Out in May, Marvel‘s Ultimate Spider-Man #15 features a cute variant cover from Rian Gonzales. The cover features Peter, MJ, and their daughter in a cute kawai-like style featuring rainbows, make-believe tea party, and more. Gonzales is accused of swiping at least the May part of the art from Nina, aka InkPangur, the creator of the webcomic Lilith’s Word.

Gonzales took to social media yesterday to share the reasons for the trace claiming a “creative rut,” and a need to “meet the deadline.” In the explanation Gonzales states that the issue has since been “resolved” and apologizes to everyone Rian has hurt. You can read the full statement below.

But, that resolution might not be a reality. Juby, aka CutTimeComic, gives more detail and refutes some of what Gonzales claims. The original art was drawn in 2017 by Nina for Juby as a birthday present. According to Juby, Nina attempted to resolve the issue privately which led to Rian leading to releasing a statement. According to Juby, the issue isn’t resolved. And Juby provides an overlay of the two pieces of art. Where Rian Gonzales calls it a “reference,” it’s pretty clear this is more of a trace when the images or really compared.

Check out the comparison of the original piece of art and Rian Gonzales’ version:

While there’s some differences between the two in detail and the right arm, the two images match up strikingly well.

The situation raises more questions about art Rian Gonzales has released and what else might have been swiped/traced from others as well as flaired up the debate between referencing and tracing.

We’ve reached out to Marvel regarding the status of the Ultimate Spider-Man #15 cover and if it will still be released. You can read Rian’s full statement below.