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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
I was a bit disappointed by the last thing I read about a historical serial killer, so I figured I'd finally pick this book up in an attempt to read something more thought-provoking. I have a lot of respect for Alan Moore, so I went into this with high hopes and high expectations. Unfortunately, I can't say this is among my favorites of Moore's work. While the art was quite impressive and I appreciated the supplemental materials included in the Top Shelf 2006 edition, I just wasn't blown away by Moore's Ripper story. So for those reasons, this book only gets 3 stars from me.
WRITING/ART: There isn't much prose, per se, in this graphic novel, so I'll use this space to primarily talk about Campbell's art.
Overall, I was actually quite impressed by the art. Campbell draws with a scratchy, sketchy style with a lot of messy lines. Personally, I was reminded somewhat of Victorian-era engravings, though Campbell's art is a lot looser. Campbell's art really shines, I think, when depicting architecture and London scenery. Because the artist uses a lot of straight lines for things like tone and shading, the build environment comes across as more controlled and deliberate than his organic forms, and I very much enjoyed the scenes with a lot of buildings in them.
PLOT: The plot of this graphic novel primarily tells the story of William Gull, Royal Physician to Queen Victoria and her family. When Prince Albert Victor marries a common shop girl and fathers a child on her, Victoria enlists Gull's help to silence those who know about it: namely four women who are looking to use the information to their advantage. Little does Victoria know that Gull is a Freemason with cosmic visions of time and space; Gull also believes that murdering these women will bring about a future in which women's power is suppressed. His fanatic killing leads the papers to dub him "Jack the Ripper." Meanwhile, Inspector Abberline tries to uncover Jack's identity, all while being undermined by those in Scotland Yard who are in league with Victoria and Gull.
Personally, I was not very impressed by the plot as a whole. Having Jack the Ripper be a Freemason with delusions about time and space wasn't as thought-provoking as I had hoped, and even linking the Royal Family to the killings didn't have quite the punch as I wanted. Perhaps I'm not understanding Moore's intention or else I'm just not all that impressed by conspiracy theories and Freemasons; whatever the reason, I didn't quite think about the Ripper killings in a new way or use them as a lens for reinterpreting other aspects of politics, history, gender, etc. If anything, Moore seems interested in the concept of time, but I'm puzzled by the decision to use the Ripper murders as the vehicle for exploring this.
Also (and this is a minor complaint), the amount of random sexual content in this graphic novel was a little off-putting. While some sexual content is understandable, I felt like some was inserted for edgy shock value, and I got tired of it after a while.
But even though I wasn't a big fan of the story, I very much appreciated the annotations included in the back of the book. The annotations talk extensively about the creative choices and the historical context, and I found them to be a useful tool for analyzing the narrative.
CHARACTERS: There are quite a few characters in this book so I'll only focus on a handful, for brevity.
William Gull (the Royal Physician and Jack the Ripper) was not very interesting, in my opinion. As a doctor who was also a Freemason and a believer in a certain cosmic view of space and time, he's more of an archetype - the crazy mystic who I driven to kill for zealous reasons. Personally, I find most stories that imagine an identity for Jack the Ripper to be difficult, as attaching an identity takes away some of the mystery. Of course, Moore wasn't trying to write a mystery, so perhaps this is a case of me having very particular tastes.
Abberline, the Inspector, was fairly sympathetic in that he seemed honest and down to earth. His kindness towards a woman named Emma made me like him for a while, though I did sour on him when he became angry and misogynistic.
The five victims of the Ripper were also sympathetic and I appreciated that we got to know them and their struggles a little before they were killed. I do wish there was a little more done with the injustice of their killing (and the conspiracy to cover it up), but Moore doesn't seem to be as interested in class and gender dynamics as it pertains to these women.
TL;DR: From Hell contains some impressive art and a very useful section of annotations; overall, though, it was not a particularly memorable reimaging of Jack the Ripper or a compelling commentary on the topics it aims to explore.
WRITING/ART: There isn't much prose, per se, in this graphic novel, so I'll use this space to primarily talk about Campbell's art.
Overall, I was actually quite impressed by the art. Campbell draws with a scratchy, sketchy style with a lot of messy lines. Personally, I was reminded somewhat of Victorian-era engravings, though Campbell's art is a lot looser. Campbell's art really shines, I think, when depicting architecture and London scenery. Because the artist uses a lot of straight lines for things like tone and shading, the build environment comes across as more controlled and deliberate than his organic forms, and I very much enjoyed the scenes with a lot of buildings in them.
PLOT: The plot of this graphic novel primarily tells the story of William Gull, Royal Physician to Queen Victoria and her family. When Prince Albert Victor marries a common shop girl and fathers a child on her, Victoria enlists Gull's help to silence those who know about it: namely four women who are looking to use the information to their advantage. Little does Victoria know that Gull is a Freemason with cosmic visions of time and space; Gull also believes that murdering these women will bring about a future in which women's power is suppressed. His fanatic killing leads the papers to dub him "Jack the Ripper." Meanwhile, Inspector Abberline tries to uncover Jack's identity, all while being undermined by those in Scotland Yard who are in league with Victoria and Gull.
Personally, I was not very impressed by the plot as a whole. Having Jack the Ripper be a Freemason with delusions about time and space wasn't as thought-provoking as I had hoped, and even linking the Royal Family to the killings didn't have quite the punch as I wanted. Perhaps I'm not understanding Moore's intention or else I'm just not all that impressed by conspiracy theories and Freemasons; whatever the reason, I didn't quite think about the Ripper killings in a new way or use them as a lens for reinterpreting other aspects of politics, history, gender, etc. If anything, Moore seems interested in the concept of time, but I'm puzzled by the decision to use the Ripper murders as the vehicle for exploring this.
Also (and this is a minor complaint), the amount of random sexual content in this graphic novel was a little off-putting. While some sexual content is understandable, I felt like some was inserted for edgy shock value, and I got tired of it after a while.
But even though I wasn't a big fan of the story, I very much appreciated the annotations included in the back of the book. The annotations talk extensively about the creative choices and the historical context, and I found them to be a useful tool for analyzing the narrative.
CHARACTERS: There are quite a few characters in this book so I'll only focus on a handful, for brevity.
William Gull (the Royal Physician and Jack the Ripper) was not very interesting, in my opinion. As a doctor who was also a Freemason and a believer in a certain cosmic view of space and time, he's more of an archetype - the crazy mystic who I driven to kill for zealous reasons. Personally, I find most stories that imagine an identity for Jack the Ripper to be difficult, as attaching an identity takes away some of the mystery. Of course, Moore wasn't trying to write a mystery, so perhaps this is a case of me having very particular tastes.
Abberline, the Inspector, was fairly sympathetic in that he seemed honest and down to earth. His kindness towards a woman named Emma made me like him for a while, though I did sour on him when he became angry and misogynistic.
The five victims of the Ripper were also sympathetic and I appreciated that we got to know them and their struggles a little before they were killed. I do wish there was a little more done with the injustice of their killing (and the conspiracy to cover it up), but Moore doesn't seem to be as interested in class and gender dynamics as it pertains to these women.
TL;DR: From Hell contains some impressive art and a very useful section of annotations; overall, though, it was not a particularly memorable reimaging of Jack the Ripper or a compelling commentary on the topics it aims to explore.
Moore's story telling is good and I love the historic notes. So why two stars to this good look at the Ripper? While the nudity is equal (ie both men and women), it seemed as if it was there too much. I do not think Moore was sexualizing or objectifiying anything or anyone. And it is the Ripper there is going to be violence. It just seemed over the top to my tastes.
This genre (graphic novels) is not my usual; and tis a pity, because this book is gorgeous. I'm prone to tearing through a plot-driven (or, really, non-plot-driven, to be honest) book, and the amazing art here is rather lost on me. This story is chock-full of cool stuff besides the grisly-but-fascinating Ripper story: the historical aspect, Hawksmoor/Wren conspiracy theories, Freemasons, royal intrigue, etc etc. I may have enjoyed the endnotes the best-- the research for this book is impressive.
The story was interesting and based on a true events of the slayings of several women in London. However the art was way to primitively for me to enjoy it. The doodles made it difficult to tell emotion from each of the characters. Overall interesting but not my preference.
#BannedBooksWeek
This amazing, but challenging, graphic novel has indeed been challenged and even banned in Australia for several weeks in 2000. Moore, the author of such classic novels as Watchmen and V for Vendetta, takes on the story of Jack the Ripper, basing his work both on historical fact and artistic license. His theory of the murderer being a well-respected physician, Sir William Gull, charged by Queen Victoria to protect Prince Albert Victor's reputation, after fathering a child with a shop girl, Annie Crook is intriguing, though not widely accepted by historians. Readers are plunged into a world of Freemasonry, prostitution, poverty, privilege and madness, as Sir William, himself insane, goes overboard in his mission, slaughtering four women who try to blackmail an artist (and friend of the Prince) with threats of exposing the existence of the illegitimate child with royal connections. It's a slow read in parts, but fascinating, as Moore connects the crimes of the 1880s with visions of the horrors of the new century to come. – Louisa A.
Banned & Challenged Books | Advocacy, Legislation & Issues
This amazing, but challenging, graphic novel has indeed been challenged and even banned in Australia for several weeks in 2000. Moore, the author of such classic novels as Watchmen and V for Vendetta, takes on the story of Jack the Ripper, basing his work both on historical fact and artistic license. His theory of the murderer being a well-respected physician, Sir William Gull, charged by Queen Victoria to protect Prince Albert Victor's reputation, after fathering a child with a shop girl, Annie Crook is intriguing, though not widely accepted by historians. Readers are plunged into a world of Freemasonry, prostitution, poverty, privilege and madness, as Sir William, himself insane, goes overboard in his mission, slaughtering four women who try to blackmail an artist (and friend of the Prince) with threats of exposing the existence of the illegitimate child with royal connections. It's a slow read in parts, but fascinating, as Moore connects the crimes of the 1880s with visions of the horrors of the new century to come. – Louisa A.
Banned & Challenged Books | Advocacy, Legislation & Issues
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After reading other Alan Moore graphic novels, I had high hopes for this one. It did not disappoint. Whilst some will say it one of the worse ones- I disagree. It blends horror into victorian England in a good way. It's dark but it's enjoyable. I can't wait to watch the film.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit
Minor: Sexism, Suicide
I didn't love this one, but I could appreciate what the author and artist were trying to do with the graphic format. I didn't know much about Jack the Ripper before this and I appreciated the conspiracy theory element to this dark story.