It looks like online allegations have resulted in Radical Publishing deeming Nick Simmons' "Incarnate" decidedly...not radical.

Son of Black Bolt-stylized Kiss frontman Gene Simmons, Nick's been called out by a Livejournal community for portions of his work that closely mirror Tite Kubo's "Bleach" manga among others.

Spurred by Bleedingcool, it seems that Radical has responded to fan outcry by straight up ceasing publication (a collected edition was supposed to hit stores in March) until the issue can be sorted out:

"We at Radical Publishing, Inc. and Radical Comics, Inc. are quite concerned to hear the news surrounding Nick Simmons's Incarnate Comic Book. We are taking this matter seriously and making efforts now to contact the publishers of the works in question in an effort to resolve this matter. We have halted further production and distribution of the "Incarnate" comic book and trade paperback until the matter is resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. Rest assured that Radical is taking swift action regarding this matter and will continue in its efforts to maintain the integrity and protect the intellectual property of artists throughout the world whose creative works are the bedrock of our Company and the comic book industry."

Swiping, aping, modding existing poses - whatever you want to call it, has been around since ancient civilizations started carving hieroglyphics and the entire concept can amount to a very slippery slope. Referencing done right can even amount to amazing things. It's like indecency standards. They can't be 100 percent defined, but folks "know it when they see it." In this case, I'd say most "see it."

Is what Nick did illegal? That's for the suits to decide. Judging from fan outcry, however, it seems like the creator has gone beyond simply referencing poses from a work that's inspired him. I'll refrain from tossing out the D-bag tag until I read "Incarnate," (which I'll attempt to do asap) but as something of a "Bleach" fan, my outlook is not awesome.

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