In addition to the comparisons mentioned by TallRoo, a few irate comic book afficionados have also noticed some pretty strong similarities between Harry Potter and that other adolescent, British, bespectacled, owl-owning boy who is secretly the most powerful wizard since Merlin: Timothy Hunter.

The first few stories of Tim Hunter, told in the Vertigo series The Books of Magic , appeared in 1991, predating the first Harry Potter book by about 4-5 years.

Draw your own conclusions.