From Hell: Amazon.ca: Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell: Books

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The mad, shaggy genius of the comics world dips deeply into the well of history and pulls up a cup filled with blood in From Hell. Alan Moore did a couple of Ph.D.'s worth of research into the Whitechapel murders for this copiously annotated collection of the independently published series. The web of facts, opinion, hearsay, and imaginative invention draws the reader in from the first page. Eddie Campbell's scratchy ink drawings evoke a dark and dirty Victorian London and help to humanize characters that have been caricatured into obscurity for decades. Moore, having decided that the evidence best fits the theory of a Masonic conspiracy to cover up a scandal involving Victoria's grandson, goes to work telling the story with relish from the point of view of the victims, the chief inspector, and the killer--the Queen's physician. His characterization is just as vibrant as Campbell's; even the minor characters feel fully real. Looking more deeply than most, the author finds in the "great work" of the Ripper a ritual magic working intended to give birth to the 20th century in all its horrid glory. Maps, characters, and settings are all as accurate as possible, and while the reader might not ultimately agree with Moore and Campbell's thesis, From Hell is still a great work of literature. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

Legendary comics writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie 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 has become a modern masterpiece of crime noir and historical fiction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

70 Reviews

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (70 customer reviews)

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2.0 out of 5 stars I guess someone has to disagree...., Oct 6 2000

By

Charles B. (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Hell - New Cover Edition (Paperback)

I bought the first three issues of this series years ago. I bought the paperback on a whim...and God, how I wish I could get my money back. Simply put, Alan Moore is pretentious. More so than any comics writer that comes to mind. I had some interest in the Ripper murders while in high school and devoured any book I could find about them. Moore's theories (borrowed for the most part, like the plot of WATCHMEN, from other sources) are ludicrous. William Withey Gull's misogynist dialogue is unintentionally hilarious. All the research in the world doesn't make for a compelling read, and FROM HELL is boring. If I were less familiar with some of the books Moore had drawn from, perhaps I would have liked it better, but I think Moore is trying for the umpteenth time to be seen as some literary figure for a work that was lifted from what someone else wrote.

I must say that Eddie Campbell's art is fantastic. Worth an extra star in the rating by itself. He deserved a better writer. Do yourself a favor: don't waste $30 on this bloated piece of recycled tripe. Go buy Grant Morrison's 2 issues of Doom Patrol with Red Jack (Jack the Ripper) as the villian...it's cheaper, it's funnier,it's more original and in the end you'll thank me.

In short: this is an overwrought rehash of subject matter that has already been fully explored by more original writers. We know that the Royal theory is trash, but more importantly so is this book. What happened to the Alan Moore that wrote SWAMP THING?

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5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely amazing, April 26 2004

By

C. Fletcher (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: From Hell - New Cover Edition (Paperback)

I was absolutely amazed by the depth and quality of Alan Moore's FROM HELL. I've been reading graphic novels for a little over a year now, and in terms of subtlety, nuance, and overall storytelling, FROM HELL is head and shoulders above anything else I've read. I'm currently reading Moore's WATCHMEN, which also seems to be of equal quality.

I've never experienced anything close to what FROM HELL delivers in the admittedly short time that I've been reading comics. Alan Moore writes with the ear of a novelist and the eye of a portraitist. He packs this well-researched story of the Jack the Ripper murders with a wide and observant representation of life.

This graphic novel isn't just a retelling of the facts of the Jack the Ripper case (though it does an extraordinary job of that). It takes it all to the next level, and examines the reasons for examining such things.

It's not so much a suspense story (you know who the killer is right from the beginning) but rather one of internal discovery. A fascinating work of art and work of literature that should be read by anyone who wants to see just what comics are capable of.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Stellar, April 2 2004

By

Kay A. Ching (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Hell - New Cover Edition (Paperback)

The pages can get quite ugly; ink splotches, grotesque dissections et al. All this was very necessary, but the story, however, was homogenous- it was a dark and intelligent epic, and one that has numerous elements of realism, so this doesn't step in that "fantasy" category with truculent elves and other Dei ex Machina. In short, I loved the book. Here was a story which dared to stick it's thumb up at the comics establishment (published in the '80s, wot.) and it did it remarkably well.

Truly, this book told its tale like a movie, and the numerous mises-en-scene were deftly handled, and the royal chaps were masterfully portrayed. It had a fine start, and good closure too, quite unlike many money-churning comics you see on the shelf today with issues running into the hundreds. Definite start, definite end, definite masterpiece.

'Tis a shame pop culture so mangled the movie, and if you hated the film (as I did) and want to read the book nonetheless, please do.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Credit to whom credit is due ...
In light of the applause given to this particular author, the Freemason research - "a couple of Ph. Read more

Published on Jun 19 2004 by Philip Livingstone

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Alan Moore's incredible "From Hell" is wonderful for many reasons. The first is Alan Moore, who all of this can be blamed on. Read more