Ian Edginton and D’Israeli have released their 2000 AD comic strip Leviathan as a graphic novel. It’s about a gigantic ocean liner, a mile long, that set out on its maiden voyage in 1928 and has somehow been lost in the middle of the ocean for 20 years. A structured society – based on ticket class – has evolved on board, but is being disrupted by a series of murders, which may or may not be being carried out by a semi-mythical being (a ‘stoker’) that stalks the lower decks.
Sounds like a great read – except that I feel like I’ve already read it.
James Lovegrove published a novel named The Hope back in 1990. It’s about a gigantic ocean liner, 3 miles long, that set out on its maiden voyage and has somehow been lost in the middle of the ocean for decades. A structured society – based on ticket class – has evolved on board, but is threatened by a series of strange and terrifying events, some involving a semi-mythical being (the ‘Compass Man’) that stalks the lower decks.
Leviathan was first published in 2000 AD in the early 2000’s, just over ten years after The Hope. I don’t want to accuse anyone of plagiarism – but I do have to wonder at the similarity.