From Hell by Alan Moore Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of From Hell
Book Review: Beautiful, Brilliant, Scholarly, Amazing, and Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
The most recent offering from Alan Moore, the author who, alongside Neil Gaiman, was responsible for bringing comic books to their fullest potential as art on par with novels, From Hell is a brilliant, moody, and well-researched re-telling of the Jack the Ripper story. Moore takes an interesting twist on the story - and one he himself admits that he believes is false - but the point of the book isn't so much a whodunit as a treatise on the combining of fact and fiction into myth, and the nature of sensationalism and crime in the 20th century.From Hell features an amazing cast of characters and the story is told in sixteen chapters - two of which are a prologue and an epilogue. Moore weaves historical facts together to form a cohesive story, and draws on dozens of sources, both Ripper-related and otherwise. From Hell suggests that the Ripper was, in fact, William Gull, Physician Ordinary to the Royal Family and a member of the Freemasons (this fact is revealed very early on in the book, unlike the movie which IS a whodunit). Where high-level criminologists like FBI profiler John Douglas (inspiration for the Crawford character in Silence of the Lambs) seem to think that the crimes were motivated by a fear of women, Moore focuses on the calm, ritualistic nature of the murders, and the important connection between the victims - that they all knew each other.
Although in this book the crime itself was a Masonic ritual, I think it should be noted that Moore isn't trying to smear the Masons, and that should be obvious to anyone reading From Hell. His contention, one that more or less fits the 100-plus years worth of facts, is that William Gull was gradually going insane and had visions about Masonic deities - shreds of old ritual from Freemasonry's past that he blows out of proportion and begins to manifest, at least in his mind. There was nothing anti-Freemason in this book, but I realize people have to find something to get bent out of shape about.
The crowning achievement of this volume isn't the way Moore creates a perfect fit for Gull as the Ripper, but the appendix at the end in which he details the painstaking amount of research that went into this work. He has a reference for nearly every factual detail, and readily admits when he makes things up or dramatizes certain events for the story. It's an excellent resource for Ripperologists and scholars interested in Moore's book, and its inclusion is what makes From Hell such a fascinating read.
I absolutely recommend From Hell, especially if you enjoyed the film - the book is far more detailed, and doesn't sacrifice any historical accuracies to make a better story, as the movie did. If the film is a starting point, this graphic novel is the logical conclusion. Get it today; you will not be sorry you did.
Book Review: Beyond comics
Summary: 5 Stars
It took Alan Moore around 10 years to do this and it shows. The attention to detail is unbelievable and also the research he has done. He'sprobably read every book on the subject ever made.The detail is so much that there is an appendix to each and every page telling us about the background of it...whether it is fiction or not and so on...Incredible.
This book contains VERY graphic violence and is extremely dark so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It ain't a light read.
The latest news of the movie are good with Nigel Hawthorne and Johnny Depp playing the leads. I don't know whether it's good to have the Hughes Brothers direct it. The only men that can do this justice are men like David Lynch or David Fincher.
Book Review: Boring as hell!!!
Summary: 2 Stars
Great story, but overwhelming dialogue, boring ass narrating, and why in the hell would an old man kill whores?!Book Review: Brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
Alan Moore's incredible "From Hell" is wonderful for many reasons. The first is Alan Moore, who all of this can be blamed on. His great ear for the harsh dialogue of england is awe-inspiring, and as is his symbolic story-telling (which is oddly non-pretentious, considering how easily this stuff could become a preachy dissertation on human decency and madness and all sorts of other things; instead it stays true to its absolutely human roots and delivers its messages subtly enough that you can barely feel them penetrate, rather than have it be spoken by one of its characters in a heart-straining moment. He realizes that those moments rarely occur, and almost certainly wouldn't under these conditions. Hm, i should an end paretheses around here somewhere. Maybe i'll just hide it elsewhere in the review nad make you hunt for it. no, that would be rude. Damn you, ADD, i got off topic...again....). The second thing is Eddie Cambell. His gritty reaslism (a term used far too often in the description of comic art, but it certainly does apply here) and the feel of his scratchy (and professionally unfinished) linework perfectly carries out Moore's story. The third thing is the sense of how the story should be told that really endears itself to the reader. By that i mean that the amount of research and pure, unfiltered time and effort that went into this book shines on every page. Everything is perfectly in place and all, even if you don't agree with Moore's theory on the Ripper, it all seems to fit together. The last thing that makes this book great is the Ripper himself. The utterly believable characterization and the sense of self righteousness that flows from this terrifying man are amazing. His fanaticism and controlled madness are astounding. This is one of the greatest characters i have ever read, and his final scene, the end of the book, is positively breathtaking. With his final words of "As I become
God
And then..."
resonate with the reader for months to come. This story is chilling, frightening, dark, bleak, funny, romantic, desperate, sickening, appalling, insomnia-inducing, morbid, original, classic, complex, confusing, simple, harsh, symbolic, entertaining, sad, hopeful, hopeless, unflinching, unwilling to pull punches, fictional and real. That and everything more. The book is one of the greatest books (not just comics) that i've ever read, and the entire overall story seems to come barrelling right into your chest the instant you've finished it, and despite its morbid, violent and sexist characters and events, you can't help but be glad it has. Buy it, read it, think about it, and read it again and again. You'll find it hard to put down.
Book Review: Brilliant!
Summary: 5 Stars
Can't say enough really. A brilliant dissection of the Ripper story a piece at a time. Slow and plodding at times, but inherent to the flow of the story and wouldn't have it any other way. The best part of this is that we get a dissection of the killer's mind and actions as his crimes are being investigated. Incidentally, the omission of giving away the killer's identity in the movie is what dimmed my enthusiasm for the film. Had we been given a dissection of the Ripper's mind and actions along with the investigation (and his mind-boggling explanation of the street layout of London), it might have given the film more punch and stood out from standard Jack the Ripper murder mysteries (like "Time after Time" did).
Also invaluable is Moore's bibliography for each page and panel of the book (fabulous look into how much research went into this book and why it's so fabulous) and the story of the Ripper myths and evolution at the end.
Buy it, read it, love it!