FROM HELL

written by Alan Moore

art by Eddie Campbell

published by Top Shelf Production

ISBN-10: 0958578346

ISBN-13: 978-0958578349

reviewed by Adam Armstrong

3.13.2009

So that’s who done it.

Prince Albert Victor has done something he shouldn’t have and fathered a child with a commoner. A street gang threatens a group of prostitutes but the women know the secret of the child’s father. The prostitutes make an attempt at blackmail and the crown decides to get involved. The queen sends Doctor William Gull to handle this problem. Gull has a design in mind and begins to kill off the women in a ritualistic manner. Soon he is known to the public as Jack the Ripper, but he only cares about finishing the ritual.

This was so cool. The research and the work involved are so tremendous that it breathes off of the pages. Based mainly off some of the ideas presented in Stephen Knight’s Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (Knight’s book drew a line between the Free Masons and the killings), From Hell is another comic that transcends its medium. Composed mainly of 9 panel pages and inked in Black and White the art is a perfect fit for the writing. I also loved the notes in the back that covered just about every page in the book going into some detail where the factual information came from versus what was invented by Moore.

A book that will get you thinking about more than just Jack the Ripper:

5 out of 5