The Last Days of American Crime #2
Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Greg Tocchini
Cover by: Alex Maleev
Letters by: Rus Wooton
Radical Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: April 28, 2010

The Last Days of American Crime is another Rick Remender creator-owned book that is riddled with his originality and twists. Best described as a Science Fiction and Crime book, the basic premise is, what if the government announced that in a few days it would be sending a transmission that made it impossible to commit a crime through a type of mind control. As if that was not enough we are thrust into a world that no longer has a use for paper money.

This story shows that two genres that generally do not mix are compatible and interesting when meshed together with great skill and great art. Plus, how could you not feel like you’re getting your money’s worth when you are only paying two dollars more and you’re getting three times the content as a normal comic? The issue is like a mini trade paperback.

Last week Radical Publishing halted the production of its American Manga series Incarnate as accusations of plagiarism arose against the series’ creator Nick Simmons, son of KISS founder Gene Simmons [read Nick Simmons Accused Of Plagiarism For “˜Incarnate’ Comic; Publication Halted].

Simmons issued a statement via representative today responding to the allegations, claiming that his work was “meant as an homage” to the artists that inspire him. He also apologized to Manga fans and artists who may have thought he’d gone too far in his intentions.

Radical Publishing has halted production on its American Manga series Incarnate while they investigate claims of plagiarism against the series’ creator Nick Simmons, son of KISS founder Gene Simmons.

Radical Comics launched the series, which Simmons wrote and penciled, back in August and released three single issues, which were to be sold later this year in a collected volume. Read their full official statement regarding the allegations here below.

Earlier this week, accusations arose against Simmons on the GameFAQ forum stating that his artwork on Incarnate was copied from popular manga titles like Tite Kubo’s Bleach, which has sold over 50 million volumes worldwide. The Bleachness fan site posted side-by-side comparisons of the artwork from both titles to show similarities, and even superimposed the images. There’s also word balloons that show similar dialogue between the new comics.

The image at top is one of the examples from the Bleachness site [note, we do not have either source material to verify the claims]: on the left is a panel from Bleach; the center is a panel from Incarnate; the image on the right is a both of these images superimposed.

Legends: The Enchanted #0
Written and illustrated by Nick Percival
Letters by Richard Starking & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Radical Publishing
28 pages; full-color
Price $1; Release date: February 3, 2010

When giants lay siege on the town of Krakenfield, the townsfolk need a hero and the drifter Jack is just their man. Jack knows a thing or two about killing giants, even though the gigs are getting tiresome for him. On the edge of the Bionic Woods, a bound and imprisoned Pinocchio suffers at the hands of a hag threatening to kill the puppet at the behest of a squire. Days later in those same woods, a mysterious young women caped and hooded all in red carrying a basket, collecting something important is attacked by a pack of wolves.

Something about this tale sounds familiar, yes? That’s because the characters are made up of classic fairy tale legends. But before you dismiss this as a child’s bedtime story, let me stress that Legends: The Enchanted is graphically violent with art that looks like Todd McFarlane’s Twisted Fairy Tales figures meets H.R. Giger in a Clive Barker horror story.

The Last Days of American Crime #1
Issue 1 of 3
Written by Rick Remender
Art by Greg Tocchini
Lettering by Rus Rooton
64 pages, Full Color; $4.99
Available Now
Radical Publishing

From Rick Remender, the critically acclaimed writer of Punisher and Fear Agent comes the first issue of The Last Days Of American Crime. Featuring covers from Alex Maleev and Greg Tocchini this crime noir thriller captured my attention with its really cool premise. Picture this:

In the not-too-distant future, as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards.

Enter Graham Bricke, a career criminal never quite able to hit the big score. In a grand scheme, Graham intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country, and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life. But the media has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live… and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the heist of the century into the last crime in American history.