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The Spectre #00
A ZERO HOUR tie-in! Secrets of the Spectre's past are revealed! For a thousand years, only a single soul has successfully eluded the Spectre's fury, merely to die and be reincarnated over and over again. Now the Spectre faces that soul for the final time!A Zero Month crossover issue. Once upon a time, God, the One Above All, created aspects of itself to serve different functions. One of these, the aspect of wrath, became known as the Spectre. It was the Spectre that felled Egypt and laid Sodom and Gomorrah to waste. By God’s decree, Michael came to the Spectre, and forced him to bond to a human soul. In this early incarnation, the Spectre became known as Kali. He bonded with the man Caraka, and he took vengeance against Lady Beltane, a mystic who used the souls of those she murdered to power her spells. While Caraka/Spectre succeeded in avenging Caraka’s murder, the soul of Beltane eluded him. Over the ages, Beltane would be reborn, constantly fighting the Spectre.
27 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1994
5 people want to read
About the author
John Ostrander
2,080 books172 followersJohn Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 6, 2021
I'm not a big fan of "origin stories" for the most part, and maybe because this book was more of a meditation on the origin of the idea of The Spectre character I enjoyed this story a lot. John Ostander's run on the Spectre was a really interesting exploration of Christian mythology, as well as a wonderful exploration of justice, revenge, choice, and the desire of individuals to overcome personal tragedy. This issue showed the Spectre as a man, but also as a timeless force/desire for justice that repeats throughout the course of human history.
Probably one of the best "0" issues I've ever read.
Probably one of the best "0" issues I've ever read.
January 10, 2024
Pretty good origin story for some who is unfamiliar with the character. However, I didn’t find the framing of the story around AIDS to work too well with me.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews