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Another Alan Moore classic makes the list
Publisher: Eddie Campbell Comics
Wed, 24 November 2004
by: Tyz
I am currently in the process of writing a graphic novel – not a comic book – a graphic novel. People will scoff when you try and make this distinction, thinking that the world of Casper the Friendly Ghost and the dream-scape of The Sandman are one and the same – and only for the consumption of children. Well if you have the same trouble as I do convincing people that graphic novels are not for kids, then make them have a look through Alan Moore's masterwork From Hell.
The first thing they will do is gawp at the sheer size of the work (about two inches thick) then you can have fun watching their faces as they flick through the black and white pages. They will be taken aback by Eddie Campbell's illustrations of the life and times of the granddaddy of all serial killers – Jack the Ripper. Just the name itself carries an aura of dread, as well as the tabloid excitement of the time.
From Hell is laid out with illustrations in the style of Victorian era newspapers. Unlike the lavish layouts of some artists, Campbell goes for a basic style that makes the fiction seem all the more real. That's one of the things that you need to remind yourself of when reading this book – it is fiction. Moore has done so much research and paints such a vivid picture of Victorian London, you forget that everything within his tale is merely opinion and conjecture. Nobody knows who Jack the Ripper was, or the true story surrounding the Whitechapel murders. Moore tells such a convincing story that it is only when you refer to the multitude of end notes that you see "the man behind the curtain".
The end notes are a piece of work in themselves. You get insight into how Moore constructed the story and the source for his information and imagery. It is difficult to recommend to a reader as to how to approach these notes. If you refer to them after every page then it breaks the flow of the story, but if you wait until the end you lose the context of the notation. I went for a happy medium where I looked over the end notes when I finished each chapter, or when something was happening in the story that seemed to make no sense. These end notes allow the author to dedicate everything on the page to the feel of the story, not having to carry the burden of exposition which would ruin the pace of the book. Instead Moore just slips events into the text with no explanation, so those readers who want to know more can just refer to the end notes later.
The story is about the Whitechapel murders. Five prostitutes killed and mutilated in the East End of London in 1888 by the hand of an unknown assailant dubbed Jack the Ripper by the press. While most people would probably believe that the murderer found his victims through chance, Moore's take on the story is heavily based on the research of Stephen Knight and has a plot that would make any conspiracy nut proud. Moore's work takes on the British establishment, the Freemasons and even Her Majesty Queen Victoria herself in this tale of when politics and insanity mix. Knight's theories have been widely discredited since his publication of Jack the Ripper – The Final Solution in 1976, but they are still make a great story.
A film version of the book was made a few years back starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham, and while it is a good film – it merely paddles the depths into which Moore's original plunges. Ian Holm plays the role of the Ripper wonderfully in the film, with his standout scene being the dismemberment of the final victim. This is played out in Chapter 10 of From Hell and it is some of the most chilling imagery ever laid down in print. Moore and Campbell have done brilliant work at portraying the sickness that must have lurked in the mind of a man that could commit crimes like these.
Even if you are not a fan of the graphic novel as a medium, you should check this out. It is a shining example of a master at work.
by: Tyz
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