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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
So much research behind this! And I'm grateful it's in black and white
I got this book at least ten years ago, attempted to read it, bounced off, and then waited until last month to try again, figuring I’d just start from scratch.
It starts slow, but eventually turned into something very much not what I was expecting, the most terrifying moments being genuine surprises in a tale as retold as Jack the Ripper. The appendix is also great, showing the immense work and historical reality that went into it. There’s so many things it does really well even beyond the historical element: the condemnation of the society and of the murders, the lack of care, the quickness of death, the immortality of mystery, the connections to time itself. There’s something deeply unsettling and unique in how it unfolds, how quickly things seem to move on. How big a shadow is cast.
Alan Moore is pretty good, is what I’m saying.
Should probably read something lighter now.
It starts slow, but eventually turned into something very much not what I was expecting, the most terrifying moments being genuine surprises in a tale as retold as Jack the Ripper. The appendix is also great, showing the immense work and historical reality that went into it. There’s so many things it does really well even beyond the historical element: the condemnation of the society and of the murders, the lack of care, the quickness of death, the immortality of mystery, the connections to time itself. There’s something deeply unsettling and unique in how it unfolds, how quickly things seem to move on. How big a shadow is cast.
Alan Moore is pretty good, is what I’m saying.
Should probably read something lighter now.
Chilling, well-written, unlike anything I've read recently.
As is frequently the case, Alan Moore's writing is like walking through thick mud and the illustrations are so brief that defining characters becomes difficult. Overall the plot is confusing, and I didn't feel like it was worth slogging through and figuring out.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Easily one of the, if not the, most fascinating comic I've read.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, I gave up on this one too, a while ago. I've read such good reviews about it, and Alan Moore is considered one of the finest graphic novel authors ever, but I just couldn't get into this Jack the Ripper story. Plus it's gigantic and I really didn't like the illustration style. Too sketchy, I think. The premise, at least from the part I read, is that Queen Victoria enlists some prominent Masons to cover up her son's marriage to and child by a shopkeeper, which leads to her (the shopkeeper's) institutionalization and the murder of several prostitutes (one the child's former nanny) and the forming of the Jack the Ripper story. But there was also lots of stuff about Masonic rituals and a whole (really long) chapter where one of the main characters, a doctor and leader in the Masons, has his driver take him all over London, where he expounds to the driver on how the architects of the major buildings in London were really all establishing Masonic ideals through the architecture and quelling the pagan ideology, especially those in which women had a major part, since women and their crazy ways needed to be subjugated. And all the sites ended up making a pentagram shape on the map, which terrified the driver and made him sick. [And incidentally, the whole pentagram shape linking major buildings is also why some conspiracists say Washington, DC is all part of a Masonic plot.:] And, well, I'm not that fond of violence in text form, and even less in graphic. So, while I'm sure this book is well liked by and appeals to others, it just wasn't for me.
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced