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roenfoe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
As someone who greatly enjoyed V for Vendetta and Watchmen, I knew I would eventually read From Hell. I went into it almost completely blind, unaware that it was an examination of the Jack the Ripper mythos. From Hell is easily the most well-thought-out comic I have ever read, and is certainly better written and researched than many regular history books. Moore balances an absurd dedication to historical fact and detail with invented elements (such as supernatural architecture and hallucination) that establish From Hell as a wholly unique work of Jack the Ripper fiction.
While I often found the art style muddy, ugly, and difficult to read, it reflects the time and place in which the story occurs. It was appropriately filthy, irreverent, and dark.
Intriguing themes abound; power, class dynamics, the occult, and female sexual liberation and slavery. The time travel/premonition (?) aspect of Dr. Gull's story was a shock to the system; especially his commentary on the "hell" that a modern person inhabits. We would consider "his" world to be horrible and not worth living in... while he finds our white collar wage slavery even more repulsive.
From Hell wasn't perfect; at times it was a slog. At the end of each chapter I would spend an equal amount of time reading footnotes about mundane street names and obscure tertiary characters. Overall, though, it remained extremely compelling. I'll be thinking about it for a long time.
While I often found the art style muddy, ugly, and difficult to read, it reflects the time and place in which the story occurs. It was appropriately filthy, irreverent, and dark.
Intriguing themes abound; power, class dynamics, the occult, and female sexual liberation and slavery.
From Hell wasn't perfect; at times it was a slog. At the end of each chapter I would spend an equal amount of time reading footnotes about mundane street names and obscure tertiary characters. Overall, though, it remained extremely compelling. I'll be thinking about it for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail