Nick Simmons, son of Kiss rocker Gene Simmons and co-star of A&E’s Gene Simmons Family Jewels, is in hot water over plagiarism claims made against him.
The lanky 21-year-old was attempting to make a name for himself in the comic book industry – as per The New York Times – as the writer and artist of Incarnate, the story of a group of immortal creatures.
Those plans went bust last Thursday, when the comic book’s publisher, Radical Publishing, halted production on the project because Internet boards reported that Simmons had “copied layouts, dialogue and character designs from other manga series, including Bleach and Hellsing.”
Simmons responded on Monday with a statement which read: “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 to far.
“My inspirations reflect the fact that certain fundamental imagery is common to all Manga.”
Fans of the comic book genre weren’t buying the apology, saying that Simmons copied other people’s work directly, which isn’t an homage.
Bleach, written by Tite Kubo, is one of the best-selling manga comics in the world, with over 52 million copies sold in Japan alone. That’s a lot of fans that Simmons has angered.
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