A Bleach LiveJournal community by the name of Bleachness has been investigating instances of reported plagiarism by Nick Tweed-Simmons, son of KISS frontman Gene Simmons.

Nick Simmons currently authors his own comic book series called Incarnate, published by Radical Comics out of LA and draws heavily from the art style and tropes, but the community has discovered that more than a few pages bear a striking resemblance to Bleach pages as seen in the caps below.

As of yet there has been no formal response from VIZ, Radical Comics or Nick Simmons at the time of this writing.

[via Scott Green]

Update: Radical Publishing Inc has released a formal statement on the matter via its Myspace page:

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. “