third arcs". However, production was halted on the comic books and collected editions due to accusations of plagiarism.
character designs, fight scenes, plot segments, dialogue, poses and expressions from both professional and amateur artists, from both several published manga
, the most notable being Bleach
, and from art communities such as DeviantArt
.
Evelyn Dubocq, Senior Director of Public Relations at Viz Media
, the American publisher of the Bleach
manga, was quoted as saying "We appreciate all our fans bringing this matter to our attention, and we are currently investigating this issue". Tite Kubo, the author of Bleach, one of the manga specifically named, made two Twitter
posts on the situation; first to comment on the number of people outside of Japan commenting on the accusations and later to note that he is more disturbed by the fact that Gene Simmons's son is a comic creator than he is concerned any of his work was actually copied.
On February 25th, 2010, the publisher of Incarnate, Radical Comics
, announced on its official blog that it would be halting distribution and production of Incarnate until the matter is resolved between all concerned parties.
On March 1st, 2010, Nick Simmons released the following statement regarding the accusations of plagiarism:
in mid-2010, although its future relies on the publisher's investigations.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
created, written and penciled by Nick Simmons
Nick Simmons
Nicholas Adam Tweed Simmons is an American reality comic book creator, musician and television personality.-Early life:...
and published by Radical Comics
Radical Comics
Radical Comics is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher and developer of related media with offices in Los Angeles and London.- History :...
. Incarnate was first published in August 2009.
Publication history
The series was originally called Skullduggery and was due to be released in 2007 by IDW PublishingIDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
, who publish the Simmons Comic Group family of titles, headed by Nick's father Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
. However, this deal fell through because, according to Nick Simmons:
Simmons was planning on continuing the series in some form, perhaps as a webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
, but Radical Comics
Radical Comics
Radical Comics is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher and developer of related media with offices in Los Angeles and London.- History :...
co-founder Barry Levine saw some art when negotiating a deal with Gene Simmons and offered to publish Incarnate, although he did tell Nick Simmons to start over. The series was then relaunched in mid-2009 with Radical holding a launch party at the San Diego Comic Con. The 3-issue mini-series is intended as the first part of a longer story: "I've always planned to make this a long-running series and it continues to evolve as I plan the second and third arcs". However, production was halted on the comic books and collected editions due to accusations of plagiarism.
Plot summary
The comic book series is about a fictional species of creatures, Revenants. The Revenants are almost immortal as they can regenerate their bodies. The storyline focuses on a Revenant named Mot, who has lived for hundreds of years because of the Revenant’s regenerative capacity. Mot desires to die honorably on the battlefield for the Revenants, but can’t because they are almost immortal. However, when the “SANCTUM” organization finds a way to kill Revenants, Mot sees the avenue to his death.Accusations of plagiarism
Concerns were raised in late February 2010 that Nick Simmons had plagiarizedPlagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
character designs, fight scenes, plot segments, dialogue, poses and expressions from both professional and amateur artists, from both several published manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, the most notable being Bleach
Bleach (manga)
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Noriaki "Tite" Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a —a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki...
, and from art communities such as DeviantArt
DeviantArt
deviantART is an online community showcasing various forms of user-made artwork. It was first launched on August 7, 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens, Angelo Sotira and others. deviantArt, Inc...
.
Evelyn Dubocq, Senior Director of Public Relations at Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
, the American publisher of the Bleach
Bleach (manga)
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Noriaki "Tite" Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a —a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki...
manga, was quoted as saying "We appreciate all our fans bringing this matter to our attention, and we are currently investigating this issue". Tite Kubo, the author of Bleach, one of the manga specifically named, made two Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
posts on the situation; first to comment on the number of people outside of Japan commenting on the accusations and later to note that he is more disturbed by the fact that Gene Simmons's son is a comic creator than he is concerned any of his work was actually copied.
On February 25th, 2010, the publisher of Incarnate, Radical Comics
Radical Comics
Radical Comics is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher and developer of related media with offices in Los Angeles and London.- History :...
, announced on its official blog that it would be halting distribution and production of Incarnate until the matter is resolved between all concerned parties.
On March 1st, 2010, Nick Simmons released the following statement regarding the accusations of plagiarism:
Collected editions
The series was due to be released as an individual volumeTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
in mid-2010, although its future relies on the publisher's investigations.
- Incarnate Volume 1 (162 pages, hardcover, May 2010, ISBN 1935417029, softcover, October 2010, ISBN 1935417363)
External links
- Incarnate at Radical Comics