This might be slightly off-topic, but I can't seem to find a direct solution.

I'm looking to build a complex dependency/timeline graph for a web of interconnected stories in a media franchise. Each story has a release date where it needs to appear, and an arbitrary list of dependencies for previous episodes/stories/interludes which would have a line drawn to that dependency. The end result would be a sort of hybrid digraph/timeline, enabling a reader to get the 'minimum path' to catch up to a certain story in the collection.

D3 looked promising, but there's no direct equivalent I can see in the examples. For those that are experienced with D3, is that sort of thing achievable? Should I be looking at D3 or something else?