Been Caught Stealing

You need neither a sharp eye nor some basic aesthetic foundation to figure this out. It is that obvious. However I do sympathize with the mentioned Shojo Artist for being the one getting caught, what with the enormous numbers of cases all over the market, and she's the 1,001 luck-out one. It was said that the Fans pointed out the similarities online, leading to the crackdown. Bah, the power of the internet manifest yet again. Read on. Kodansha has pulled 25 works by cartoonist Yuki Suetsugu out of print and is withdrawing the remaining copies, over allegations that she stole images from the popular "Slam Dunk" comic books by Takehiko Inoue. Kodansha officials said Suetsugu had used images from "Slam Dunk" in her 12-part comic-book series "Eden no Hana." In addition to taking all 25 of her works out of print, it has decided to halt publication of the series "Silver" appearing in monthly publication "Bessatsu Friend." Officials said the stolen images were used in a basketball scene, and bore a close resemblance to those in "Slam Dunk." Suetsugu has admitted having copied the images. On the following day, both Kodansha and Suetsugu apologised publicly on the Kodansha site. 末次由紀氏の描写盗用問題については、詳細を調査中ですが、 多くについては事実が確認されました。末次氏もこれを認めております。 「別冊フレンド」の連載の即刻中止を決め、末次氏のすべての単行本も 出荷停止・絶版・回収の措置をとりました。 編集部としても盗用に気づかなかったことを深く反省するとともに、 著作権者の方、そして読者の皆様にお詫び申し上げます。 講談社　広報室 今回このような事態を招いてしまって本当に申し訳ありません。 自分のモラルの低さと認識の甘さにより、多大なるご迷惑をおかけしてしまった 著作権者の皆様、関係者の皆様、そしてなにより読者の皆様に深く謝罪申し上げます。 末次由紀 In good ol'English : From Kodansha: We are still looking into the plagiarism case regarding Suetsugu Yuki, but we can already confirm that much of it is true. Suetsugu has also admitted to it. Serialization in 'Bessatsu Friend' has immediately been stopped, as well as the shipping of all of Suetsugu's tankoubon. They will no longer be printed and steps for a recall have been taken. We deeply regret that the plagiarism went unnoticed by our editorial department, and we apologize to the copyright holders as well as all our readers. Kodansha PR department From Suetsugu: I am really sorry for having invited this situation. I have caused much trouble, due to my low morals and lack of foresight and deeply apologize to all copyright holders, all people involved and above all to all readers. Suetsugu Yuki Low morals, eh? I do vaguely remember a certain renowned American Comic Artist (Hint hint : This guy got an equally famous comic artist sibling, and his old man's one hell of an iconic figure in the comic industry) resorting to similar antics back in his early days, and was spotted by some eagle-eyed reader who in turns exposed the incident on one of the early issues of Wizard. Not much of an issue back then despite the blatantly obvious swipes (And I thought the Americans are supposedly the front-runner in terms of copyright matters). And sadly, the swiping techniques had been evidently in fashion for like, almost forever. If only such antics were better enforced in America, the sheer volume of books to be recall are, well I can almost see the big fat grin on the face of the shredding service provider's face. Anyway, as I was saying, the power of the internet, indeed. As expected, uproars and backlash came hand in hand after the incident. Similarities to Bastard!, Real (also by Takehiko Inoue), and other mangas were exposed as well. A parting shot for you.