From Hell (From Hell, #10)

by Alan Moore

Alan Moore (Watchmen) and Eddie Campbell (Bacchus), grandmasters of the comics medium, present a book often ranked among the greatest graphic novels of all time: From Hell.

From the squalid alleys of the East End to the Houses of Parliament, from church naves to dens of the occult, all of London feels the uniquely irresistable blend of fascination, revulsion, and panic that the Ripper offers. The city teeters on the brink of the twentieth century, and only the slightest prodding is necessary to plunge it into a modern age of terror.

Moore and Campbell have created a gripping, hallucinatory piece of crime fiction about Jack the Ripper. Detailing the events that led up to the Whitechapel murders and the cover-up that followed, From Hell is a modern masterpiece of crime noir and historical fiction.

• ISBN10: 0861661419
• ISBN13: 9780861661411
• Publish Date: 30 October 2006 (first published 1 January 1993)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Knockabout Comics
• Edition: UK ed.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 572
• Language: English

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full book vs. movie review on my blog!

Alan Moore didn't just come up with the story for this on a whim. He based most of it on meticulous research and at the end of the graphic novel you get a detailed list of sources. In fact, you get a list of just about each panel in the comic and the source that inspired it. That's a whole other level of dedication!
While I enjoyed the idea behind From Hell, I did have some problems with the execution. The whole thing is in black and white. On one hand, I like it as it underlines the somber atmosphere but on the other hand, it made it pretty difficult to actually see what's going on. From time to time I actually had a little trouble following the story as I couldn't figure out right away who the characters in the panels were supposed to be. That got on my nerves pretty quickly.
Honestly, I think the only reason I was able to make sense of the story was that I had seen the movie some years ago.
Furthermore, this one is pretty long. So unless you are interested in Jack the Ripper (and made already read some books on the matter to help make sense of this) I am not sure I would recommend it. Although I found From Hell very interesting, it took me a while to finish it and did drag on at times.