Typical moronic masses jumping to conclusions.

or someone looking for a payoff.

Yeah, I'm sure they'd get a pay-off over that. Cos, you know, it's just inconcievable that anyone else would ever think up such an unoriginal and unique idea. But, I guess that's why they are called idiots, cos no matter the logic, they still try.

that dosn't really mean that they are dumb, mabe paranoid and egotistical...

Theres no real similarities besides it being a cigarrette smoking mascot. Thats like saying any cartoon mouse is a Mickey clone. It's an interesting read but anyone claiming your stealing IP is really grasping at straws here.

Well if that's ripping off then what every anthro bunny is a Bugs Bunny ripoff?

That's sad. I actually wrote a fA journal called, "The Art of Plagiarism and Thieft" talking about how people can come up with the same idea and never seeing the other's work. I'd never accuse you of plagiarism and there's differences in appearance from both characters. I don't think you're doing anything wrong.

Out Host's Ghost Of Nicotine: the addiction of chem-packed siggies personified
Mr. Butts: A satirical, Hey-kids-smoking-is-okay!! mascot character

Oh yeah. Total rip off.

Save the drama for your llama.

or your Llama's Mama.

It's a common occurrence really, sometimes you will find a lot of people will unintentionally copy ideas without even knowing it. As far as I know, I might have done it myself several times but no one has yet to say anything to me.

Similar incident occurred in Gamercat where they did a joke from Assassins Creed that was also done by VGCats, only the latter is way more graphic.

Even if there was more of a similarity, the Ghost of Cancer yet to Come (as I've erroneously named him, sorry) would seem more like an homage than a ripoff in this context anyway. Besides, there's this: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllJustADream

You have a great day Fisk.

I don' see it. What I do see is people with nothing to do trying to find SOMETHING to get people in shit over, like the situation presented

Who reads Doonesbury?

Used to. Years ago same applies for Dilbert.


Doonbury = too political
Dilbert = Same gags rehashed in different scenarios

Let's not be petty. It's a good satirical strip that has ten times the teeth of the average syndicated cartoon. Besides, it introduced a young me to Hunter S. Thompson, and for that it will always be blessed.

X3

You know I'm just mess'n

Admittedly, the first thing I thought was, "Oh my, Mr. Butts showed up over here." But, well yes, hallucinating with a talking cigarette.

Obviously you need to do a talking Cola can now so everyone over at userfriendly can go sideways too.

Bunners

I remember that strip, Trudeau failed to make it funny like you did in OL

I truly didn't think anything of it until you mentioned it. However, when it comes to creation, often times there is something that is similar since most frequent ideas have been done or thought of. Creation is hard nowadays and things are often bound to resemble something else...besides, OL is a free web comic. You can put what you please. I doubt anybody has bitched about you using anthropomorphic characters for Mass Effect and Skyrim references yet....haaave they?

OH yeah, that is a TOTAL RIPOFF *eyerolls* yeah, It is a stretch. Just Greedy people being greedy I suppose.

oh my god a talking cigarette inform the masses

I'm sorry, this is the stupidest thing I've heard all week.
What happens in cartoons when a character is really super fucking hungry?
Something turns into a cheeseburger or a hotdog. Usually with arms and legs. Because it's funny.
Anyone screaming 'art theft' or any variation thereof
is a moron

Back in the late 60's or perhaps early 70's Zap Comix had a cartoon of a cigarette, a bottle of booze and a hypodermic of dope all anthropomorphised (is that a word?) and trying to lure unsuspecting kids to their charms. A good idea is a good idea no matter when it surfaces or by whom. Accusations of rip offs are easy to make and sure to be taken up by conspiracy minded people or just plain haters and trolls.

Well, what will happen now and more importent, what will you do now?

um has anyone ever watched cartoons as a kid?

There were lots of anthropomorphic cigarets, alcohol bottles and other non living objects, that come around to pester the main character.
Hell they turn people in to walking chicken legs, when the main characters are so hungry they hallucinate.

This is not something you can rip off it's a writing device used in all forms of media, from books to comics to TV ads, to cartoons.

There is no need for people to create drama over something like this.
it's as bad as saying any one who writes a new horror novel id ripping off Stephen King.

Those throwing hissy fits need to figure out how to use the thing between their ears, and look at the facts

Thanks for reminding me how much it sucks to quit smoking. >_<

It's only gonna get worse, Stacy.

Yeah well similarities in fiction are bound to come up. I mean in one of the stories that Stephen King wrote in Cats Eye there was a man trying to quit smoking and he was having hallucinations over it, seeing cigarettes everywhere and in increasingly ludicrous ammounts. Later on there was a sitcom from the BBC called Father Ted where the title character is trying to give up smoking for Lent and has hallucinations that people are taunting him with cigarettes. It's a common theme in fiction that addiction is personal and that's fine. To that end how different can you make an anthro cigarette?

Also that sketch on Kids In The Hall was hilarious.

They don't look even remotely similar. Is this accusation simply because you create an anthropomorphic cigarette?
To accuse someone of plagiarism on the grounds that they've done something similar to something else done by some-one else would mean that 99% of the art community are guilty of this in some form or another. Does this mean that anyone drawing a character with wings is guilty of plagiarising an oil painting done in 1667 by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo called Liberation of St Peter, based on the story told in Acts of the Apostles (it's the first thing that came up in my search for old oil paintings of angels)....exactly how far do we go in terms of plagiarism?

I admit that doonesbury was the first thing to come to mind when I saw the cig guy, but I dont see any ripping off going on. thought it more like an intentional joke and nod to the comic.

It's a ridiculous claim, given the characters serve entirely different purposes. But anyone who would look at that and thinking "rip-off," isn't likely to be a fan in the first place. Or else their pretty easily lead by the nose to think the worst of other people. Either way, the best you can do is sigh, shake your head, and hope they manage to struggle out of their tween-aged years.

I tried an experiment.

I googled "Talking Cigarette." Guess how many Google came up with.

37,600,000 in 0.22 sec. [Results may vary]

Strange how neither Mr.Butt's or your creation were on the first page.

"There are no original ideas any more, only variations on a theme." a famous person said this.. his name was Shakespear.

The little idiot needs to grow up and get an education.

OmG u Coppiedd HiM u stoLEs!!! THEEFFF!!!

Srsly, it's a cigarette, not a complicated character. Who the fuck should care? Even for a cigarette it looks nothing like Doonesbury xD

-5 faith in humanity, people getting butthurt over dumb conclusions *tsk tsk*

You should just ignore them, they obviously have nothing better to do than attack people for stupid reasons. It's not worth your time

It's a fucking CIGARETTE!! A small twig that can't be changed a whole lot to look 'different'. Don't worry about it, Naylor. Some people go as far as they can to point out flaws and similarities.

I never knew about this comic :) And I am a huge fan of yar work <3 I am reading it like wtf awesome!!!

There is talking dogs in your comic.

I am a talking dog.

You are ripping me off.

brbsuingyou.jpg

When I first saw the talking cig Mr. Butts came right to my mind (I am a big Doonesbury fan) and thought, "Damn, that is quite similiar", but hey, he knows what he is doing....

I am reposting what I said on live journal for those that only look at FA:

Eh, it does look kind of similar but an earlier poster brought up a good point in that you're drawing a cigarette personified, there really is not much you can do other than what you did in your style. I read Doonsbury before seeing this so I may have some baggage but even so, I can tell that any similarities between what you created and the Doonsbury creature are pure coincidental and ultimate come from the same source. One of the key differences is attitude and how they present themselves. Mr. Butts is an apologist for the tobacco industry plain and simple. What you present is a drug pusher, he knows he's bad for his clients and he tries to get them to imbibe anyway. If anything the two creations are the flip side of one another; two sides of the same bad coin if you will.

ok dude, first off whoever thinks you are ripping off that other comic can go hang themselves, secondly and to support the first your cig, does not look anyything like the other, its like saying a toyota 4 runner is a rip off of a model t, ok they both are trucks, and they have wheels but thats where it ends...

"It's the nature of humans who don't think: people you don't like are automatically guilty of horrible things."

"I imagine the kinds of people who'd enjoy a comic like Doonesbury are the same sort of rabble inclined to presume the worst about me and sling an accusation right out of the gate."

Really? Was that a bad joke?

*grins* Not all, obviously.

But was more speaking to people accused of actual wrongdoings, not wondering about a behavioral pattern that you're the recipient of.

Ppl love being derp because pienis

*hug* Don't worry about them. There are bound to be similarities when it comes to giving life to inanimate objects. Though, Mr. Butts has a long, pointed nose and wears gloves and a bowtie. Your unnamed hallucinogen cig has no nose and no clothes. The only similarity would be that they are both talking cigarettes with arms. Shocking!! I'll inform the press. XD

Some people just want to rile up drama for no freakin' reason.

**on a side note, I can't wait to wait to see if Stacy stays strong. Stay in bed, Stacy!! You can do it!

Maybe I'm going over the situation too finely, but I don't see the similarity other than the subject of a cigarette... H8rs gonna h8.

DAFUQ?!?!?!?!?! The art styles are as similar as a four year old's fridge art and Blotch. If that's art theft then Disney should sue for the rights to "mighty Mouse". That is bullshit.

It's a personified inanimate object...it's seen all the time.
Jeez, people complain just to complain.

I had to laugh when in the wiki article for Mr. Butts it said he was sometimes accompanied by a Mr. Jay

they... don't look anything alike... at all... :/

well i guess that's their fault for paranoia and, there should be name for it, chronic belief syndrome ... the act of jumping on a bandwagon as soon as you 'believe' in its cause.

*Shrugs* oh well... the comic still entertained :D

there is nothing new under the sun. things are going to get repeated.

I have been an occasional reader of doonesbury and noticed the simularity, but get real.... How many ways can one anthro a cigarette? Some people have too much time on their hands. I hate stupidity.

And here I thought the inner workings of the human mind couldn't be copyrighted...

The way some people go on about how much they dislike you, your art, or your comics, but are more up to date with it all then a lot of people who do like your stuff. It's like someone who hates TV continues to watch TV so they can find new TV things to complain about.

They don't even look the same... xD
That person accusing you probably just had nothing better to do. >__>

Personally it flew right over my head as I have never liked Doonsbury so I never noticed.

I read neither Doonesbury nor Bloom County.

Make of that what you will.

I maybe not as artistically inclined as I thought myself to be, because to me I really do not see any similarities except that they are both cigarettes. People just like to harass people that they are jealous of, and seeing as how well known you are, people are more inclined to throw stones at you unfortunately, but your fan will be there to help heal the bruises! ^_^

I'm sorry this happened to you, and I hope you don't let it bother you. It isn't worth it, and your art style is unique as are you characters, do not let anyone tell you different!

Most of the cartooners over here in FA are going to understand that there are some cartooned ideas that are image memes or even image archetypes. Anthro cars, molar teeth scrubbing themselves with a toothbrush... even *talking funny animals*... Those are all shared character memes in our culture. Just like a cartoon of a giant anthropomorph cigarette.

The critic on Twitter may just not be that experienced & slightly ignorant about the history of cartooning. Or they might be trolling. One may be able to tell by their tone, or it may be difficult to figure out what's the actual motivation behind their postings.

And here I was wondering why there's no comment system on OL's page. /chucklechuckle

Um, plain and simple: There are no REAL similarities between your cig and that Doon one. 'sides that they are cigarettes, why this is an 'rip-off' issue is purely childish. Someone doesn't know how to spend there time well is they are making a stupid claim like this.

Yes, this is a blindside, there is no way you could have sen this, but you should also not worry about it and just continue on with life. No point in getting worked up about this.

I thought it was a wink to the comic. So either way, no need to sweat over it.

I used to read Doonesbury when I was younger because I thought it was amusing. Then I learned it kinda wasn't. XD
In any case, I don't really see the similarities (aside from the bare basic one). Your cig guy is yours, no matter what anyone says. Besides, I can't really see you as the type to intentionally (or even unintentionally) "rip off someone else's idea". Not to mention, how many different variants there have been for the same basic idea, for any idea? Many of them never being known to the person who makes one. So....no biggie, man. X3

Silly peoples, they is.

Is simple Jay, you're not a raving liberal so the usual idiots are looking for any excuse, any excuse no matter how flimsy, to slam you.

There is a bright side to this though - if they're trying that hard and grasping as such a flimsy straw then that means that you're doing something quite right.

It's not like Trudeau has the copyright of the cylindrical shape.

Also, your character is a cigarette who is smoking a cigarette, that gives it an extra layer of complexity. By the way, does that count as cannibalism?

.. I may lack an artistic eye, but I really don't see such similarities between the nicotine ghost you drew in your OL comics and this Mr Butts character. They appear as a lot different, especially considering that they both are a cigarette after all: the traits that make them different "cigarettes" (face and hands) are indeed very different. If you ripped off Doonersbury because you too drew a giant, talking cigarette, then I guess you also ripped off Walt Disney and Hanna & Barbera 'cause you're drawing anthropomorphic cats, dogs and whatever; and Disney, Hanna and Barbera ripped off Mother Nature 'cause they drew humanized animals. I really think it's not the case.

That being said, I can see a similarity between Nicotine Ghost and Mr Butts: I don't like them both, too clichè really. XD But that's my personal opinion.

Honestly? I was reading Doonesbury in the papers wehn Mr. Butts was around, and I didn't twigg on it. As far as bouncing with the knife I'm more likely to think of Steve Dallas from bloomcounty than doonesbury. Around the time of Billy and the Boingers maybe? Who knows. At some point, everything is influenced by something else. I still enjoy the story line as a smoker, though I'll admit I wasnt buying my own till I was 16, rather than 14.

trolls, you has them :(