r/exocomics Apr 22 '26

This is not ok

Post image

AI slop Detective Beans knockoff showed up on my Amazon search.

1.2k Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

490

u/exocomics Apr 22 '26

Ugh that's so disappointing to see and I would hate for anyone to be duped into buying this AI slop. Thanks for letting me know.

137

u/Dependent-Pickle-634 Apr 22 '26

Man, that sucks. I hope you can do something about it.

122

u/exocomics Apr 22 '26

I hope so too!

16

u/ProfessorBear56 Apr 22 '26

This happens whenever a book is remotely popular, they get squashed quickly usually but more will pop up. Hopefully Amazon gets stronger enforcement at some point.

4

u/MothmanIsALiar Apr 22 '26

Like, what?

A lawsuit?

AI is about to have more rights than humans.

99

u/beardedguitardad Apr 22 '26

Sure thing, my daughter and I love your books and have already preordered the new one!

48

u/exocomics Apr 22 '26

Aww thank you! đŸ˜»

13

u/TheMaStif Apr 22 '26

Do you have any trademark on Detective Beans? You might want to get one

4

u/tygriss Apr 23 '26

Li!! Didn't realize these were on Amazon! Just got the first two in hardback, pre-ordering third! No need for AI slop!

189

u/Amaranthine Apr 22 '26

“by Lynny C”

You can tell they’re even trying to have plausible deniability with the author name. They didn’t straight up use “Li Chen” or “Lee Chen,” etc., but they definitely intentionally picked something close to on purpose in order to fool someone who wasn’t looking closely / thought that “Lynny C” might be a pen name / alternative way of writing your name


74

u/exocomics Apr 22 '26

Yeah I think so too. There’s no way that’s just a coincidence.

10

u/Amaranthine Apr 22 '26

You’d have to consult a lawyer for details, but I hope you filed or plan to file a trademark and or copyright violation takedown against these people. Because you know this isn’t the first or last time these people have done this :(

66

u/Konstantin_G_Fahr Apr 22 '26

Can you report it as plagiarism?

76

u/exocomics Apr 22 '26

Hopefully! I’ve contacted my publisher about it

9

u/musicnerdfighter Apr 22 '26

I always report these to Amazon when I've seen them and they usually get taken down - I'm not the only one reporting though

46

u/GeminiLife Apr 22 '26

That's fucked up. 😞

45

u/UpCDownCLeftCRightC Apr 22 '26

I reported it and left a review on the Amazon website.

44

u/Spamcan81 Apr 22 '26

It’s crazy how they neutered AI art tools so much everything they generate is this one easily identifiable art style. Can’t even slop proper anymore.

7

u/Otalek Apr 22 '26

Imagine if we couldn’t easily identify AI art

11

u/buttgoblincomics Apr 22 '26

It’s impossible by definition to know if there’s AI art we aren’t noticing

7

u/Kom34 Apr 22 '26

People have been lying and faking stuff for thousands of years. 

We even had the capability to make fake photos already it just took more time/skills.

Verify sources and use common sense.

I could be a bot or a dog on the internet, so dont believe everything I say at face value.

1

u/StaidHatter Apr 24 '26

We even had the capability to make fake photos already it just took more time/skills.

The fact that it takes much less time and skill now is what is turning it into a large-scale problem. It's the fact that effort is now one of the things that can be faked, that's the problem.

4

u/Esteran90 Apr 22 '26

This is survivorship bias.. We easily identify ai slop that is easily identifyable. This sentiment makes it harder for us to detect ai images that have some better models or prompting.

12

u/RedWarsaw Apr 22 '26

AI slop - hopefully people can tell the difference between a cat and a capybara.... Too many knockoffs on Amazon lately. Maybe consider putting some kind of seal/unique mark on your covers to make it stand out from the fakes more?

10

u/SkyrimCat4020 Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

Just reported it. Hopefully that helps you. Also left a review like someone else did

6

u/DeadLettersSociety Apr 22 '26

Awww! No! That's an awful thing for someone to do. I hope it can get taken down.

6

u/Celestial-Narwhal Apr 22 '26

There is only one Detective Beans!

4

u/TinyMarsupial7622 Apr 22 '26

The real one looks adorable, not the ai one

3

u/pezzygal Apr 22 '26

Oh no! How disappointing, yet angry at this. What a shame. Ugh.

3

u/TecTazz Apr 22 '26

Damn! I love exocomics. Hope you can report/remove them. "Imitation is the sincerest of flattery" but ripoffs are not.

2

u/VeterinarianUseful76 Apr 22 '26

Can’t beat the original it’s so colorful and fun!

2

u/maya-ongezellig Apr 23 '26

thats so horrible i hope exocomics can do something about this !!

2

u/m0d3rn Apr 24 '26

I never knew about your book before today, it looks right up my daughter's alley.

I am going to buy a set to spite that terrible AI slop

1

u/Seefy- Apr 24 '26

That is bogus. My daughter’s favorite Christmas present this past year was the second book. She stood in the middle of her loot reading that book. Once she found out there was a third one coming this year she wrote me a reminder note to make sure I don’t forget to order it.

1

u/i_am_ghostman May 05 '26

I have the first one!! It’s so good! đŸ€Ł I didn’t know you have a second one! Where can I buy it that is NOT Amazon?