r/graphicnovels • u/Glittering_Quote_581 • 1d ago
Crime/Mystery š©šŖ FROM HELL - Alan Moore + Eddie Campbell {šGRAPHIC Novel on Jack the Ripper} Review
Premise:
A graphic, graphic novel by the masters Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, this colored edition omnibus tells the story of Jack the Ripper(JTR) terrorizing the streets of 19th c. London.
Historical faction is what I would call it.
What I loved:
- The simple ink drawn characters work surprisingly well for this dark story. Just goes to show, one doesn't need Alex Ross' level of panel art to tell a great story.
- The deep dive into the mind of JTR was probably the best part of this story. Esp., chapter 4. Mixes architecture, geography, psychology, history, mythology to present a really twisted mindset.
- Loved the rich depiction of the underbelly of 19th c London. There's class division, prostitutes, asylums, Victorian politics, conspiracies, xenophobia, slums...
- DEEP RESEARCH: The Appendices were a pleasure to read. So many sources, ideas and books referred... Alan Moore truly is a genius. Every page and almost each panel is accounted for! Is this the most thoroughly researched graphic novel out there?! Has to be!
- Font style: Very unique. Ink pen, handwritten mostly. It feels very gritty, grounded, as if the reader too is going through those files/conversations, trying to decipher their meaning, the dialects. Very new experience for me.
Cool ideas/concepts:
- Book begins with Salutation to Lord Ganesa!
- Howard Hinton published a paper - "What's the Fourth Dimension" in 1884, Edwin Abbott's Flatland was published then too!
- "Water falls down as slope, any hope of it going up has to be through a trial by fire, touched by purity, it becomes steam! And rises to God."
- Hackney was once Hakons Ea- where Saxons deified heroes as gods, like Hengest's father Ivalde, who killed Mani: Teutonic Moon God. - I wanna read more on this mythology now!
- Intriguing theory about corpus collosum thickening since millennia...might have linked the Apollo Left to Dionysian Right, so now the left brain doesn't get much mystified by right brains visions.
- Chapter 4: What a twisted rabbit hole of psychology and mythology. All about twisting the Sun vs Moon trope, to infer chaining woman to men. That's some twisted sick mentality... wow.
- Chapter 5 opens with Austria 1888, conception of Adolf Hitler... and the 1st murder by JTR, with Salutation to Ganesha, also connecting to the Elephant Man How does one think of these links!
- Attention to detail in some panels is absolutely insane. Like the calender pages, each with a banger quote (see image š). It's what I love about Alan Moore ... He sprinkles these seeds of ideas and concepts for the enthusiasts. Not only does it make for a richer story, it forces one to think - go down multiple rabbit holes - be as crazy as him, for a while. For example, Ch11 pg 23 - I had to Google Thomas Browne's quote's meaning, and it comes from his work "Urn Burial". But the page is also discussing dust prints as a possible new method for criminal identification!
- How seamlessly he brings together so many historical characters and events into this story, it's marvelously dense! Krakatoa, Queen Victoria, Oscar Wilde, David Croly, WB Yeats, The Elephant Man), George Bernard Shaw, Annie Besant, Howard Hinton, Hitler, even Osho)!
- Regarding David Croly - I took a break of few months after chapters 4-6... (Chapter 10 is the most brutalšØ) At times I felt as if Eddie & Alan might be MO(o)RE messed up than JTR! In the meantime, I started reading Croly's excellent 1888 book "Glimpses for the Future". Really fascinating stuff. I'll post a review soon.
Ending:
Masterful. I'd like to believe it's true that Mary perhaps escaped, and had daughters named after her friends.. . The Epilogue is just Cherry on top: All is explained, and yet nothing is. Paradoxical, like the Koch Snowflake.
Probably has the funniest panel in whole work, includes the authors Gull-catching XD (see image aboveš)
Rating: 11/10 {Like Moore's works, the Rating can't be just normal, it must TRANSCEND!}
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u/martymcfly22 Preacher? i hardly know her! 1d ago
I think this might be the best the medium of graphic novel has ever achieved.
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u/GlorfindelForTheWin 1d ago
My favourite graphic novel of all time. A staggering and deeply unsettling masterpiece.
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u/Actual-Situation-867 1d ago
Absolute masterpiece, alongside Watchmen and his Swamp Thing run, among the top 10 comic works for me.
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u/potayto_tomaahto 1d ago
Currently on chapter 9. B&W version. Loving it. The color does look appealing and might get it later for a second read
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u/Vrom1es 1d ago
Genius novel, i think one of Alan Moore's best
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u/Glittering_Quote_581 1d ago
I've read Watchmen and From hell only, and already I can't pick one over the other! Gonna read V for Vendetta next
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u/David_bowman_starman 1d ago
Yeah check out Swamp Thing as well. And Miracleman / Marvelman is pretty good also. Kinda messier than Watchmen but a lot of great stuff there.
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u/jabawack underrated 1d ago
This is the only book by Alan Moore I didnāt enjoy. Iām sure for those into this genre it is a masterpiece but itās not for a general audience. Might find it impenetrable and overwrought, and the art is hardly appealing. I can see how some people may find it overrated.
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u/themanthyththelegend 1d ago
Edsie campbell one of the best artists to ever work in comics. Wild take that the art is un appealing
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u/jabawack underrated 20h ago
Says whom? Art is personal. Clearly a lot of people donāt like Campbell art. He hasnāt won a single major award for his art. There are literally countless artists more decorated and recognized than Campbell and Iām just stating facts. If you like him thatās totally ok but stating āone of the best artists everā is nonsense and uncorroborated by any actual recognition in the field.
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u/themanthyththelegend 19h ago
There are countless directors more decorated who have won more awards than the none Orson Welles won during his lifetime. Or Sergio Leone or Akira Kurosawa Sydny Lumet or Stanley Kubrik hell Kubrik was nominated for a Razzie for the shining.
I just don't think the amount of awards won in life proves how good an artist is. Eddie Campbell is like in the your favorite artists favorite artist category. He is also a great writer in his own right. He's done a lot more cartooning than just from hell. From hell is probably his best work but bacchus is incredible both writing and art. His autobiographical work in alex is loose and his visual storytelling is some of the best. Its no surprise that people like alan moore and neil gaiman consider him a genius.
But i get it. Its more challenging art, and generally more challenging art is less appealing to many people. Thats why marvel and dc have their house styles to appeal to the maximum number of people. And those artists can be great to no shade
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u/jabawack underrated 16h ago
Sure, awards can recognize popularity more than talent in some cases. But still, your original points that Campbell is one of the best artists ever and not liking his art is āa wild takeā, both seem way off. He is surely very good but people can totally not like his style and thereās nothing wrong or wild with that; his artwork didnāt receive the universal recognition that would warrant being called insane for not liking it! And yes he could be a great writer but Iām only talking about art here.
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u/themanthyththelegend 15h ago
The wild take is that the art is "hardly appealing" not i didn't like this art. From hell is largely considered one of the best comics ever made. To me making a statement that the art is unappealing is a wild take.
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u/Glittering_Quote_581 1d ago
Wow! I'm pumped to read the rest of Alan Moore's works now! Have only read this and Watchmen. This is definitely not for the general audience.
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u/46_and_2 1d ago
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen when you want something lighter, but still some great period and creative plots.
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u/AdventurousCity6 1d ago
Read Miracleman, Swamp Thing and V for Vendetta next. Too many people miss Miracleman
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u/Glittering_Quote_581 1d ago
V for Vendetta and swamp thing are next. I'll look into MiracleMan too, thanks
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u/kazyfake 1d ago
I have to agree. I'm a huge fan of crime and London is one of my favorite places to visit, so I loved it. But it did occur to me several times while I read it that this must be really hard to read for some people.
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u/LamboForWork 1d ago
I felt the same way love watchmen and miracle man i got like acouple pages in and didnt revisit. I'll have to try again.
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u/ad1t1s_ 1d ago
Totally fair, Alan Moore is a lot. I feel similarly about Watchmen: clearly impactful but so dense in its themes, overwrought as you said. I enjoyed From Hell because the themes felt more intuitive for me (the horrible things humans can do) and I knew what I was getting into with Alan Moore. The art either works for you or it doesn't imo.
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u/Long_Basis1400 1d ago
I think the hardest part for me was the art but I might try to get a colored addition like this one and have another go at it
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u/CantFadeMeLOLLL 1d ago
Agreed for sure. It becomes a slog. One of only a handful of times I considered dropping a graphic novel
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u/NoPlatform8789 1d ago
I have an old b&w tpb. But I got the colorized single issues when they first released. Itās interesting to go side by side.
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u/Glittering_Quote_581 1d ago
Eddie here explains those differences - I'm just awestruck by the perfectionism.
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u/aguilasolige 1d ago
I'm a 3rd into this book right now and I like it so far, the font is kinda hard to read though
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u/suddenvole 1d ago
Eddie's From Hell Companion is an excellent book to read if you want the making of broken down.
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u/TheQuestionsAglet 22h ago
They made a color version?
Back in my day we read it in black and white and we liked it!
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u/Glittering_Quote_581 14h ago
By Eddie Campbell himself! He improved some panels too. Talks about it here
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u/ClydeFrog76 1d ago
Holy shit I need this colourised edition.
Fantastic āreviewā btw. It truly is a masterpiece.
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u/Immediate_Bug2362 1d ago
I really didnāt like it. Tried too much for me. I know itās an unpopular opinion. If a comic book makes my brain work too hard, itās just not offering the entertainment Iām looking for.
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u/Glittering_Quote_581 1d ago
Understandable. It took me months to finish this. It's a project to read! A graphic nonfiction novel almost
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u/Immediate_Bug2362 1d ago
I tried twice š© wish I would have liked it. The premise is up my alley
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u/everything_is_holy 1d ago
Might give it a few years and try again. I had trouble too, then it just clicked on my third try. I have that difficulty with Cormac McCarthy, itās difficult and slow going at first, then my brain clicks and it becomes rewarding.
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u/Glittering_Quote_581 1d ago
Dare I say, I liked this a tad bit more than Blood Meridian. Somehow, the twistedness of JTR here was more intriguing to me than of Judge Holden.
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u/TakaraGeneration 1d ago
This book is an absolute masterpiece, but I have to admit I prefer the original black and white version as opposed to this new colorized version.