• yeah! his book is in colour and reads the other way, so it's not plagiarism at all! now stop badgering him goddammit! ;)

• what the hell is wrong with you callie, have you seen the comparisons they are identical and there are quite a few.

• Wow. How did he think he could get away with something like this. I'm assuming both will have similar fanbase, therefore can easily get caught.

• the accidental copying could explain it... but it's also with things that aren't on posters, in poses, in panel set-up and in general theme... I could excuse similar looking characters, but as you said, with the overlays, and in parts of the manga that aren't commercially shown in posters and whatever...  And the artist question of what is plagiarism, being inspired and copying line for line is very different. With one, one looks similar. With the other, it looks the same.

• lol, when I was bored and looking for something to watch, I remembered seeing a Bleach commercial but couldn't remember what it was called... still knew about it before ever watching/reading it XD

• lol, he deactivated his account XD Probably from all the hate mail XD

• sucks for you that your life revolves around trolling and dissing things that people like. more people like manga and anime more than they like you.

• LOL. Troll.

•  it's really  trolling ya i believe

• Obvious troll is obvious.

• www.03332467669

• I completely agree with you on that one.

• Poor poor boy. I make 100 grand a year and read manga, Maybe you need to grow the fuck up?

• I realize this is old news to be commenting on, but I got here through a link related to another, similar situation of plagiarism being perpetrated by the folks at Marvel comics. At this time, it appears most X-Men fans have decided that Marvel's Generation Hope "tribute" to Akira is miles different from Nick Simmons' Incarnate "tribute" to Bleach. But I'm not that much of an X-Men fan and it strikes me that there is a kind of nepotism in effect. While Generation Hope resembles Akira much more than Incarnate resembles Bleach, when it comes to the X-Men franchise fan devotion and investment is now on the side of the plagiarist! I am aware that plagiarism is not a serious issue in Japan. It's no huge surprise when creators there don't express much concern over these things, since the doujinshi market (where many artists began their careers) thrives on fan-fiction. But when I look at Marvel and remember how they have rabidly guarded their properties, it just doesn't sit right that readers give them a pass.

• I am actually replying to all of you. GET A FUCKING LIFE!!!!!!!! Get out of your mothers' basements, stop playing world of warcraft, go outside, get some fucking exercise, try dating a member of the opposite sex (or your own, I don't judge) and relax! I happened upon this page because I typed "I fucking hate manga" into a google search and it landed me here. You people are pathetic! I will agree to the similarities, but who honestly gives a fuck? If he gets caught, daddy will bail him out. If he doesn't, then too fucking bad! But seriously folks; you all need to pull your heads out of your asses, stop watching cartoons, get fucking jobs and start contributing to society! For real

• http://www.facebook.com/pages/kiss-picture-gallery/144406535570950 both gene $immon$ and nicky boi are plagiarists. copyright thieves.

• LOL, this slaps me on the knee! XD

• Man, I'm just surprised the guy can't afford a couple of art classes. I mean... Come on!

• Last time I checked we the citizens of The United States have something called free speech and it is our right to exercise that, and any court would down right throw your case against the people on this forum as suppressing free speech, so kiss my ass you plagerizing fucktard

• Do you guys honestly think that was Nick commenting on that page? It's stupid how people are willing to believe anything, as long as it makes the situation more interesting. As if he would call manga "magma."

• "• "Listen everyone... you're all digging your own graves posting on this forum. Facebook is looking into suspending this page and issuing any warnings for slander against me. I can't make this any clearer... I DID NOT STEAL OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK!! I may have appropriated some styles, but I did not steal. My work is full... of homages to everyone in my medium - not theft! You guys are just a bunch of mean spirited mouth-breathers - except all my fans on here who have rightfully supported me. I will ask Facebook not to press any charges against you if you give me a sincere apology here in this thread. Please do so. Facebook keeps all your IP addresses and info... so they will suspend your account if I do not receive proper apologies." • "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." • "I have no idea how people are saying my comic looks like that bleach magma. My book is in color and the other is not. My book reads left to right... the other reads right to left. Besides some vague similarities, they're nothing alike. I put my heart and soul into my book - great story and awesome characters... yet people are trying to pull me down. And NO... I didn't trace or copy other peoples work. Most of these photos are starting to look like photoshop manipulations to make me look bad. You can't trust everything you see on the Internet." ANYONE who believes Nick Simmons actually wrote that are complete morons. Clearly some kid just wrote a bunch of ignorant quotes claiming that Nick said it at an attempt to make people hate Nick more.

• Please man, this guy doesnt have any respect, Bleach is the second manga ever readed in the hole world, how can he said that, and that stupid cometary, and the worst part of all is that the stupid guy demand appologyse... Some people have take an honest place in the world... Not because hes the son of Gene Simon he can said that... take a true life man

• Two words: EPIC FAIL!

• Yea don't feed the trolls people LOL, this guys' biting and laughing at everything we do. Keep it up Nick, yer a douchebag :P even your average AVATAR drawings on DA suck ass.

• First time on site, double post, sorry

• Am I getting this clearly? He copied panels from multiple manga series, never gave them credit, and tried to make money? If you are reading this Nick, and you haven't played one player russian rulett with the golden desert eagle daddy bought you, just apologize.

• I've read through the ENTIRE conversation (and yes, I don't have many friends, so get over it), and I've come to this conclusion: It may not be illiagal, it's still immoral. Would it have killed him to say "I also copied a few panels from a few other manga/anime series." And why didn't he give some sort of credit to the anime/manga artists.The thing that got me agitated the most is that he is also selling that frankenstien of stolen panels and character designs without giving royalties. Nick, if you are reading this, and you haven't played a game of one player game of russian roulet with the gold desert eagle daddy bought you, please, just apologize.

• Gene Simmons plays bass.

• I pitied this S.O.B. until I read the statement saying he's never even heard of Bleach. Now saying that just made him look like not only a dumbass ignorant half assed stupid immature whiny kid, but a cowardly spineless retard who wants to hide behind Facebook to protect his stupid ass.

• I suggest that we forget that Nick rips off everyone because everyone who's too stupid to think for themselves steals from others. Believe it or not, a LOT of manga artists do this, and it's fine, and NOT illegal! ART STYLE IS NOT COPYRIGHTABLE! Otherwise you couldn't for example, paint a picture like Picassa (The HELL is Picassa? Who cares? YOINK!), compose a song that sounds like Rush, or put your name on someone else's work and make money from it! Why strive to be diferent? other people's work is better than yours, so swipe it! If they complain, tell them to shut up and move on, then ignore them. Also, Nicks manga is VERY good, the plot is interesting, the characters are cool, the art especially the color, is great. The plot is also taken from other people, often the same panels the art is taken from, so you know it's great! Also, all manga and anime have essentially the same plot, as does Nick's, but somehow his is BETTER. TRUST ME. Death? AWESOME! Blood? Can't be emo without it! Curse words? FUCK YEAH! We're hardcore! Also, the color is nice. Opps, there's a colorist, he didn't touch the colors, but hopefully he instructed the people coloring to STEAL THE FUCK OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S COLORS, because as we've already learned, tracing is hunky dory and only the idiots who are hung up on origionality give two shits about 'percieved similarities' anyway.

• plagiarism != big deal

• I think this is getting blown out of proportion. First off, the Nick Simmons from these posts here is obviously a troll, there are so many reasons why it's not even funny. Secondly, the REAL Nick Simmons has commented on this issue, stating that he LOVES Bleach, and while he does not feel that he copyrighted it, he feels like he did get inspiration from the art style of certain scenes in Kubo's work. Believe it or not, a LOT of manga artists do this, and it's fine, and NOT illegal. Nick did not copy any trademarked characters, catchphrases, logos, or plot line. There is similar dialogue (all works see similarities in dialogue, plots can only vary so much, especially in manga which all essentially have the same plot). ART STYLE IS NOT COPYRIGHTABLE! Otherwise you couldn't for example, paint a picture like Picassa, compose a song that sounds like Rush, et cetera. There IS a limit to human ccreaetivity, and while Nick "copying" Bleach may seem uncreative and foolish, it is not Illegal, judging by these comparisons. Also, Nicks manga is VERY good, the plot is interesting, the characters are cool, the art especially the color, is great. And Tite Kubo has also commented on the fact, stating that, essentially, he doesnt care that it looks like Bleach. Which is a good point, Bleach is so popular, i doubt Nicks manga will take away from its profits, and there are so many fan doujins of Bleach that you would have to sue all of them if art style copying was illegal, honestly people, this is no big deal, and if you are honestly offended by Nicks work, just shut up and move on, its not gonna hurt Bleach, it's not going to hurt you, so move on, everyone is overreacting to this.

• The 'Nick Simmons" on FB is probably not the real Nick Simmons. He is probably someone who just wants people to rage even more.

• The troll being trolled. How funny

• Even if it's not plagiarism per se (and it kinda is), he's still relying too heavily on Kubo's art for his work to have any credibility. Half of the fanart on DA is better than this.

• Those "rebuttals" are far too over the top to have been real. If his father said he "has a case", he's also tell his son not to say a damn thing. Obvious troll. Frankly this kind of crap doesn't help at all to be honest.

• Yeah, I also heard it was not his real account.

• Don't feed the trolls :D

• lmao. Reading through this whole page was quite the treat. Now, I'm just going to put this out there: Nick Simmons is a babe. BUT. That doesn't mean anything. Nor does the fact that his dad has oodles of money. Plagiarism is plagiarism, no matter how hilariously badly it is disguised. And as established as Bleach is, I highly doubt anyone needs to worry about him not getting punished for it. Even if by some ridiculous chance does legal action not take place, his name has quite obviously been severely tarnished in a hilariously awkward way. On the bright side, maybe he'll get lucky and become the next internet meme.

• I don't know what's funnier; Nick got caught plagarizing or you guys used quotes from a troll acount pretending to be Nick.

• His deviantART account is http://www.letsleepinggodslie.deviantart.com This child is in a world of hurt, I must say. Daddy's money can't save you from everything.

• So does this mean I can rip off a KISS riff, then claim I am paying homage even though I have never listened to them?

• Can has dA page??

• Nick is a douchebag.. when it's obvious like this .. fucking fess up man.. telling people there's some "mystical" magic drawing reason for the panels being IDENTICAL is the type of idiotic thing that could only be said by a spoiled rich biy whose parents have been providing validation for all his lies growing up by believeing them.. therefore psychologically he REALLY thinks people will believe him

• Sucessful trolls are sucessful.. /Nick is a douchebag.. when it's obvious like this .. fucking fess up man.. telling people there's some "mystical" magic drawing reason for the panels being IDENTICAL is the type of idiotic thing that could only be said by a spoiled rich biy whose parents have been providing validation for all his lies growing up by believeing them.. therefore psychologically he REALLY thinks people will believe him

• Manga? Seriously? So how old is this guy drawing these violent comics? If he's over 15 it's time to grow up and focus on big kid things. IMHO.

• Plagiarism, as defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, is the "use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.

• Plagiarism, as defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, is the "use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. it IS plagiarism,

• I imagine it happened like this: "Hey Dad, I want to make comic books but I can't draw people very well." "Son when I was your age I had the same problem. Just take other peoples stuff and switch it around. Then change the words and make it all louder. Worked for me and now I'm the best in the business." "I'm not sure that will work for comics." "Sure it will work, just use those books I bought for you on my last Japanese tour. Nobody here has seen them." "Thanks Dad, you're the best."

• hey lynnie , it may not be a professional site but TR is a respected one . and us readers bank on said opinion as generally unbiased unless we hit the proverbial SNAG (when we dont agree with him) so we readers got our money and our vested intrest :) which will follow on the basis of OUR opinions and counter's . therefore TR is an ACCREDITED website ^^

• Yea, artists copying other artist's panels has been around since the Golden Age of comics. And the gentleman above was correct. It's a very small change that is needed for it to be considered different. I have always heard 10%, but that usually applies to fictional stories. Whether you like it or not, fair use is pretty broad. Sampling music should be allowed if you can turn it into something else and re-contextualize it. But that's another argument altogether, involving how much the RIAA suck. ALL art is built upon and based on others work. Like it or not. Copyrighting your stuff ain't gonna hold up in court, except with music. But that will probably change in the next 20 years. All this doesn't make Simmons any less of a talentless ass, but he wouldn't lose the day in court. Not that it would ever get that far. Anybody remember NCSoft vs Marvel? Marvel was pissed that City of Heroes allowed people to make "clones" of their famous character for use in the game. Marvel pretty much lost.

• You all do know that was just someone pretending to be him trolling right?

• BWAHAHAHA! I DARE that punk to press charges.

• I call bull.

• Me too, you can't avoid it. And anyone in KISS or involved with them are douchebags

• wtf he's still denying it? dude. srsly dude. that sucks.

• 參考就參考嗎 又不是什麼大不了的事情 承認不就好了~ 這麼愛面子幹什麼勒~ means copy then copy, its not a big issue; as long as he admits, its okay. how can you force someone to save face? something like that

• What difference, exactly, does it make who this dude's parents are? People should be known in life for their OWN accomplishments. What has Nick done except trace some stuff, flip it, and flatfill colour it? Come on.

• WHOSE RESPONSIBLE THIS?!?!

• LOL you can't speak Japanese and a "renowned" Japanese artist has taken you on as an apprentice? You and Nick Simmons sound like you go bowling together :D

• I will throw out that these are blatant swipes, but they aren't plagiarism. He is <I>not</I> using exact character designs (all though some are damn close), nor is he presenting them in the same format (color and page design makes a huge difference). Don't get me wrong, he's clearly a douche for this. But as to a potential lawsuit against him or Radical? You will probably have to work hard to prove that one.

• Wut. I'm not replying to you, Mr. Anon. I'm referring to this post, the Topless Robot (or, more specifically, Rob Bricken) has written. And this post shows how angry fantards are just fantards. I mean those who merely say "FFFFF BLEACH R PLAGIARIZED NICK SIMMONS GAY" blahblah. And of course the entry itself.

• He has a dA account...dude people are bad at dA for catchin tracers and art stealers. Probably not a good move on his part.

• Wait...he has a dA page?

• Hi! Welcome to Topless Robot! (You, sir, have twisted expectations if you think a webiste called "Topless Robot" is a professional news site.) Thank you, Wait, no, because who signs off comments like?

• I hate to break this combo, but this right here is the greatest chain of posts I've ever seen on TR.

• Don't miss out on his comment " If you steal my artwork, you will pay. In cash. Spank you very much and good night." From his Deviantart site. haha What a moron. It was obvious someone was going to notice!

• I did say "This is totally LOL-worthy, no matter if it's an impersonator or the real douchebag." I'll rephrase it then: The post was hilarious, no matter if it's a troll or not. Meaning? I replied to the quote because I want to, because I find it and replying to it amusing. Because I don't care if it is made by the real Nick or a troll. And no matter what Nick does or say to the media to defend himself, he is still a bastard - Nicktard. Oh, so fans who are angry because their favorite manga was plagiarized, fans who want justice for that manga, is equal to a bastard now? A fantard?

• oh snap

• Mr. Rob Bricken, you are a very unprofessional person. I do not doubt that Nick may have plagiarized, but to deliver a story by calleg Nick and his famous Dad as a douche bag and a moron proves that you are a bigger one. At least Gene would say "thank you" if you called him an a$$hole. I would hope that you would restrain personal opinion from future reporting. Thank you, Gerald

• There's no such thing as 100% original work. No idea is 100% original. That being said, the least this asshat could do is draw his own work rather than copying it. Additionally, you can tell from his work that all he's ever done is copy and trace manga and he has no real grounding or technique. You can see in his lack of proportions that he doesn't know the first thing about how faces or bodies are supposed to go together. It's really quite pathetic. His grasp of facial proportions isn't much better than mine was when I was in middle school. :/

• Honestly, Nick Simmon's style is below average. It sorta looks like a REALLY low budget anie studio threw it together in a month. The lines aren't pretty, the faces bother me, and the colors are average. Over all, he doesn't do a very good job with the style. If you want BEAUTIFUL art, look up some of Kouga Yun's full color peices. Now <i>those</i> are special. Also, if you think about it, <i>After having read the synopsis, it realy just seems like BLEACH from the Hollow's point of view and thoughts, instead of the soul reapers.</i> Hunting instead of being hunted?*cough* eating humans, souls, and soul reapers *cough* Creatures have found out way to kill them? *cough* <u>SOUL REAPERS!!!!</u> *cough* Totally unoriginal. While it is very hard to be original, this is just blatently plariagism. I'm even really a fan of bleach. I read the manga, it was good, but not great. end of story. I still have a very high respect for it and te time and patientce it takes to make them. I am a DIE HARD manga and anime fan. A RENOWNED Japanese artist has taken me on as an apprentice, and I am learning the ways of manga from her. I am also learning japanese (with Rosetta stone) so tat I might travel there and possibly live there one day. Let me make this clear : you <u><i>do not</i></u> screw with manga, mangakas, anime, or anything related to it. RESPECT THE SENSEI. in short, Nick Simmons = Karewa baka desu.

• For the record, and this has probably been said in one of the 200+ comments before, BUT: The Nick Simmons quotes are a moot point. It was discovered as a troll. The real Nick Simmons has yet to make an official statement on the matter. Tite Kubo has though via Twitter. He's apparently more concerned that the kid's a manga artist than the fact he's plagiarizing his work. And this is why Tite Kubo's my hero <3.

• Soooooooo... Guesses or bet's on if he he shows up at Comic-Con this year?

• lmao. i just looked at the compairisons. that was paaaaainful. when i first read the story about all this i was so angry i could hardly see then i simmered down and thought"maybe it was coincedence" if your a bleach fan, punch me in the face plz. lol.i hate his lifestyle but this has put the iceing on the M-A-N-G-A cake. but Kubo-kun is being quite the good sport so if hes not mad....i'll cut my anger in half

• GOD GAVE ROCK AND ROLL TO YOU, GAVE ROCK AND ROLL TO YOU, PUT IT IN THE SOUL OF EVERYONE!

• Hmm, I don't understand, for some strange reason the characters look EXACTLY THE FUCKING SAME. Someone should inform him that newcomers to either could mistake them for one another(OH NO!). But taking this seriously, if you look at the parts he didn't trace carefully enough, it looks like he can't even draw as well. OH! Light bulb! Make them have a sketch off! winner, wins I guess.

• And it's still incredibly impossible for him not to have even heard of it. He's a friggin manga artist so he should at least know of his famous peers. That and he's worked at Adult Swim where they show Bleach and probably one of the top rated shows on there! I hope this goes to court just so everyone can see his lose.

• I guess I'm just a bit more tolerant than some people. My feelings are posted at my blog.

• If the guy said, you know " I love Bleach, I'm heavilly invested on it" then you could make the argument he was very inspired in his style. It's a stretch but it could happen. But if he deny's that he knows a Manga so similar just makes him an undefendable client, ripping something off, and then trying to fool people with comeplete lies. Did Gene Simmon's father a sequel to Chris-Chan?

• well, he was stupid enough to rip off most of the content for his crappy comic, thinking no one would notice...

• You are right, all mangas look the same. Could be bleach, could be sailormoon. Everything looks the same anyway. Last week i banged a chick, she could be your mom, looks almost the same. You look a bit like me, i could be your dad.

• Nice

• Well then, thanks for telling your lawyers! If they are sane, over the age of two and have functional eyes, they'll turn right around and sue you themselves! Go cry to your daddy, douchebag.

• Wow, just wow. I can't believe he's actually trying to defend himself against such evidence! And not only that, he's trying to abuse his power to get apologies. The nerve of this guy astounds me. Someone please get Tite Kubo to sue. PLEASE.

• This entry shows how an angry fantard is just... a fantard. That Nick Simmons on FaceBook was a troll, duh. I thought the people on my country was the dumbest. Don't get me wrong--I read Bleach, I even like Bleach in spite of all of not-so-interesting story lately. But I'm no fantard.

• "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." LOL. What? Are you saying Kubo Tite's energy/spirit possessed you? As well as many other energies/spirits out there whose work you've clearly plagiarized? DA artists and other manga-kas? This is totally LOL-worthy, no matter if it's an impersonator or the real douchebag. And shame on you - Nicktard. Did you actually think you could get away with this insolence? Have you no respect to the artists/authors, the publishers, and their fans? I hope all the artists sue you for this despicable 'thing' you called your 'own'.

• Listen everyone... you're all digging your own graves posting on this forum. Facebook is looking into suspending this page and issuing any warnings for slander against me. I can't make this any clearer... I DID NOT STEAL OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK!! I may have appropriated some styles, but I did not steal. My work is full... of homages to everyone in my medium - not theft! You guys are just a bunch of mean spirited mouth-breathers - except all my fans on here who have rightfully supported me. I will ask Facebook not to press any charges against you if you give me a sincere apology here in this thread. Please do so. Facebook keeps all your IP addresses and info... so they will suspend your account if I do not receive proper apologies." LOL what a whinny baka

• 畫的還真難看 把劍八畫的很...

• The only thing better than this response are the people who have no clue about the reference replying in the comments as if it's either (a) Simmons himself or (b) a troll, instead of recognizing that it's actually (c) a genius TR fan Whose Responsible This. Golf clap for you, sir or madam.

• do..you actually expect me to believe that? Seriously?

• But, Bob... All I want to do is steal your art. But I'm not a plagiarist. You see, my book reads from left to right. All I want to do is steal your art. You know, my dad's in KISS And we're ready for a legal fight. So please don't slander me, While I trace over your work And steal your art.

• did...did..did he just seriously plagiarize Niel Gaiman's Morpheus and post it on his DeviantArt account?!? What is this I don't even

• I know Mack uses pictures as reference but I also know he personally takes a lot of them. Also, he has talent.

• It's not plagiary. It's PLAGIARISM.

• You obviously have no understanding of art. If you did it would be totaly obvious, I am an artist and I can see that this is indeed thieft....

• true true even my friends who doesn't watch or like anime even know what bleach is. and it's definitely not detergent when i asked them.:D

• are you effin blind? or just plain stupid. you make me laugh.

• what the fuck is wrong with you

• Holy .. He stole from Oda? Christ almighty, NOW he deserves to die. D8< That's just blasphemy.

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