Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1068 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
"I shall tell you where we are. We're in the most extreme and utter region of the human mind. A dim, subconscious underworld. A radiant abyss where men meet themselves. Hell, Netley. We're in Hell." Having proved himself peerless in the arena of reinterpreting superheroes, Alan Moore turned his ever-incisive eye to the squalid, enigmatic world of Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel murders of 1888. Weighing in at 576 pages, From Hell is certainly the most epic of Moore's works and remarkably and is possibly his finest effort yet in a career punctuated by such glorious highlights as Watchmen and V for Vendetta . Going beyond the myriad existing theories, which range from the sublime to the ridiculous, Moore presents an ingenious take on the slaughter. His Ripper's brutal activities are the epicentre of a conspiracy involving the very heart of the British Establishment, including the Freemasons and The Royal Family. A popular claim, which is transformed through Moore's exquisite and thoroughly gripping vision, of the Ripper crimes being the womb from which the 20th century, so enmeshed in the celebrity culture of violence, received its shocking, visceral birth. Bolstered by meticulous research that encompasses a wide spectrum of Ripper studies and myths and coupled with his ability to evoke sympathies in such monstrous characters, Moore has created perhaps the finest examination of the Ripper legacy, observing far beyond society's obsessive need to expose Evil's visage. Ultimately, as Moore observes, Jack's identity and his actions are inconsequential to the manner in which society embraced the Fear: "It's about us. It's about our minds and how they dance. Jack mirrors our hysterias. Faceless, he is the receptacle for each new social panic." Eddie Campbell's stunning black and white artwork, replete with a scratchy, dirty sheen, is perfectly matched to the often-unshakeable intensity of Moore's writing. Between them, each murder is rendered in horrifying detail, providing the book's most unnerving scenes, made more so in uncomfortable, yet lyrical moments as when the villain embraces an eviscerated corpse, craving understanding; pleading that they "are wed in legend, inextricable within eternity". Though technically a comic, the term hardly begins to describe From Hell's inimitable grandeur and finesse, as it takes the medium to fresh heights of ingenuity and craftsmanship. Moore and Campbell's autopsy on the emaciated corpse of the Ripper myth has divulged a deeply disturbing yet undeniably captivating masterpiece. --Danny Graydon

Synopsis
An unflinching recreation of Jack the Ripper's mutilation of five Whitechapel prostitutes in 1888 is the core of this graphic novel. Jack acts as "midwife to the 20th century", delivering the next 100 years of Holocaust, serial killing and media rapaciousness as he extracts his last victim's heart.

Customer Reviews

What can I say?
My introduction both to Alan Moore and to the graphic novel medium in general, and I couldn't have asked for a better initiation.

This is easily one of the best novels I have ever read, graphic or otherwise. It can be taken on as many different levels as the reader wishes to - as an effective thriller story, as a touching, frequently heartrending portrayal of the real people involved in this event, as a meticulous reconstruction of the events of 1888, clearly outlined in the excellent appendix, or as a stunning meditation on psychology, sociology, mythology, the media and probably lots of other things which take more than one reading to uncover. The interplay between Moore's text and Eddie Campbell's brilliant illustrations frequently achieves a quality that is nothing short of genius; some scenes will remain forever etched in your memory as clearly as the best moments of film or literature.

Truly exceptional, completely indispensable.

A stunning work
If all those people who never touch something as disgusting as a "comic" could be made to read one example I would make them read this. A masterpiece of writing, plotting and artwork. Certainly not for the faint of heart though, this contains images that could haunt you for a long time, it's certainly one of the few times when "graphic" really means what it says on the label in relation to graphic novels. Reminds me a lot of Kim Newman's "Anno Dracula" which mixes the Ripper story with other characters from fiction and reality. The film will soon be out although it will be hard pressed to do justice to such a fine book.

All roads lead to Hell...
One of the most controversial Ripper theories was made in Stephen Knight's 1978 book, JACK THE RIPPER: THE FINAL SOLUTION. In it, Knight weaves a fascinating tapestry of conspiracy involving virtually every person who has ever been a Ripper suspect plus a few new ones.

Using this source as his inspiration, Alan Moore has painstakingly researched an incredible amount of Ripper literature including biographies of characters and non-fiction accounts of Victorian living conditions as well as historical and mystical matters. From John Merrick to Queen Victoria, Moore crafts a tale that includes many prominent figures of the late Victorian era.

Like Frank Miller and Garth Ennis, Alan Moore possesses a unique knack for finding sympathies in extraordinarily monstrous characters and his dark and sinister portrayal of Victorian London is a far cry from the romantic streets of a Dickensian novel.

Through all of this, Moore has managed to weave an sinister epic that leaves you in no doubt as to the outcome, but is all the more breathtaking because of it.

To back it all up, the book includes a meticulous appendix that itemizes where each idea or episode comes from. Much of the personal interaction and relationships are devised by Moore based on documented evidence and his own inference - Look out especially for the "visions" of Sir William Gull.

The character of Fredrick Abberline echoes loudly of Jack Nicholson's Private Eye in "Chinatown" and so "From Hell" takes the form of a film noir tale that easily matches the literary epics of James Ellroy and Raymond Chandler.

An essential purchase.