From Hell is Alan Moore’s take on Jack the Ripper. Jack is one of the great literary challenges because everyone has their own take on it. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the murders and everyone has their own theory. As Moore details in the epilogue, he doesn’t care about who the murderer is, he just wants to use the murders as a backdrop for the story he wants to tell. So, he co-opted the theory from Stephen Knight about a royal conspiracy with a Freemason solution to the murders. So, what makes it so great?

Prince Albert Victor (Grandson of Queen Victoria, son of King Edward) started the whole mess when he was sent off to live with an artist and learn about life. He met, romanced and married a shop girl, Annie, while he was under a false name and she gave birth. The Queen found out and had the whole thing taken care of (which included the Annie being sent to an asylum). Annie was friends with some prostitutes, including Marie Kelly. Marie and her friends decided to send a blackmail letter to the artist to get some money. He passes it up to the crown who commissions the Royal Physician Sir William Gull to take care of the women. As Gull kills the women, he starts going insane, which wasn’t helped by the stroke he had previously had.

That’s the plot overview, but that doesn’t nearly touch what Moore has done. He has brought in Freemasonry, the royal family, modern technology, dreams, magic and so much more into the story. The reactions of all the people (including the future victims) as the murders go on is a large part of the story as well. Especially as the victims start realizing what they’ve set in motion and know that it’s only a matter of time for them. And the appendix. Where panel by panel and page by page, Moore details where he got each fact from or why he threw in something that might be completely unrelated. Reading the appendix is a joy and makes you wish that many other stories had similar features.

And Eddie Campbell’s illustrations are amazing. His scratchiness and detail mixed with a wonderful sense of drama add to the story and the mood. I’d never seen much of Campbell previously, but he is a revelation as an artist.

Moore has created a masterpiece of storytelling that should be considered one of the best graphic novels around. Please avoid the movie and make sure you read the appendix and the epilogue to get a lot more information and background. Highly, Highly recommended.