A review by thepunktheory
From Hell, by Alan Moore
4.0
Full book vs. movie review on my blog!
Alan Moore didn't just come up with the story for this on a whim. He based most of it on meticulous research and at the end of the graphic novel you get a detailed list of sources. In fact, you get a list of just about each panel in the comic and the source that inspired it. That's a whole other level of dedication!
While I enjoyed the idea behind From Hell, I did have some problems with the execution. The whole thing is in black and white. On one hand, I like it as it underlines the somber atmosphere but on the other hand, it made it pretty difficult to actually see what's going on. From time to time I actually had a little trouble following the story as I couldn't figure out right away who the characters in the panels were supposed to be. That got on my nerves pretty quickly.
Honestly, I think the only reason I was able to make sense of the story was that I had seen the movie some years ago.
Furthermore, this one is pretty long. So unless you are interested in Jack the Ripper (and made already read some books on the matter to help make sense of this) I am not sure I would recommend it. Although I found From Hell very interesting, it took me a while to finish it and did drag on at times.
Alan Moore didn't just come up with the story for this on a whim. He based most of it on meticulous research and at the end of the graphic novel you get a detailed list of sources. In fact, you get a list of just about each panel in the comic and the source that inspired it. That's a whole other level of dedication!
While I enjoyed the idea behind From Hell, I did have some problems with the execution. The whole thing is in black and white. On one hand, I like it as it underlines the somber atmosphere but on the other hand, it made it pretty difficult to actually see what's going on. From time to time I actually had a little trouble following the story as I couldn't figure out right away who the characters in the panels were supposed to be. That got on my nerves pretty quickly.
Honestly, I think the only reason I was able to make sense of the story was that I had seen the movie some years ago.
Furthermore, this one is pretty long. So unless you are interested in Jack the Ripper (and made already read some books on the matter to help make sense of this) I am not sure I would recommend it. Although I found From Hell very interesting, it took me a while to finish it and did drag on at times.