Guest bps "The Truth" 21 Report post Posted February 7, 2002 I picked up a From Hell tpb because I dug the movie and I like Alan Moore. It's a tad intimidating in size. Has anyone else read it? How was it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MaskedDanger Report post Posted February 8, 2002 I bought it right after it came out and read it over that weekend. I can say, with no reservations, that it's the smartest piece of comic work I've ever read. I was absolutely fucking amazed. The damn thing is so clever, so epic (not a term I use lightly), so broad in scope and so dense that you'll be stunned. The shit that Moore pulls together in that book--issues of the English class system, theories of magic, the psychology of serial murder, masculine culture verses feminine culture--all in the context of these very real historical events (the Ripper murders...duh) will make your head spin. Heavy, heavy stuff. On top of all that, it's also a damn great story. Along with all the philosophical ground he covers, Moore makes incredibly engaging characters out of the real people he writes about (the research he did for the story alone is admirable...he mentions some of it in the appendix, which you HAVE to read to really appreciate the book). These are people that you care about (I dare ANYONE not to find Gull to be a fascinating character, whether you like him or not) and that will certainly keep you paging through the book, no matter how intimidating a tome it seems. Supposedly the movie (I haven't seen it) truncates the hell out of the story, which is understandable. A faithful adaptation would take about seven hours. There are some fairly serious difference between the two (especially the ending), but I hear that they're more about the characters than the plot. Probably the best thing about the book (aside from just how good it is) is that it shows how goddamn amazing a writer Alan Moore really is. When that man gets on the page and is tackling a subject he cares about, he leaves any other comics writer, past or present, in his dust. Eddie Campbell's scratchy black and white art is also perfect for the story. He's truly awesome. All in all, it's easily the best "comic book" I've ever read. Sprry I'm a little light on details, but I don't want to spoil to book for you. I hope that helps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bps "The Truth" 21 Report post Posted February 8, 2002 It certainly was helpful...and I know what I'm doing this weekend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest J*ingus Report post Posted February 8, 2002 The graphic novel is very different from the movie in many ways. They drastically changed pretty much all of the characters for the film adaptation, and turned it into a "Who's the Ripper?" murder mystery/political coverup thriller. I wonder how they got away with some of that stuff, being as there really was an Inspector Abberline, and he was nothing like Depp's portrayal of him. Also, for whatever reason the movie makes the subplots of Jews and grapes into major plot points, which I found kind of odd. And did anyone else notice that there were SIX prostitutes carved up in the movie? At first I couldn't believe that was right, but then I went and looked up all the individual violent moments on Screenit.com and sure enough, there were six whores killed in the flick. The filmmakers just added in an "extra" Ripper murder which never happened. What the fuck?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Shockmaster! Report post Posted February 8, 2002 People have portrayed Abberline as everything from an opium addict to a raging alcoholic, its just considered artistic license I suppose. And I recommend FROM HELL to everyone, not just comic fans. Its Alan Moore's best work and quite possibly the most intelligent piece to ever come out of the medium. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
