From Hell

This is an ingenious hatching of a theory of the Whitechapel Murders case, one that flies in the face of all that's good and civilized in Victorian Britain and the British Empire at its peak, despite all those well-known wens, warts, and suppurating lesions. And perhaps the greatest graphic novel yet produced, despite the oftentimes nearly illegible lettering in what I must assume is a reduced page size from the normal magazine- or comic-page sizing of around 8.5” x 11” or so. (You may need strong reading glasses to make out some of the text.) Alan Moore is an indefatigable researcher and brilliant storyteller. Eddie Campbell's spidery, scratchy drawings suit the murky mood of the story. (And even so, when called upon to render historic London architecture, Campbell’s panels burst into glorious, meticulous copperplate-etching-type, scaled architecture-textbook detail and quality.) This book gripped me from front to back. The conspiracy Moore conjures, supported by 42 pages of dense notes and an additional graphic appendix, unfolds splendidly. It includes, of course, the London neighborhoods, and volumes (or is it simple myriad panels) on 19th century social mores, to include, yes, all those whores and other species of “loose women” and, to our eyes today, reprehensible men, but also – for those who are unprepared, but this is no spoiler, because the Ripper stories have been in circulation for sometimes more than a century – royalty, to include Victoria, Druidism and the Old Gods, Freemasonry and its secrets and rituals, icons of 19th century art, architecture, and literature, details of contemporary police and Scotland Yard procedure, and, believe me, very much more, crammed into its 572 pages. And on my next visit to London I'm going to bring with me chapter 4, as my guide to the buildings of Nicholas Hawksmoor. For an architecture buff, as I am, who has stomped around London peering into old churches and ancient structures, as I have, chapter 4, and its beautiful renderings of some of London’s greatest churches, was a particular unexpected, delightful serendipity. I would urge every reader to narrate chapter 14 aloud, in the most refined English accent they are capable of producing. I found it to be a chilling reading experience. And parents, if the title fails to warn you sufficiently, do examine the contents closely before leaving this one out for the kiddies on a rainy Saturday. The copy I read had no "for mature readers only" markings. From Hell is most assuredly for mature readers only and deserves, at the very least, an “NC-17” rating. This is simply a terrific read and one that, I see from other reviews, will require from many a measure of patience. Moore unfolds his tale at what some will find a too-leisurely pace. Other readers have greater toleration for both glacial pace and a carefully studied narrative ambiguity. For those of us who wallow in detail, texture, and explanatory endnotes, as well as a horror stories that, in the end, are truly disturbing, this should be just the ticket.

As a product this is a great compilation for a really great graphic novel. Not only do you get the complete novel, but also a few cool epilogues from Alan Moore (complete with their own comics style) and annotations at the very end commenting on the real life sources and personalities involved in the story (Though, admittedly, the point of view that From Hell takes on the killings has was debunked even by the time the novel was first published. It just so happens to be much more fun than any other theory!). As for the substance, I'm no literature critic so I won't got into a deep analysis of the story's merits, but suffice it to say this one covers all my favorite genres and themes in fiction. History, conspiracy, horror, the supernatural... the nagging sense that the world is truly not as it seems on the surface. I won't give spoilers, but there may be some instances of symbolism taken to the point of absurdity, but in some cases they aren't a big deal and in others they are actually paid off in a very cool way. I found a lot of similarities with my favorite horror movie The Shining - another tale about murderous sanity (ir is it clarity?) that transcends space and time. Fittingly, some passages from this book are like top notch cinema, elevated by the very basic, often ugly art (I use ugly as a compliment here) and the thoughtful presentation of that art from panel to panel. You never feel like you're rushing from one image to the next; they all seem to flow naturally and give you the time to really get immersed in the world the book presents. The book looks like it was etched out of Victorian smog and soot; characters' features blur and smudge... it all feeds the atmosphere and theme. Just top notch presentation. A must own for any (adult!) fan of horror fiction.

Like the Ripper strips away at is victims, Moore stuffs this bird exponentially giving a gluttonous serving of the arguably first modern day serial killer. Moore is the standard of the brilliant and astute student, well rounded in his efforts. He will bring his angle and create a sturdy foundation and a hell of a dwelling for fiction, where is served, the richest food for thought. It’s all there laid out, the process and reasoning in the end of the book just as entertaining as the story itself. Moore, like any great author doesn’t just provide a narrative, he hones in on the time and setting and the spirit of the times and its people. The well stratified view of who walks the streets in 19th century England and how they are fleshed out. No matter the strata, he displays the culture of a people, somehow whether in a classroom or a carriage riding around in the streets, literature, mathematics, philosophy, even quantum physics will prevail in a panal of comic book action. The black and white art is classic and undeniable as moody set pieces range throughout. Adding to the dodgy underbelly. Surprisingly, how the gore not only came through, neutral also, manifested itself and claimed the rest of the senses and creating the shadow world of what lies just beneath. Moore’s work will be reread, because there will be so much Ed missed and overlooked, at least by me. There is a richness that calls out for a brilliant leftover feast.

From Hell is a graphic novel set in 1888 London during the times of the Jack the ripper slayings. You the main character is actually a little bit of every one. Of course there is a detective but you will see the story from the part of view of the detectives, Prostitutes, the police on the cases and of course jack the ripper himself. At first the beginning of the book doesn't really make any sense. You just happen to go from person to person. One minute it will take you to a prostitute and next you will be sons to the hire of the throne. Its not until like chapter 2 you begin to understand why these people had any thing to do with the jack the ripper slayings. The plot is absolutely rock solid. There are reasons for every ones being in this book. The art is some of the best art I've seen in a graphic novel. The actual way you read the words makes it feel like you are in there actual time. I normally don't read books that are like 600 pages but this book had me hooked for a while. Once you start, you won't stop.

This is so good I couldn't believe it the first time I read it. It's not just the best graphic novel as everybody agrees but it might be my favorite recent work of fiction, period. It's been said that the Russian director Tarkovsky was the only filmmaker who ever really managed to use film's full potential as a distinct medium, separate from novels or music. Watch T's film Stalker and you'll see. The same for From Hell, the only comic/graphic novel ever really to exploit the medium's possibilities to do things impossible in print or on screen. Forget Frank Miller's batman or Art Spiegelman's Maus, which are really "translations" of novelistic and film techniques (think film noir antiheroes for Miller or Orwell's Animal Farm for Maus). Even Moore's own Watchmen is essentially a brilliant but conventional satire of Cold War mentalities and obsessions with superheroes and sci/fi (think Doctor Strangelove meets The Earth Stood Still). From Hell is something else: the late twentieth-century visual world's distinctive version of a great nineteenth-century slice-of-life novel like Dickens or Tolstoy. And of course that's the subject of From Hell: the late nineteenth-century birth of the modern world of lurid visual spectacles with no single truth behind them, only vast murder amusement parks built by a vicious cycle of mass cultural obsessions and marketing. In the process From Hell evokes Victorian London as a whole with unforgettable, visceral force. It doesn't describe, it shows; you smell dirt, sweat, blood, hypocrisy, desperation, sex--I have no idea how they did it. Neither does anyone, apparently, because there's nothing else like it.

In the late 1880s in Victorian London, a series of murders shocked Great Britain. Prostitutes from London's White Chapel district were turning up murdered - not only murdered, but viciously mutilated, carved up and left for display in the streets. The police were left with many clues but no idea as to who was responsible. The public, encouraged by daily newspapers and tabloids, went into a frenzy of fear, speculation and rumor-mongering, culminating when the killer sent a piece of a victim's liver to the police. After that, hundreds of fake letters, many written in red or blood, claiming to be from Jack the Ripper, streamed in to the London Police departments. Alan Moore, writer of such comics as V For Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the recently filmed Watchmen, wrote the novel From Hell, which was originally serialized as a comic book in 13 issues. (From Hell was also made into a movie in 2001 with Johnny Depp and Heather Graham, but like many other movies made from comics, should be avoided until after you've read the comic.) The comic begins many years after the murders, as the main investigator and a "psychic" look back on their lives and their roles in the events. If there was to be one main character, it would be Dr. Gull, physician to the Queen of England, and it turns out, an expert in human anatomy, surgery and deception. The story is highly sexual, with many highly suggestive scenes of sexual encounters between prostitutes, princes, married couples and the victims themselves. Each of the victims is introduced, and with the length of the novel approaching 600 hundred pages, much time is given to their stories, their work and their murders. One of the advantages of the graphic novel over a traditional book is the visual advantage that the comics give the reader. One scene in particular, of a murdered prostitute laying in the street, is shown over nine panels. The murder takes place in the first; by the third, strangers pass her by on the street; by the 8th and 9th panels, the police have discovered her body and a small crowd gathers to watch. While there is no sympathy extended to the serial killer himself, perhaps one of the most moving sequences in the book is when the killer, now captured and locked away in an insane asylum, moments before his death, sees his life flash literally before his eyes. It is even more convincing when you can see his life, his memories and his consciousness leaving his body, only to drift to the darkness and cold of his death. The style of artist Eddic Campbell is at first very minimalist, as it looks as if he scratched his quill pen to some stiff parchment. His drawings are moody and dark, his line work at times thick and solid, sometimes like scribbles. London itself sits back upon dark skies and the air of criminality, and the 1880s are depicted vividly with horse-drawn carriages, impressive architecture and the formal fashions of the day. From Hell is a fascinating story, a masterful graphic novel, which should be read by teens in high school or with their parent's approval.

The first thoughts that come to mind is that this is sorta the DaVinci Code of Jack the Ripper stories. Alan Moore certainly did his historical research with this story, however, his politics kinda ruins it a little for me. Alan Moore is very much a Socialist and always anti-establishment, anti-rich, anti-societal. If that’s your thing, then you will give this story probably 5 stars. It’s not mine… I gave it three mostly because of the appreciation of the research done. The story is very much a slow roll into the event s leading to the Ripper killings… a little too slow for my tastes. Once the story really gets going, it’s not bad. Some say that this is “the best graphic novel ever” - really? I just don’t see it. Moore has great ideas but sometimes he goes down some “rabbit holes” and gets a little lost in the areas of sexuality and hating the rich. Overall, a very long, drawn out story that I will not read again. If you are interested in this story - buy it used or on a discount.

Spectacular. Haven’t read many comics or graphic novels, but I was blown away by this. I’d recommend googling some of the characters’ names when you first hear about them in the story — helps to orient you as you read. Also, heads up, this is a very graphic work in terms of sex and violence. Not something you’d want a kid of almost any age to flip through casually and it’s not a book you’d want to read on the subway with people looking over your shoulder. Still one of my favorite books ever. Incredibly thought provoking and compelling and riveting to read.

An all-time classic 🤘

D'excellente qualité

One of the must haves of graphical novels, a masterpiece of story telling and imagery. This is a very well put together edition, that I'm happy to have on my shelf.

"Our lunatic were prophets once, and had a prophet's power" 'From Hell' is a Historical Fiction that is beautifully crafted and smartly constructed, it manages to sell to the reader this story of who was 'Jack the Ripper', and yet - thanks to the amazing Appendix - it manages to make clear what is Fact and what is Fiction, meaning one can at the same time be immersed in this sea of fiction without loosing the sight of the shore of the reality known and documented. The first Appendix of this book is fundamental for the understanding of the Whitechapel Murders, being a great support for the book as a whole, I personally recommend reading this whilst reading the book itself. The second Appendix on the other hand may be better for after you finish the book, once it takes you back from the sea of speculative fiction and the idea presented by Moore of who is 'Jack the Ripper', being a great reminder of the actual known truth presented by the facts, and the less credible evidence presented by rumors. The book itself amazed me. The atmosphere is great (although a bit too graphic for my taste, as an asexual I could have gone without the explicit sex scenes, and yes I know I should have expected them ok). The thing it makes the story even more disturbing is how it is drawn, the sketchy black and white style makes you pay more attention to some certain scenes that I am sure no one wants to look at much. When it comes to the events and characters, lets just say that is classic Alan Moore. Being V for Vendetta, Watchmen, The Killing Joke or From Hell, there is always a completely unhinged character with some ~interesting~ ideas to say the least. In this instance we have a combination of a bit of history with a bit of philosophy and a lot of crazy theories, making 'From Hell' perfect for the curious souls out there who love history, ~unusual~ theories, and more than bit of gore

Una historia magnífica sobre uno de los grandes asesinos de la historia en un comic lleno de traiciones, toques de misticismo y su buena dosis de conspiraciones. Estamos ante la interpretación de la historia de Jack el destripador por parte de Alan Moore, algo digno de leer si ya estas acostumbrado a cómics más allá de lo normal en marvel y DC ya que la historia se desarrolla de manera lenta y no veremos acción cada dos o tres viñetas ni un dibujo estilizado, estamos ante una historia que no teme tomarse su tiempo en plantear las bases de todo y explicarnos las motivaciones de nuestro protagonista con un dibujo que dependiendo de la situación que nos presente pasará de trazos toscos a trazos incómodos y crudos lo cual lo hace perfecto para el tipo de historia que nos narra el autor. Al final del tomo nos incluye explicaciones a varias de las cosas mostradas en el cómic para que tengamos un contexto o explicación de lo mostrado en varias viñetas ya que sin esto podríamos perdernos o no tomar importancia a mucho de lo que se ve en la historia y del mismo modo tenemos la historia detrás del mito, un artículo escrito por alan moore donde nos narra como fue evolucionando la historia de este asesino y del mismo modo como se crea y evoluciona la teoría en la que basa su obra. Dejando de lado la historia, arte y demás contenido, ya que podría pasar mucho rato hablando de este y lo bueno que es, hablaré brevemente sobre el comic como producto. La portada tiene un acabado mate sin barniz lo que le da una buena apariencia, el papel de interiores me atrevo a decir que es muy parecido al papel opalina, y por último el lomo es rígido así que al no curvearse al leerlo es posible que el tomo se llegue a despegar ligeramente de un costado quedando unido únicamente por el papel que una la pasta con el contenido del cómic.