Insert "Knowing is half the...whatever" joke here.

A difference between the comic and movie versions of Hellboy, is that, at least when the first movie begins, Hellboy is a barely glimpsed secret, an urban legend. Kind of like what some people want Batman to be, then they get bent out of shape when he's seen on TV reports in Justice League, but I digress. In the comics, Hellboy is a publicly known figure; instantly recognizable because of his appearance, but not necessarily overtly famous. You wouldn't see him on Hard Copy or TMZ or some other trendy celebrity scandal program, though; partly because his history starts in the fifties and runs to now. I always figured Hellboy would be like Jacques Cousteau: a known personage, but not one that would be mobbed by cameras or for autographs. Or, at least we haven't seen that in the comics, anyway.

So, the obvious, and hackneyed, inspiration for this one is G.I. Joe's classic "And knowing is half the battle!" While it's doubtful the FCC would've allowed the word "hell" in a kid's cartoon in the 80's--my mom still has a problem with it now, since I guess she didn't approve of my nephews seeing the Hellboy movies--a half-hour Hellboy cartoon would've been sweet. If Mike Mignola had somehow created Hellboy in say, 1982...part two on Wednesday! (EDIT: Next Wednesday. I apparently lost a day there somewhere...)