Or atleast he is aware of the series, but as he's a comic fan he's likely read it.
Taken from interview with Tim Kring(Heroes) and Damon Lindelof(Lost):
http://www.wizarduniverse.com/television/heroes/004581877.cfm?page=2
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One of the most interesting things about both shows is that on “Heroes,” the superhero show, Tim has limited knowledge of the comic book culture, while on “Lost,” the desert island show, comic-inspired storytelling methods play a big role.
KRING: To be honest, I don’t know if “Heroes” would’ve found as much connection with the audience had I been completely rooted in a comic book genre world. I think my sensibilities, countering a lot of the people here who are much more rooted in that, are part of the recipe for [the show’s] success. It’s helped to get a broader audience.
LINDELOF: I think that’s definitely the case. When you watch “Heroes” as a genre fan and you see there are certain inevitable parts of an origin story or a superhero story that are driving toward the same end—geeks can watch “Heroes” and go, “Oh, this is like something I read in an issue of X-Men” or “This is Rising Stars.” The fact that Tim hasn’t read that stuff gives him so much more beyond plausible deniability. It actually brings a certain freshness to the storytelling, because he’s telling the story his way without feeling like he’s a slave to what inspired it.
“Heroes” is going to do an episode [on April 30] that takes place five years in the future. They’ve teased as much, when Hiro and Ando [James Kyson Lee] are looking out at New York but they’re too late [to save it from destruction]. My favorite X-Men storyline ever is this thing called “Days of Future Past” where [they similarly jump into a dark future], and I’m sure [“Heroes” writers Jeph] Loeb and [Jesse] Alexander have probably briefed you on it by now. But the fact that you, Tim, probably pitched that story without having any idea what “Days of Future Past” was liberates you to now tell your story the way you want. You came to it the same way that [“Days” writer] Chris Claremont came to that story, which is that it’s an inevitable story to tell in a world where you can hop around in time.
Taken from interview with Tim Kring(Heroes) and Damon Lindelof(Lost):
http://www.wizarduniverse.com/television/heroes/004581877.cfm?page=2
=========
One of the most interesting things about both shows is that on “Heroes,” the superhero show, Tim has limited knowledge of the comic book culture, while on “Lost,” the desert island show, comic-inspired storytelling methods play a big role.
KRING: To be honest, I don’t know if “Heroes” would’ve found as much connection with the audience had I been completely rooted in a comic book genre world. I think my sensibilities, countering a lot of the people here who are much more rooted in that, are part of the recipe for [the show’s] success. It’s helped to get a broader audience.
LINDELOF: I think that’s definitely the case. When you watch “Heroes” as a genre fan and you see there are certain inevitable parts of an origin story or a superhero story that are driving toward the same end—geeks can watch “Heroes” and go, “Oh, this is like something I read in an issue of X-Men” or “This is Rising Stars.” The fact that Tim hasn’t read that stuff gives him so much more beyond plausible deniability. It actually brings a certain freshness to the storytelling, because he’s telling the story his way without feeling like he’s a slave to what inspired it.
“Heroes” is going to do an episode [on April 30] that takes place five years in the future. They’ve teased as much, when Hiro and Ando [James Kyson Lee] are looking out at New York but they’re too late [to save it from destruction]. My favorite X-Men storyline ever is this thing called “Days of Future Past” where [they similarly jump into a dark future], and I’m sure [“Heroes” writers Jeph] Loeb and [Jesse] Alexander have probably briefed you on it by now. But the fact that you, Tim, probably pitched that story without having any idea what “Days of Future Past” was liberates you to now tell your story the way you want. You came to it the same way that [“Days” writer] Chris Claremont came to that story, which is that it’s an inevitable story to tell in a world where you can hop around in time.
