From Hell

Graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

This article is about the graphic novel. For the 2001 film adaptation, see From Hell (film). For the 2008 television episode, see From Hell (The IT Crowd). For the original letter, see From Hell letter. For other uses, see From Hell (disambiguation).

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From Hell

From Hell collected edition

Publication information
Publisher| United States:
Eddie Campbell Comics
Top Shelf Productions
United Kingdom:
Knockabout Comics
Publication date| 1999 (collected edition)
Creative team
Written by| Alan Moore
Artist(s)| Eddie Campbell
Collected editions
Master Edition| ISBN 1603094695

From Hell is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions.

Set during the Whitechapel murders of the late Victorian era, the novel speculates upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The novel depicts several true events surrounding the murders, although portions have been fictionalised, particularly the identity of the killer and the precise nature and circumstances of the murders.

The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic message sent from the killer in 1888. The collected edition is 572 pages long. The 2000 and later editions are the most common prints. The comic was loosely adapted into a film, released in 2001. In 2000, the graphic novel was banned in Australia for several weeks after customs officers seized copies of the seventh issue from a shipment intended for Quality Comics.

## Development

[edit]

Moore began developing the plot for From Hell in the late 1980s. Writer Neil Gaiman recalled Moore calling him up to discuss a television documentary he had just seen about Jack the Ripper, and then asking for Gaiman's help tracking down "rare and forgotten biographies of possible Ripper suspects at the British Museum".[1]

From Hell takes as its premise Stephen Knight's theory that the Jack the Ripper murders were part of a conspiracy to conceal the birth of an illegitimate royal baby fathered by Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, slightly modified: the involvement of Walter Sickert is reduced, and Knight's allegation that the child's mother was a Catholic has been dropped. Knight's theories have been described as "a good fictional read" whose "conclusions have been disproved numerous times".[2]

## Publication history

[edit]

From Hell was originally serialized as one of several features in Taboo, an anthology comic book published by Steve Bissette's Spiderbaby Grafix. After running in Taboo #2–7 (1989–1992), Moore and Campbell moved the project to its own series, published first by Tundra Publishing, then by Kitchen Sink Press. The series was published in ten volumes between 1991 and 1996, and an appendix, From Hell: The Dance of the Gull-catchers, was published in 1998. The entire series was collected in a trade paperback and published by Eddie Campbell Comics in 1999; trade paperback and hardcover versions were published by Top Shelf Productions in the United States and Knockabout Comics in the UK. A fully colorized Master Edition was serialized starting in September 2018.[3]

## Plot

[edit]

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, also known as Prince Eddy, secretly marries and fathers a child with Annie Crook, a shop girl in London's East End. Prince Eddy had visited the area under an assumed name and Annie is unaware of her husband's royal position. Queen Victoria becomes aware of the marriage and has Albert separated forcibly from his wife, whom she places in an asylum. Victoria then instructs her royal physician Sir William Gull to impair Annie's sanity, which he does by damaging or impairing her thyroid gland. The prince's daughter is taken to Annie's parents by the artist Walter Sickert, a friend of Eddy's who had accompanied him on his trips to the East End. Annie's father believes the child to be his through an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Sickert reluctantly leaves the child with Annie's parents.

The potentially scandalous matter is resolved, until a group of prostitutes – Annie's friends Mary Kelly, Polly Nichols, Anne Chapman, and Liz Stride – who are aware of the illegitimate child and its royal connections, attempt to blackmail Sickert. After Queen Victoria learns of the blackmail attempt, Gull is enlisted to silence the group of women. The police are granted prior knowledge of Gull's intentions, and are adjured not to interfere until the plot is completed.

Gull, a high-ranking Freemason, murders the four women in Whitechapel with the aid of a carriage driver, John Netley. While he justifies the murders by claiming they are a Masonic warning to an apparent Illuminati threat to the throne, the killings are, in Gull's mind, part of an elaborate mystical ritual to ensure male societal dominance over women. While targeting Kelly, Gull also kills Catherine Eddowes, who was using Kelly's name as an alias. As the killings progress, Gull becomes psychologically unhinged and has a vision of the future while murdering a woman he believes to be Kelly.

Gull takes Netley on a tour of London landmarks, expounding on their hidden mystical significance. Later, Gull forces the semi-literate Netley to write the infamous From Hell letter. Following this, several people write letters to the police claiming to be the murderer, and the nickname "Jack the Ripper" becomes a household name.

Inspector Frederick Abberline, who once patrolled Whitechapel as a police officer, investigates the Ripper crimes without success. He meets Robert James Lees, a fraudulent psychic who acts as a spiritual advisor to Queen Victoria. Lees contacts Abberline and identifies Gull as the murderer. Abberline and Lees confront Gull, who instantly confesses. Abberline reports the confession to his superiors at Scotland Yard, who cover up the discovery. The police inform both Abberline and Lees that Gull was operating alone and was gripped by insanity. Abberline later discovers Gull's intentions to cover up the matter of the royal "bastard" fathered by the Duke of Clarence. He resigns from the Metropolitan Police in protest of the official cover-up of the murders, and contemplates leaving England to join the Pinkertons.

Gull is tried by a secret Masonic council, which determines he is insane. Gull refuses to submit to the council, informing them that because of his accomplishments and his visions, no man amongst them may be counted as his peer and cannot judge the "mighty work" he has wrought. A phony funeral is staged, and Gull is imprisoned under a pseudonym "Thomas Mason." The Freemasons frame boarding school teacher Montague Druitt as a suspect, killing him and making his death look like suicide. Years later, and moments before his death, Gull has an extended mystical experience, where his spirit travels through time, observing the crimes of the London Monster, instigating or inspiring a number of other killers (Peter Sutcliffe, Ian Brady), causing Netley's death, as well as serving as the inspiration for both Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and William Blake's painting The Ghost of a Flea. The last experience his spirit undergoes before it "becomes God" is visiting a woman living in Ireland. The woman has four children who are named after the women murdered by Gull in Whitechapel. She is apparently able to see Gull's spirit, and abjures him to begone "back to Hell."

## Interpretations and themes

[edit]

From Hell was partly inspired by the title of Douglas Adams' novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, in that it explores the notion that to solve a crime holistically, one would need to solve the entire society in which it occurred.[4]

From Hell also explores Moore's ideas on the nature of time. Early on, Gull's friend James Hinton discusses his son Howard's theory of the "fourth dimension", which proposes that time is a spatial dimension. All time co-exists, and it is only the limits of our perception that make it appear to progress. Sequences of related events can be seen as shapes in the fourth dimension: history can "be said to have an architecture", as Gull puts it.[5] Gull's experiences seem to confirm this: he has visions of the 20th century during the murders, and as he is dying he experiences, and appears to influence, past and future events. Moore had earlier explored similar ideas in Watchmen, where Doctor Manhattan perceives past, present and future simultaneously, and describes himself as "a puppet who can see the strings".[6]

Critic Gary Groth says the most elaborate theme in From Hell stems from Moore's statement that "the Ripper murders – happening when they did and where they did – were almost like an apocalyptic summary of... that entire Victorian age."[7]

## Awards

[edit]

From Hell won several Eisner Awards, including "Best Serialized Story" (1993),[8] "Best Writer" (1995,[9] 1996,[10] 1997[11]), and "Best Graphic Album – Reprint" (2000).[12] It won the 1995 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series, and the collected edition won the 2000 Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work.

The book also won the 2000 Eagle Award for Favourite Trade Paperback/Reprint Collection,[13] and the "Prix de la critique" at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2001, for the French edition published by Éditions Delcourt.[14]

The collected edition was a top vote getter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Reprint Graphic Album in 1999.[15]

During its initial serialization, From Hell received the 1996 International Horror Guild Award for Graphic Story/illustrated Narrative,[16] and the 1997 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Story.[17]

## Film adaptation

[edit]

Main article: From Hell (film)

A film, loosely based on the series, was made by the Hughes brothers in 2001, starring Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, and Ian Holm. It received mixed reviews from critics, with a rating of 57% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[18]

## TV adaptation

[edit]

In 2015 it was reported that FX was developing a From Hell drama series with Don Murphy, who produced the 2001 film, as executive producer; David Arata was announced as the writer of the adaptation.[19]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Gaiman, Neil (2016). The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction. New York, NY. p. 248\. ISBN 978-0-06-226226-4. OCLC 939277355.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
2. ^ "Jack The Ripper: The Final Solution". Casebook: Jack the Ripper. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
3. ^ Holub, Christian (31 May 2018). "Eddie Campbell explains why he's coloring From Hell for the first time". Entertainment Weekly.
4. ^ Dave Windett, Jenni Scott & Guy Lawley, "Writer From Hell: the Alan Moore Experience" (interview), Comics Forum 4, p. 46, 1993
5. ^ Moore & Campbell, From Hell chapter 2, page 15, panel 4
6. ^ Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, Watchmen issue 9, page 5, panel 4
7. ^ Groth, Gary (February 1991). "Last Big Words – Alan Moore on 'Marvelman', 'From Hell', 'A Small Killing,' and being published." The Comics Journal 140.
8. ^ 1993 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners, Comic Book Awards Almanac
9. ^ 1995 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners, Comic Book Awards Almanac
10. ^ 1996 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners, Comic Book Awards Almanac
11. ^ 1997 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners, Comic Book Awards Almanac
12. ^ 2000 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners, Comic Book Awards Almanac
13. ^ "Eagle Awards 2000: Sequential Tart Wins!", Sequential Tart. Accessed 15 Jan. 2020.
14. ^ Prix de la Critique 2001, ACBD
15. ^ "Comics Buyers Guide Fan Awards". Hahn Library. 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
16. ^ IHG Award Recipients Archived 22 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine, International Horror Guild.
17. ^ "Alan Moore's 'From Hell' Fully Restored and in Color for the First Time!". Previews World. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
18. ^ "From Hell – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
19. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (18 November 2014). "'From Hell' Drama Based on Jack The Ripper Graphic Novel in Works at FX". Deadline. Retrieved 30 August 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Alan Moore interview at Guardian Unlimited
* Alan Moore interview at Comic Book Resources

* v
* t
* e

Alan Moore

Bibliography

Early
British works|

* Maxwell the Magic Cat
* Marvelman
* V for Vendetta
* The Bojeffries Saga
* Skizz
* The Ballad of Halo Jones
* Captain Britain (including Jaspers' Warp)
* Doctor Who (including Special Executive)
* D.R. & Quinch
* Tharg's Future Shocks
* Monster

DC Comics|

* Mogo
* Sodam Yat
* Swamp Thing
* John Constantine
* Watchmen
* Batman: The Killing Joke
* "For the Man Who Has Everything"
* Twilight of the Superheroes
* V for Vendetta
* Adam Susan
* Evey Hammond
* Norsefire
* V
* "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"
* DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore

Image Comics /
Awesome Comics|

* 1963
* Glory
* Judgment Day
* Spawn
* Violator
* WildC.A.T.S.
* Spawn/WildC.A.T.S.
* Supreme
* Jack-A-Dandy
* Professor Night
* Youngblood
* Voodoo

America's Best
Comics|

* The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
* Promethea
* Five Swell Guys
* Tom Strong
* Terra Obscura
* Tomorrow Stories
* Cobweb
* Greyshirt
* Top Ten
* Top 10: The Forty-Niners
* Smax

Avatar Press|

* Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths
* Neonomicon
* Fashion Beast
* Crossed: +100
* Providence
* Cinema Purgatorio

Miscellaneous|

* Brought to Light
* Big Numbers
* A Small Killing
* From Hell
* Lost Girls
* Dodgem Logic
* Albion
* Marvel Comics
* Fury
* Jester
* Meggan

Comics based on
Moore's prose|

* Alan Moore's Songbook
* Another Suburban Romance
* Alan Moore's The Courtyard
* A Disease of Language
* Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard
* Alan Moore's Magic Words

Books|

* Voice of the Fire
* The Mirror of Love
* Alan Moore's Writing for Comics
* The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases
* The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic
* Jerusalem
* Illuminations
* The Great When: A Long London Novel

Spoken word
CDs|

* "March of the Sinister Ducks"
* Brought to Light
* The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels
* The Birth Caul
* Snakes and Ladders
* The Highbury Working
* Angel Passage
* Unearthing

Other|

* Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman
* The Mindscape of Alan Moore
* The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore
* Show Pieces
* The Show

Related people|

* Melinda Gebbie
* Leah Moore
* John Reppion
* Steve Moore

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Jack the Ripper in fiction

Seminal works|

* The Lodger
* Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution

Letters|

* "Dear Boss" letter
* "From Hell" letter
* "Saucy Jacky" postcard

Film|

* Waxworks (1924)
* The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)
* Pandora's Box (1929)
* The Lodger (1932)
* The Lodger (1944)
* Room to Let (1950)
* Man in the Attic (1953)
* Jack the Ripper (1959)
* Lulu (1962)
* A Study in Terror (1965)
* Hands of the Ripper (1971)
* Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971)
* The Ruling Class (1972)
* What the Swedish Butler Saw (1975)
* Jack the Ripper (1976)
* Murder by Decree (1979)
* Time After Time (1979)
* Jack's Back (1988)
* Edge of Sanity (1989)
* Deadly Advice (1994)
* Ripper (2001)
* From Hell (2001)
* Bad Karma (2002)
* Case Closed: The Phantom of Baker Street (2002)
* Ripper 2: Letter from Within (2004)
* The Lodger (2009)
* Holmes & Watson. Madrid Days (2012)
* Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)

Parody|

* Bizarre, Bizarre (1937)
* The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (1976)
* Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)

Music|

* "Jack the Ripper" (1963)
* "The Ripper" (1976)
* "Killer on the Loose" (1980)
* The Somatic Defilement (2007)
* Jack the Ripper vs. Hannibal Lecter (2014)

Stage|

* Earth Spirit (1895 play)
* Pandora's Box (1904 play)
* Lulu (1937 opera)
* The Lodger (1960 opera)
* The Ruling Class (1968 play)

Comics|

* Blood of the Innocent (1985)
* Gotham by Gaslight (1989)
* From Hell (1989-98)
* Wonder Woman: Amazonia (1997)
* The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century (2009)

Literature|

| Sherlock Holmes|

* The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (1978)
* The Whitechapel Horrors (1992)
* Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography (2005)
* Dust and Shadow (2009)
* The Ripper Legacy (2016)

|

Short stories|

* "A Toy for Juliette" (1967)
* "The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World" (1967)

Other|

* A Feast Unknown (1969)
* Time After Time (1979)
* Night of the Ripper (1984)
* Phantom Blood (1987)
* Naomi's Room (1991)
* Anno Dracula (1992)
* A Night in the Lonesome October (1993)
* Jack the Ripper, Light-Hearted Friend (1996)
* Matrix (1998)
* Lost (2001)
* Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper—Case Closed (2002)
* Blood and Fog (2003)
* The Witches of Chiswick (2003)
* Broken (2006)
* Darkside (2007)
* Lifeblood (2007)
* Dracula the Un-dead (2009)
* I, Ripper (2015)
* The Cutthroat (2017)

Television|

| Series|

* Jack the Ripper (1973)
* Jack the Ripper (1988)
* Sanctuary (2007-11)
* Whitechapel (2009-13)
* Ripper Street (2012-17)
* Time After Time (2017)
* Case File nº221: Kabukicho (2019-20)
* Sherlock in Russia (2020)
* Beforeigners (2019-present)

|

Episodes|

* "Wolf in the Fold" (1967)
* "Comes the Inquisitor" (1995)
* "Ripper" (1999)
* "Sanctuary for All" (2008)
* "The Great British Fake Off" (2020)

Other|

* Bridge Across Time (1985 TV film)

Video games|

* Jack the Ripper (1987)
* The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes (1992)
* Ripper (1996)
* Duke Nukem: Zero Hour (1999)
* Shadow Man (1999)
* MediEvil 2 (2000)
* Jack the Ripper (2004)
* Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper (2009)
* The Ripper (canceled)
* The Order: 1886 (2015)
* Assassin's Creed Syndicate: Jack the Ripper (2015)
* Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey (2019)

Other|

* Casebook: Jack the Ripper
* Blood!: The Life and Future Times of Jack the Ripper

* Category

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