UPDATE: Story Swipe? Are Calamity Kate and Alex Priest the same character?

It was brought to our attention by a concerned fan that a new Dark Horse comics title, Calamity Kate by writer, Magdalene Visaggio and artist, Corin Howell is strangely similar to a independent comic from Arledge comics called Alex Priest by Jenn Arledge and Scott Malin that was published back in 2017.

See below plot outlines and you tell us:

Alex Priest follows the story of a gender queer vampire hunter who works as an exterminator. vampires in this world are pests, and Alex gets rid of them. Alex is eventually partnered with an ex girlfriend they hadn’t seen in five years in order to take out monsters and save the world.

Calamity Kate follows the story of a queer monster hunter who works as an exterminator. monsters in this world are pests, and Kate gets rid of them. Kate visits her sister, someone she hadn’t seen in five years, then she decides to take out powerful monsters to save the world.

The concerned fan also stated the following: ” So, both have queer, punk looking, monster hunter leads with red hair. both include five year reunions. Both include bad break ups, spurring the story. Both fight with a Katana. Both stories feature another monster hunter that gets in the lead’s way. The stories differ some, but the framework and actors are the same! Alex Priest was first published in 2017 and if you’re still unsure that the creators behind this Dark Horse title ripped off an indie comic, compare the first pages, it even looks blatantly ripped off. There’s probably more ripped off material but that’s what I saw in one read. We need more queers in comics but not like this! “

UPDATE:

We were just presented the following tweet:

https://twitter.com/MagsVisaggs/status/1052221024471801856

We reached out to Arledge comics for comment and at this time they declined as they look further into this!

So what do you think?

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Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!