You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
This is one of the greatest things I’ve ever read, Moore absolutely peaked here.
What an absolute masterclass in historical fiction, such a well-researched perspective of this elusive and significant series of murders used as a backdrop for a truly extraordinary exploration of the nature of society and the world we live in. At long last Moore seems to realise the missing pieces of his theming; the marginalised and the tangible faults beyond the philosophy, the women. Chapters 4, 10 and 14 make for some of the most magnificent pieces of character study ever put to page, a sea of Victorian soliloquy rendered with a Shakespearean style, a display of elegance juxtaposed with the iconic brutality of the Ripper’s crimes. These chapters and Gull’s character serve as a rumination on the history of female oppression as an exercise of men’s obsession with reaching god, building a society which in itself enslaves those its design doesn’t facilitate, even as the nature of time and entropy pull it to its destruction, towards the inevitable death of anyone, the ascension to Godhood we don’t truly desire.
“Jack the Ripper” too as a concept is portrayed beautifully here, certainly throughout the story but most chiefly in Appendix 2, a witty recount of the history of Ripper Fiction, a commentary on his anomalous nature and how that reflects upon us as a people, as a collective existence. His influence will live on, yet his mathematically converging tenure has many decades since expired now; the gull is dead, was always dead, and will always die, but though we walk through the paths of the graveyard we are not dead yet. And in the beautiful choice to portray the reincarnations of the murdered girls, we as mothers of the future may look the spirit in his eyes and tell him he may not have our children, even in all his antiquated grandeur, and banish him begone, back to whence he came, back to hell, to the fog-obscured streets of 19th century London.
The story too was excellent; though of course largely based on (a) existing Ripper fiction and (b) actual facts of what occurred, Moore curates an intricate tale from his vast research, pulling from all sources and adding his own touches; many purely invented, and many real events pulled from all manner of times and places, from modern-day ghost sightings of the past made viewable from both sides to significant and strange coincidences, like the conception of Adolf Hitler before the killing begins and the visions of a second war to come, right at the end. All of this is given charcoal-chalk-esque life with Campbell’s gorgeous illustrations, producing some truly awesome images; a dark and murky view into the smoky streets of hell, not a page went by without me noticing how stunning it looked. And I have to mention the 2 Appendixes at the end, the first adds such depth to the reading experience throughout and the second is such a clever and thoughtful addition to the story (though the Epilogue is of course a better end to it)
Ideologically, philosophically and narratively perfect, this is a work which transcends its medium; truly the greatest graphic novel I’ve ever read, I can’t fully articulate its excellence
What an absolute masterclass in historical fiction, such a well-researched perspective of this elusive and significant series of murders used as a backdrop for a truly extraordinary exploration of the nature of society and the world we live in. At long last Moore seems to realise the missing pieces of his theming; the marginalised and the tangible faults beyond the philosophy, the women. Chapters 4, 10 and 14 make for some of the most magnificent pieces of character study ever put to page, a sea of Victorian soliloquy rendered with a Shakespearean style, a display of elegance juxtaposed with the iconic brutality of the Ripper’s crimes. These chapters and Gull’s character serve as a rumination on the history of female oppression as an exercise of men’s obsession with reaching god, building a society which in itself enslaves those its design doesn’t facilitate, even as the nature of time and entropy pull it to its destruction, towards the inevitable death of anyone, the ascension to Godhood we don’t truly desire.
“Jack the Ripper” too as a concept is portrayed beautifully here, certainly throughout the story but most chiefly in Appendix 2, a witty recount of the history of Ripper Fiction, a commentary on his anomalous nature and how that reflects upon us as a people, as a collective existence. His influence will live on, yet his mathematically converging tenure has many decades since expired now; the gull is dead, was always dead, and will always die, but though we walk through the paths of the graveyard we are not dead yet. And in the beautiful choice to portray the reincarnations of the murdered girls, we as mothers of the future may look the spirit in his eyes and tell him he may not have our children, even in all his antiquated grandeur, and banish him begone, back to whence he came, back to hell, to the fog-obscured streets of 19th century London.
The story too was excellent; though of course largely based on (a) existing Ripper fiction and (b) actual facts of what occurred, Moore curates an intricate tale from his vast research, pulling from all sources and adding his own touches; many purely invented, and many real events pulled from all manner of times and places, from modern-day ghost sightings of the past made viewable from both sides to significant and strange coincidences, like the conception of Adolf Hitler before the killing begins and the visions of a second war to come, right at the end. All of this is given charcoal-chalk-esque life with Campbell’s gorgeous illustrations, producing some truly awesome images; a dark and murky view into the smoky streets of hell, not a page went by without me noticing how stunning it looked. And I have to mention the 2 Appendixes at the end, the first adds such depth to the reading experience throughout and the second is such a clever and thoughtful addition to the story (though the Epilogue is of course a better end to it)
Ideologically, philosophically and narratively perfect, this is a work which transcends its medium; truly the greatest graphic novel I’ve ever read, I can’t fully articulate its excellence
Extremely bleak, often obtuse, but nonetheless a fascinating, sprawling epic about the most interesting (and somewhat fact-suggested, if not fact-supported) theory about Jack the Ripper.
What a ride.
I struggled on how to evaluate this work. Part of me loathed the comic, but a larger part of me was stunned by the work's artistic achievement.
I can totally see how this work broke ground for what was possible in comics. It's a sort of Ulysses-eseque comic in that you have to work for the interpretation, or simply work through the frames on each page (Moore's cramped hand-writing doesn't help!).
I struggled with some of the viscera and the book's complicity with what Moore himself dubs "Ripperology." Clearly, From Hell is perpetuating the same Ripper mania that Moore clearly lampoons in the deliciously delightful "Appendix 2: Dance of the Gull Catchers." I don't think Moore gets a free pass from his own critique and irony. I'm sorry.
Plot-wise, parts of From Hell clunk together (e.g. the placing and sequencing of the Druitt episode, which is the book's weakest), as well as the narrative's utter dependence on the notes in "Appendix 1." Furthermore, other main plot premises (e.g. the blandly evil and complicit royals) seem a tad tired and stretched, or at the very least uncompelling.
However, the book's artistic achievement in stretching what's possible in the word+image department is just staggering and impressive.
Moreover, I'm partially convinced by Moore's thesis on modernity: the 1880s are a (the?) crucial hinge. The cast of characters (both historical and fictional) he assembles to illustrate this sea change is eyebrow perking (Hitler's parents, Oscar Wilde, Alestair Crowley, hints of WWI, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, W.B. Yeats, etc.). From Hell is a deeply rewarding read from this perspective. I align Moore's treatment of modernity within the stream flowing from the likes of Nietzsche and Freud through to Herbert Marcuse. Moore's thesis is that modernity and later post-modernity are ages of alienation from others, ourselves, and especially our bodies and their desires and urges.
I struggled on how to evaluate this work. Part of me loathed the comic, but a larger part of me was stunned by the work's artistic achievement.
I can totally see how this work broke ground for what was possible in comics. It's a sort of Ulysses-eseque comic in that you have to work for the interpretation, or simply work through the frames on each page (Moore's cramped hand-writing doesn't help!).
I struggled with some of the viscera and the book's complicity with what Moore himself dubs "Ripperology." Clearly, From Hell is perpetuating the same Ripper mania that Moore clearly lampoons in the deliciously delightful "Appendix 2: Dance of the Gull Catchers." I don't think Moore gets a free pass from his own critique and irony. I'm sorry.
Plot-wise, parts of From Hell clunk together (e.g. the placing and sequencing of the Druitt episode, which is the book's weakest), as well as the narrative's utter dependence on the notes in "Appendix 1." Furthermore, other main plot premises (e.g. the blandly evil and complicit royals) seem a tad tired and stretched, or at the very least uncompelling.
However, the book's artistic achievement in stretching what's possible in the word+image department is just staggering and impressive.
Moreover, I'm partially convinced by Moore's thesis on modernity: the 1880s are a (the?) crucial hinge. The cast of characters (both historical and fictional) he assembles to illustrate this sea change is eyebrow perking (Hitler's parents, Oscar Wilde, Alestair Crowley, hints of WWI, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, W.B. Yeats, etc.). From Hell is a deeply rewarding read from this perspective. I align Moore's treatment of modernity within the stream flowing from the likes of Nietzsche and Freud through to Herbert Marcuse. Moore's thesis is that modernity and later post-modernity are ages of alienation from others, ourselves, and especially our bodies and their desires and urges.
4 Stars
A quite graphic, graphic novel of "Jack the Ripper" and the murders he committed. He was truly mad, getting lost in all the blood. I'm glad this wasn't in color.
Lots of info in the last 2 sections of the book from author and illustrator.
A quite graphic, graphic novel of "Jack the Ripper" and the murders he committed. He was truly mad, getting lost in all the blood. I'm glad this wasn't in color.
Lots of info in the last 2 sections of the book from author and illustrator.
From Hell does not compromise. It does not condescend. It does not relent.
The story of Jack the Ripper, as told by Alan Moore. At a glance, that is how you could summarize this 500+ graphic novel. But as I read it, I felt that it did not matter whether Jack was Gull or not, because as much as the story is about the serial killer, it also isn't at the same time.
It is an unflinching look at the horror present in humanity. It takes aim at Victorian London (the city being perhaps the most important character in the story), Victorian ideals and mores, and the misogyny still present in today's age.
It is not an easy read, but it is well worth the effort. The research that has gone into it is immense, and it's message (though at times depressing) is important to be heard. It's a black-and-white J'Accuse in 3 by 3 grid against Victorian (and modern) society.
The story of Jack the Ripper, as told by Alan Moore. At a glance, that is how you could summarize this 500+ graphic novel. But as I read it, I felt that it did not matter whether Jack was Gull or not, because as much as the story is about the serial killer, it also isn't at the same time.
It is an unflinching look at the horror present in humanity. It takes aim at Victorian London (the city being perhaps the most important character in the story), Victorian ideals and mores, and the misogyny still present in today's age.
It is not an easy read, but it is well worth the effort. The research that has gone into it is immense, and it's message (though at times depressing) is important to be heard. It's a black-and-white J'Accuse in 3 by 3 grid against Victorian (and modern) society.
I'm far from a Jack the Ripper buff, but I find it hard to believe fictionalized versions of the story could get much better than this. It not only covers all the typical elements you'd expect (the murders, the investigations), it also provides royal conspiracies, masonic lore, occult geography, a combined theory of mythology and consciousness, the day to day lives of the London poor, a bevy of historical figures including the Elephant Man (Joseph Merrick) and Aleister Crowley, and more. The broad story is based on Stephen Knight's somewhat outlandish Ripper theory as detailed in his book Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, but Moore has made the story wholly his own. The only complaints I can make about the comic's expansive treatment of the era, are that there is not a single mention of Gille de Rais, the comrade of Joan of Arc and alleged Satanist child serial killer, nor the concept of werewolves, which seem to be the folkloric explanation for serial killing in medieval Europe. Both of these seem like ripe subjects for Gull's rumination, especially given werewolves' association with the Moon, which Gull associates with the dissolute femininity he imagines himself at war with.
Each scene is absolutely packed with details, a few of which I caught and most of which went right by me. Luckily Moore provides an extremely detailed appendix, detailing, scene by scene, the purpose and provenance of almost every incidental detail. He sources almost every event, detailing which sources they were located in, which elements are verified fact, which are likely but unproveable, unlikely but possible, or inventions of himself or others. While most of this appendix is pretty dry, sections here and there are very interesting reading, especially for the more bizarre elements. The section on Chapter 4, Gull's tour of London's occult history was extremely interesting. Annoyingly, Moore does relates one story appendix itself, associating the Cheyenne people of North America with the seven star motif, but without providing any source for it. Grr.
Moore portrays Gull as a killer whose crimes were deeply rooted in his past, with the blackmail cover-up merely supplying a pretext for a rampage already internally planned and justified. Elaborating on the fact that Jack's victims were apparently not raped prior to death, and killed before their mutilation, he assigns to Gull a motive of twisted artistic/architectural/magical motivation, with the detached attitude of a dissectionist applied to an unwilling human subject. Of course, this detachment is partly or mostly a mask, and the murders become and reveal Gull's driving passions, the exploration and exultation of the underlying structure of the universe as he perceives it.
Spoiler
At the moment of his death, as Gull experiences the unreality of time that fascinates Moore, he sees a both murderers and artists inspired by glimpses of his wandering spirit, having become the spectre of death that the image of Jack the Ripper still is. Even further, his murders, coinciding with the birth of Adolf Hitler are to be an act that inaugurates the spirit of the coming 20th century. Whether his soul is in fact consigned to Hell, as the woman abjures him, or rises to merge with God as he believes, the implication is that the entire architecture of the universe is, if not fully evil, at least rooted in death and blood-sacrifice.
This wouldn't be even half the comic it is without the art, however. Campbell uses a very sketchy style that's perfectly suited to the grimy slums of London and the grisly events that take place there. Even the calmer scenes have a nightmarish quality that the perfectly suits the story.
There are also some sections using a watercolour style to give some contrast to the squalor, but they're almost as eerie.
One might ask whether this comic is really in good taste. Moore puts such concerns in Abberline's mouth, who is disgusted by the profit-seeking surrounding the still warm bodies, with Moore being only the latest in a long line of profiteers, who he profiles in the second appendix. The mutilated bodies are drawn in full detail, especially Marie Kelly's. The only way things could be made more graphic is if photographs of the corpses were pasted in instead. So I suppose the answer is, no, it's not in good taste. Moore is gaining profit, and us some kind of twisted enjoyment, derived, however distantly, from the murder of five real women. Our only defenses can be that you can't really hurt the dead, that everybody else is doing it, or that we're not as bad as the hoax letter writers, who actually hindered the investigation.
The edition I read sadly does not reproduce Campbell's Odd's and Ends piece with his own sketches and some reproduced cartoons and lines of verse from the contemporary Punch magazine, nor George Hagenauer's two pieces on the role of journalism in making Jack famous and the state of the Whitechapel environs as of 1996.
An ambitious, and densely researched and executed evisceration of Victorian society. It drips with darkness: hypocrisy and cult coverups, squalor and sex, occult hallucinations, sex, and messy, animalistic violence. For me, what might have been a helpful critique of Victorian society was by the choice to give the villain so much voice, a voice which felt gratuitous. It is an achievement, but not one I enjoyed wallowing through.
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This would have been a more interesting book than graphic novel. The story is very interesting...it's just very dense.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Dark, brutish about the whitechapel murders