From Hell

An intriguing look at the story of Jack The Ripper

Alan Moore is the creator of the highly praised DC Comic’s series “The Watchmen”. He also took over the “Swamp Thing” comic franchise in the 1980’s, infusing the story line with thrills, political debates and outrageous adventures. It was also the first mainstream comic book to be published without the seal of the comic’s industry self-censoring Comics Code Authority.

He is also the creator of the comic series “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman”.  “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman” is a great series, but unfortunately did not get the treatment it deserved when translated to the big screen (check out our review of the film -Ed).

Moore grew tired of ongoing censorship rampant in the more mainstream comics companies. He finally gained independent publishing for his work at the end of the 1980’s.

“From Hell”, the film about “Jack the Ripper” from 2001 starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham is adapted from the original comic book series first published as “Taboo” in 1996. Moore and Campbell then renamed the series “From Hell”.  The graphic novel “From Hell” is an astonishing achievement in the realm of graphic novels and is available now in a collected anthology from Top Shelf Comics.

The Story

Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell submerged themselves deep in to the world of “Ripperology” or the study of the story of “Jack the Ripper” when writing “From Hell”. In addition to their own research, they utilized similar theories about the real identify of “Jack the Ripper” as written in the novel “Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution” by Stephen Knight.

The novel by Stephen Knight proposes that Prince Albert of England in 1888 possibly fathered a child with a prostitute. When the prostitutes attempt to use this information, it led to the murders of 5 prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of England. The murderer has been called “Jack the Ripper” referring to the horrible manner in which he murdered his victims. The murderer has never been found or identified to this day.  Moore proposes the murderer was Sir William Withey Gull, the royal family’s loyal physician. He had the necessary surgical skills to commit the crimes and a stroke in his 70’s left him mentally unstable. Gull was also known to have an intense hatred for prostitutes.  Moore and Campbell propose the royal family used this mental disability to their advantage and manipulated him to commit these crimes.

Moore and Campbell are able to weave this knowledge gained form research into a book that is a real page-turner from beginning to end. Moore does not see the prostitutes as useless harlots but rather strong willed women trying to make a living in the poverty-stricken East End area of England. Each is shown with their own distinct personalities and lives and not merely victims of terrible crimes.

Sir William Gull is also shown depth and not merely relegated to a mindless serial killer such as “Michael Myers” from the “Halloween” movie franchise. Moore shows that at one time, Gull was a well-respected and brilliant physician. His unreasonable hatred of women and the affects of a debilitating stroke drive him mad.

“From Hell” is written from the perspective of a police investigation by Scotland Yard. The character “Inspector Abberline” is burdened with the duty of trying to solve this crime that gripped the world in the year 1888. All varieties of residents from the area could be possible suspects. One of the most chilling sections of the books is confessional letters sent to the police written by several different suspects. Even though different people write them, the grisly narratives are frighteningly similar. Another interesting theme the graphic novel touches on is the class struggles between the wealthy and the poor. The underprivileged prostitutes are victims because of the insatiable hunger and compulsions of the rich.

Moore and Campbell have accomplished a great deal with the novel “From Hell”. They have not only provided a work filled with thrills and mystery, but a novel as thoroughly researched as an academic work.  It does have moments where the details and facts can become overwhelming and can making the pacing of the story seem arduous, a persistent reader will be well rewarded in the end.

8/10

The Artwork

The artwork by Eddie Campbell for “From Hell” is as bleak and desolate as the slums of England in the 1800’s. The entire project is presented in black and white. Campbell utilizes a stark, heavily contrasted and rough style to show you the brutal world the characters inhabit.  At times, the text can be very difficult to read due to its small font size. This situation makes the book difficult to read for long periods of time. Also, at times the illustrations seem too abstract and meager. However, this was most likely an artistic choice given the extremely graphic murders that were to be depicted. Even in this abstract state, the pages where the murders are illustrated will make even resilient readers wince.

7/10

Overall 8/10

 Suzie Lackey

From Hell

Written By Alan Moore

Illustrated by Eddie Campbell

Review:

The Artwork 8/10

The Story 7/10

Overall 8/10

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