Jazan Wild (real name Jason Barnes) has filed a lawsuit against NBC, claiming that the writers used a carnival nearly identical to the ones he includes in his digital graphic novel Carnival of Souls, and by doing so "knowingly, wilfully, recklessly and maliciously infringed" on his copyright."
A spokesperson for NBC says the claims are "meritless and expect to prevail in the litigation." The carnival in question had appeared and disappeared numerous times during this past season and was run by a "Hero" who was gathering other with special powers to strengthen himself and also included a hall of mirrors that tied into the key plot.
Wild also claims that the ending of season four was changed to attempt to differentiate itself from the Carnival of Souls story. Wilde is seeking substantial damages, around $50 Million or so, as well as an injunction of further distribution of season four of "Heroes."
This comes on the tails of NBC officially canceling the once very popular show. Rating contiually dropped, no matter what they did to try and revive the show. Creator Tim Kring has also hinted that we may not have seen the last of the "Heroes" as a two hour movie or something like that may be created to give the show a proper ending.
A brief synopsis of Carnival of Souls:
"Described as "TARZAN meets Stephen King's IT", each character has a story to tell about why they have succumbed to the Carnival Of Souls. This Caravan Of The Damned travels between this world and the next, between reality and dreams!" (Thanks to Amazon.com for that)
This was the first graphic novel to be adapted into an "app" for digital media, including phones and new digital books.