On May 13, 2010, comic book artist Jazan Wild, founder and president of Carnival Comics, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against NBC Universal, NBC Studios, and Tailwind Productions, Inc., claiming the company’s TV show “Heroes” infringed his graphic novel series.

Wild’s graphic novel series, titled “Jazan Wild’s Carnival of Souls,” is made up of three books that focus on a traveling circus “that moves between this world and the next,” picking up new carneys who each tells a story about why they are traveling with the Carnival of Souls.

Wild claims NBC willfully infringed on his “Carnival of Souls” copyright in season four of its hit TV series “Heroes.” In the copyright infringement complaint, Wild alleges the main character, settings, storylines and dialogue of his novels and the TV show are identical.

As written in the complaint, both “Heroes” and “Carnival of Souls” center on a young boy who receives a prophecy at the carnival and develops special abilities, leading the carnival to seek him out again 14-15 years later. Wild claims the ending of his graphic novel series is significantly similar to the ending of the graphic novel version of “Heroes,” which NBC publishes online. The TV series, however, has a different ending than its graphic novel, which Wild believes was an intentional move by NBC to minimize the similarities to his novel.

Wild seeks $60 million in damages, an injunction of all distribution and broadcasts of season 4 of “Heroes,” attorney’s fees and treble damages in the copyright infringement lawsuit.

SOURCE: Jazan Wild, dba Carnival Comics v. NBC Universal, NBC Studios and Tailwind Productions, Inc., No. CV-10-3615 (C.D. Calif. May 13, 2010) (Complaint for Damages and Injunctive Relief). (http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/05/17/DamnedSouls.pdf).