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A review by mezzosherri
From Hell by Alan Moore
2.0
The renowned graphic novelization of the royal/masonic theory (now discredited) explaining the Whitechapel murders. I wanted to be able to rank this higher than I did. I understand that the work's ambition, topic, scope, and historicity all mark it as a game changer for the genre of graphic novels. Nevertheless, it was a deeply unpleasant reading experience, and I'm not just saying this because of the tough subject matter. Instead, I find the work to be deeply flawed: the effort to show off the historical research results in long wandering sections of only half-relevant exposition; the desire to make some sort of larger point about the Ripper crimes as emblematic of the nature of evil results in an incoherent historical bricolage; and the explanation of masonic history and ritual is so overdone as to make me want to scream at the book "William Gull, just STFU!"
And then there's the limitations of Eddie Campbell's art work. I assume the decision for black & white pen drawings was intended as an atmospheric gesture. Alas, the actual effect of this was a surfeit of cramped, hard-to-make-out text in speech bubbles, almost impossible-to-distinguish-from-each-other characters, and impeccably-researched-yet-somehow-unrecognizable settings. Finally, the depiction of the Ripper's mutilations read more as exploitative torture porn than as any sort of commentary on/subversion of society's fetishization of violence against women.
And then there's the limitations of Eddie Campbell's art work. I assume the decision for black & white pen drawings was intended as an atmospheric gesture. Alas, the actual effect of this was a surfeit of cramped, hard-to-make-out text in speech bubbles, almost impossible-to-distinguish-from-each-other characters, and impeccably-researched-yet-somehow-unrecognizable settings. Finally, the depiction of the Ripper's mutilations read more as exploitative torture porn than as any sort of commentary on/subversion of society's fetishization of violence against women.