The Spectre, by Alex Ross

Fox is developing a drama based on The Spectre, DC Comics' hooded Spirit of Vengeance, Deadline reports.

Brandon Camp, creator of the short-lived sci-fi drama John Doe, will write the adaptation, which centers on an ex-cop serving time in limbo who hunts down earthly criminals on behalf of the dead. Warner Bros. Television and Gerber Pictures will produce The Spectre, which has received a script commitment from Fox, with Camp and Bill Gerber (Gran Torino) serving as executive producers.

Geoff Johns, DC Entertainment's chief creative officer, apparently brought the property to Camp's attention.

Created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily, The Spectre debuted in 1940 when hard-boiled cop Jim Corrigan was murdered and his spirit refused entry into the afterlife, instead being sent back to Earth to battle evil. The character became a regular fixture of the DC Universe over the next seven decades, occasionally fading away, or being seemingly destroyed, only to be resurrected again and again.

Headlining four solo series -- the most recent from 2001 to 2003 -- the mantle of The Spectre has passed from Jim Corrigan to Hal Jordan to its current host, former Gotham Police Detective Crispus Allen.

The Spectre marks Fox's return to comic adaptations after the cancellation of Human Target (the network passed on the pilot for Locke & Key). It also follows in the ghostly footsteps of fellow DC property Deadman, which is being developed for The CW by Supernatural creator Eric Kripke.