Baltimore Comic-Con #5: Two Mysterious Heroes: The Spectre and Hellboy

The Spectre and Green Lantern

I love mysterious heroes. Maybe it's because I've been able to talk with dead people since I was a teenager. Sometimes now when I get messages, I can actually even draw their faces - and I do. Anyway, I got to meet one of my all-time favorite mysterious heroes at Comic-Con, who is both a ghost and a superhero: The Spectre!



WHO IS THE SPECTRE? - He's one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE Characters:  A superhero who happens to be a ghost. 

From Adventure Comics #432 Cr: DC Comics

The character first appeared in a next-issue ad in More Fun Comics #51 (Jan. 1940). He was Jim Corrigan, former police detective that was murdered by the mob, encased in cement in the bottom of a river. God had given Corrigan a chance to come back as his "spirit of vengence" and destroy all evil. He would never rest until all of the evil was destroyed from the world (so he'll be around forever).
 - In the 1970s, when I first read the Spectre he killed murderers in gruesome and horrific ways that for some reason, I thought justified and interesting - Like turning a murderous man to wood and then putting the log through a sawmill. That's justice!  Other stories showed  criminals being transformed into everything from broken glass to melting candles.

Hellboy!

  In the 2000s, the Spectre faced complex, morally-ambiguous situations that posed certain ethical questions, one example being: What vengeance should be wrought upon a woman who killed her abusive husband in his sleep?
  The Spectre is a powerful superhero and a ghost. The Spectre has all the abilities a god would have including, but not limited to, manipulation of time and space, control over all matter, invulnerability, and limitless strength.

I also ran into "Hellboy!"
WHO IS HELLBOY?  - You may remember if you saw the two movies (I loved the FIRST MOVIE), is a former demon who renounced hell to save the world against the evil demons.  (for the movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob9J3kCELXE )
A well-meaning demon whose true name is Anung Un Rama ("and upon his brow is set a crown of flame"), Hellboy was summoned from Hell to Earth as an infant on December 23, 1944 (given as his birth date by Mike Mignola) by Nazi occultists (spawning his hatred for them). He was discovered by the Allied Forces; amongst them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). In time Hellboy grew to be a large, red-skinned demon with a tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind the signature circular stumps on his forehead), cloven hooves for feet, and an oversized right hand made of stone.  . Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to demons, has a strong sense of humor and works with other strange creatures in the BPRD. This is said to be because of his upbringing under Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him as a normal boy.
Hellboy works for the BPRD, an international non-governmental agency, and himself against dark forces.

NEXT: TWO FAMOUS COMIC BOOK FOLKS AND SOME WEIRD JAPANESE CHARACTERS
--- then in 2 days: TWO BLUE GUYS
--- then in 3 days: MY FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE COMIC-CON