By: RJ Young

Alan Moore has given us some of the greatest works in the comic genre over the last 30 years, including Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and his unforgettable run on Swamp Thing, a masterpiece of the horror genre. Another excellent horror tale written by Moore is his often overlooked 1989 thriller From Hell.

Drawn by Eddie Campbell, From Hell is a chilling and imaginative retelling of the unsolved Whitechaple murders in 1888, committed by that most iconic of serial killers, Jack the Ripper. The story was originally released as a 16 part maxi-series, later collected in one volume. Although the opening describes the story as “A melodrama in 16 parts”, this is a gory tale about a monstrously evil killer.

The basic premise is familiar to everyone. Five prostitutes, struggling to earn a living in the dilapidated slum called Whitechaple, England, are picked off one-by-one at the hands of a murderer who cuts his victims open and vivisects them on the spot. Moore assigns motive and even an identity to this historical madman, even though he was never caught. Originally called ‘Leather Apron’ (Due to a butcher’s apron belonging to a slaughterhouse worker) Jack becomes the world’s first acknowledged serial killer and throws a country into paranoid turmoil.

There are endless theories about the true identity of Jack the Ripper and Moore combines many of these speculations into one coherent narrative. He also includes many unsubstantiated rumors, such as the involvement of the Royal family and the society of Masons. The Ripper murders are turned into a complex conspiracy in the vein of Oliver Stone’s JFK.

But this is not a political story, it’s a horror story. From Hell doesn’t spare on the Ripper’s slicing and savagery. Eddie Campbell renders each attack in graphic detail. In fact, the entire tenth chapter is devoted to the Ripper’s long, methodical slaying and dissection of the fifth victim, Marie Kelly.

A supernatural aspect is added to the storyline when the killer finds that his homicidal activities give him clairvoyant flashes into the future. Having been brought up to believe that he was destined for something great, our killer is finally recruited by Queen Victoria for a secret mission that will serve crown, country and God. Thrilled to be chosen for this supposed “honor”, he goes about his work with a maniacal lust. Each slaying provides him with a new vision, which the Riper believes is a divine message. Jack is convinced that he is the messenger who will give birth to the 20th century.

Moore uses a variety of sources (listed in great detail in the 42 page appendix included in the collected volume) and does his best to keep the tale as historically accurate as possible. He even adds in guest appearances by notables of the period such as Oscar Wilde, William Morris, William Butler Yeats, a young Aleister Crowley (One of Moore’s heroes) and even John Merrick AKA the Elephant Man.

Campbell’s art and Moore’s narrative do an amazing job of capturing the place and time. We see the suffering and desperation of the impoverished inhabitants of Whitechaple. The illustrations are sufficiently grim and gritty to capture the hardship of slum life in 1888 England. And Moore effectively conveys the growing fear and paranoia of his soon-to-be victims.

Aside from Jack the Ripper himself, the most important character here is Inspector Fred Abberline, who is called back to his old stomping ground of Whitechaple to take over the case. The Inspector is not happy to be dragged back to a place it took him 14 years to get out of. He is the only one on the case who doesn’t have an ulterior agenda beyond finding the murderer. In the film version, Johnny Depp portrayed Abberline (Even though he looks nothing like the real Abberline). Abberline was also a major character in the recent Wolfman movie, as played by Hugo Weaving.

Jack the Ripper has been depicted endlessly, not just on the page but also in film (The Lodger, Time After Time, Murder by Decree, the film version of From Hell and Edge of Sanity where Jack is combine with Mr. Hyde, just to name a few) and on TV (Star Trek, the Night Stalker, Babylon-5, the Twilight Zone, and even Fantasy Island, among others) This, however, is one of the most menacing portrayals of the infamous Ripper, perhaps because of the frightening realism and the intimate look he gives us into the mind of one of history’s most notorious murderers.

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