|
FROM
HELL.
Alan
Moore and Eddie Campbell's 11-year Jack the Ripper project is
finally collected.
 Writer:
Alan Moore
Artist: Eddie Campbell
Trade Paperback
Published by Eddie Campbell Comics 1999
$35
Reviewed
by Alasdair Watson
It's
a damn intimidating thing, that book. The price tag may initially
be a little frightening, but given the size of the thing, it's
excellent value for money. As a bonus, the reader will find that
they are now in possession of the perfect tool to beat a small
ox to death with.
It's
tempting to wonder if Alan Moore doesn't rather rue the day that
he wrote WATCHMEN. In their book THE MANUAL: HOW TO HAVE
A NUMBER ONE THE EASY WAY Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty made the
point that many artist's careers have been killed by having their
first couple of singles top the charts - they're left desperately
trying to prove that they've got more musical depth than the superficial
pop that they released just to get the sales up and make a name.
Now,
WATCHMEN was the same sort of phenomenon, but in reverse.
After SWAMP THING and WATCHMEN, Moore has been rather
lumbered with the reputation of a great creator, the mighty giant
of comics. So many people react to anything he writes by comparing
it to the standard WATCHMEN sets. His ABC titles, despite
being some of the most refreshing, bright and fun comics around,
have been criticized as being less serious - somehow less "worthy"
- than WATCHMEN. But oddly, FROM HELL hasn't.
| "Clearly, both parties
have done extensive research in order to capture the events
of the time" |
Now
you're all wondering why I think that's odd. But stop for a second.
Think about what the goal of say, TOM STRONG is, and then
what the goal of FROM HELL is. See, to my mind, both of
them are simply meant to be entertaining stories. They may have
different target markets, but they are, at the end of the day,
just stories. Sure, WATCHMEN may have been a deconstruction
of the genre in which it was set, but that's over and done with.
Now it's just time to tell good stories.
FROM
HELL is a certainly a good story. Much as I may have a love/hate
relationship with London, I am a Londoner. In an odd way London
is in my blood and bones. And FROM HELL is a London story.
Hell, it's the London story. But that's all. Yes, it's
everything you'd expect from a Moore story - well paced, beautifully
plotted and addicted to the 9-panel grid, the whole nine yards.
But it's just a story. And it's important not to lose sight of
that just because Moore has produced another heavy and harsh book,
as opposed to the lighter, brighter works of ABC. 
This
book has been praised and hyped as the best comic of 1999. And
while it's up against some pretty stiff competition, ironically
including Moore and Campbell's other 1999 release THE BIRTH
CAUL, it is certainly in the running. Moore is still the master
of the horrendously unforgiving 9-panel grid format, able to use
it seemingly effortlessly. Campbell's scratchy, organic art is
the perfect way to depict this period, and the effects achieved
when the style varies into softer tones are very nice indeed.
Clearly,
both parties have done extensive research in order to capture
the events of the time, even if Moore has used his research to
fictionalize the events - he has openly admitted that he does
not believe the sequence of events depicted in From Hell to be
true, but rather believes the true identity of Jack the Ripper
to be lost in a swirling mass of rumour, legend and lie. Campbell,
on the other hand, has used his research to ensure that the art
is accurate down to the smallest details, which provides a solid
grounding for Moore to straddle the line between fiction and reality.
The
pacing is vintage Moore - slow at times, but with a story so beautifully
constructed for it. Some of the devices Moore uses in the story
(such as opening it with two of our characters in retirement after
the murders) have rather mixed success. On the one level this
does entice the reader on, wishing to know how these men came
to this state, but some of the answers are also painfully obvious
well in advance of being "revealed". Further, some of the references
or events in the story make little to no sense until explained
in the appendix, and seem to have been inserted for no other reason
than because Moore felt like it at the time.
| "Even Jack himself
is worryingly comprehensible, in an odd sort of way" |
I
was also amused to note that some of the text was either later
re-used in Moore's spoken word performance THE MOON AND SERPENT
GRAND EGYPTIAN THEATRE OF MARVELS, or drawn from there in the
first instance. Given how relevant it is to the events of the
work, I suspect the former.
It's
difficult to comment on the characters or the plot, drawn as they
are from real life. Nothing seems jarringly wrong or out of place,
and all the characters are plausible and real human beings, living
life as it was lived at the time. It's also worth noting that
the art successfully avoids the trap that so many comics set in
this sort of period fall into - depicting prostitutes as either
highly attractive, rouged beauties or toothless hags. No, these
people are just real human beings, making their living as best
they can. Which, or course, helps the reader connect with them,
and feel sorry for them when they're in pain. Even Jack himself
is worryingly comprehensible, in an odd sort of way.
Overall?
It's Alan Moore producing good work that he clearly cares about,
which means it deserves to be in anyone's collection. Having Eddie
Campbell on the art doesn't hurt either.
Recommended
Alasdair
Watson is Technical Editor of PopImage.
Back
Attitude | ProFile
| Industrial
Interviews | Reviews
| Pi Comics
Talkback | Archives
| Gallery
|
