Netflix series is said to have stolen from the comic, but is there something to it?

Is 1899 a plagiarism of the Brazilian comic Black Silence? This accusation has been circulating on the internet since the weekend. Parallels between the Dark Team’s new mystery series and the 2016 sci-fi comic have been spotted in several Twitter threads. But are these accusations sound?

In this article we explain:

But be warned: the following article contains massive spoilers for the 1899 season 1 finale.

What speaks for it: It is said to have been stolen from Black Silence in 1899

Brazilian author Mary Cagnin tweeted on Saturday that 1899 was written on her comic BlackSilence based without getting a credit for it:

I’m shocked. The day I discovered that the 1899 series is simply identical to my comic Black Silencewhich was released in 2016.

In the following thread, the author posted visual and story parallels between her comic and the series:

Cagnin also explained that she was at a popular comic convention in Gothenburg in 2017 to present her comic. So it is not the case that nobody (in Europe) can know about her work.

Cagnin’s thread has been shared thousands of times. In other threads were the Parallels in the visual design and the plot closer illuminated. The evidence includes:

In addition to the recurring pyramid symbolism, other scenes in the series are said to be similar to the comic, such as this one:

What speaks against it: The story of 1899 and Black Silence in comparison

the first season of 1899 Set mostly on a migrant ship that encounters another missing ship on the Atlantic. As a result, a kind of deadly epidemic ensues on board, all the while one wonders what is real and what is illusion. At the end of 1899 there is a big twist: what happened at sea was just a simulation. In reality, 1899 takes place on some kind of spaceship in outer space.

Of the Comic Black Silence is about a spaceship that makes its way to an alien planet to ensure the survival of mankind. There the crew finds a mysterious black pyramid. As a result, the members are plagued by visions and kill each other.

the Stories from comics and series are anything but congruent. Neither the transatlantic ship nor the idea of ​​the simulations are part of the plot of Black Silence. Some of the elements, such as the multinational crew, mysterious deaths or past traumas, can be found in numerous sci-fi films, such as Sunshine, Alien, Event Horizon and others.

Still, they are noticeable visual parallels, especially the pyramid symbolism, which plays an important role in both series and comics. Again, there are other examples from the sci-fi genre that work with it, such as The Void (2016) or the video game Destiny 2 (2017). The clear theft of an original idea from the comic is therefore difficult to prove.

This is how 1899 co-creator Jantje Friese reacts

Jantje Friese, the co-creator of Dark and 1899, spoke up on Instagram and denied the accusation of plagiarism:

[…] A Brazilian artist has claimed that we stole her graphic novel. To be clear, we don’t have that. Until yesterday we didn’t even know about the existence of the graphic novel. For over two years we have poured blood, sweat and tears into the creation of 1899. This is an original idea and not based on any source material.
Despite this, we were bombarded with messages – some of them ugly and hurtful. Someone paints the devil on the wall and everyone joins in and doesn’t even check whether the allegations are valid. Of course, if this is a strategy to sell more graphic novels, then congratulations.

Her colleague and co-creator Baran bo Odar also wrote on Instagram that they want to contact Mary Cagnin and hope that she will retract her allegations.

If you want to see for yourself, you can read the comic in the English translation on Issue and stream 1899 on Netflix.

The 20 best series starts in November: 1899, Wednesday and Teletubby horror

Need more fresh streaming tips? The most exciting series that you can stream in November on Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and more can be found here in the monthly preview:

We have checked the long starting lists of the streaming services and present you the 20 big highlights of the month in the Moviepilot podcast stream trawl. Featuring fantasy highlights like Wednesday and Willow, as well as 1899, the highly anticipated new puzzle series from the Dark team.