From Hell

When trying to define a complex notion such as modernity, people tend to associate it with political, social or cultural events that had a major resonance in world history. Usually, the result is a broad overview that cannot do justice to the complexity of this phenomenon. Fortunately, unconventional individuals like Alan Moore show up from time to time, putting things into perspective. Apart from his acclaimed mainstream works such as Watchmen or V for Vendetta, he has also made his contribution to the genre of horror fiction. In From Hell the beginning of the Twentieth Century as well as the birth of the modern world are linked to one of the darkest and most mysterious characters of criminal history: Jack the Ripper. It’s like looking at the Sixties from Charles Manson’s point of view.

In their endeavour, Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell found the perfect formula: a murderer, a motif, and significant events. The result is a well documented, gripping account of the events that took place in the Whitechapel district in London during the autumn of 1888 ”“ brimming with historical references and painstakingly explanatory annotations at the end of the book. However, this is no lazy whodunit: It is apparent from the beginning that the perpetrator of the crimes is the Royal physician William Gull, a Freemason and a disciple of reason. The murderer serves, as Moore clearly puts it at the end of the book, as an allegorical construction: “Jack’s not Gull, or Druitt. Jack is a Super-Position.” The Ripper reflects all human anxieties, as well as the horrors yet to come.

The first three chapters provide the context. The ponderous atmosphere, as well as the apparition of the notorious Elephant Man serve as an introduction to the world of the Ripper, both bluntly realistic and strangely obscure. We get a glimpse of Gull’s background with the aid of peculiar, premonitory experiences from his childhood, as well as his admission to Freemasonry. Chapter four goes deeper into the psyche of an educated criminal, a misogynist trying to assure male dominance over femininity. Gull is assigned the task to silence a group of prostitutes holding a secret which could threaten the throne of England. But aside from that, he also believes in the higher, mystical purpose of his undertaking. Throughout the book, Gull experiences a number of transcendental, mystical revelations culminating in his vision of the future after the last murder. It is now that he tells his coachman: “It is beginning, Netley. Only just beginning. For better or worse, the twentieth century. I have delivered it.”

When the murders begin, the focus shifts to the perspective offered by Inspector Frederick Abberline and his investigation of the case ”“ his purpose in the story is that of a spectator, the silent audience that Gull (and the reader) needed. In the end, Abberline and the fake psychic Robert James Lees ”“ whose attempt at grandstanding Gull takes on a macabre twist ”“ stand as the only witnesses capable of grasping the full extent of Gull’s mission, the closest thing possible to white knights in this sordid tale.

One of the most startling pecularities of the book is how Moore uses the Whitechapel murders as premonitory something to significant events of the Twentieth Century. From unabashedly referencing famous people and events of the age ”“ Oscar Wilde to Buffalo Bill ”“ to tying in the conception of Adolf Hitler and thus foreshadowing the growth of anti-Semitism and subsequent WWII. The murder of Liz Stride is juxtaposed with a poetry reading taking place at a socialist gathering with the participation of William Morris, a narrative technique used in order to create tension, as well as to contrast sordid reality with lofty idealism. Years later and just before his death, Gull undergoes another transcendental transformation and seems to influence events in the past and future. His apparition travels forward in time inspiring British poet William Blake to paint one of his well-known works, The Ghost of a Flea. He also becomes part of the nightmare that lead Robert Louis Stevenson to write his famous horror novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

It’s apparent that Moore and Campbell come with no preconceived notions, nor are they pandering to the gore-loving, slasher-pulp fan club. Moore’s penchant for mysticism also makes its way into the writing ”“ while the chapters following up the horrid murders seem to serve the sole purpose of strengthening the aura of authenticity, a mysterious metaphysical encounter between Jack and his last victim, Marie Jane Kelly, casts a new shadow of doubt on the occurrences described so far. At this point, almost every reader is obliged to flip back to the pages dedicated to the murder of Marie Kelly, but the truth remains, as expected, uncertain. Moore doesn’t offer any help in this aspect and the reader is left to his own interpretation.

On the downside, in spite of Moore’s obvious intention to provide meaning and depth to the narrative by building a network of interlinked events, some of the occurrences witnessed by the reader disrupt the natural flow of the story and reduce the tension. The episodes depicting events from the childhood and adolescence of William Gull, as well as Abberline’s flashbacks might be important for the justification of their motivations, but there are numerous other situations that serve the same purpose. Take, for example, a chapter devoted to a lengthy ride through London that provides the entire rationale behind Gull’s intentions and self-assigned mission ”“ at one level it’s the writer playing for time, building up tension; from another perspective, it’s a ponderous history of London retold just to impress the reader.

All in all, From Hell is not an easy book to digest and is certainly no bedtime read. Then again, given the number of layers in the book, Moore’s work might please all kinds of readers from the avid devourer of detective stories to the history enthusiast. The wide range of interpretations resulting from the complexity of this book can only be outnumbered by the multitude of identities that created the social construct presently known as Jack the Ripper. From the Nietzschean dichotomy between Apollonian rationality and Dionysian mysticism, to the emerging ideas about time as a spatial dimension, the book offers a multi-layered view on the modern zeitgeist.

ROLLING STONE RECOMMENDS

5 More Underrated Gems from Alan Moore

Superman: For the Man Who Has Everything/Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Artist: Dave Gibbons/Curt Swan
Publisher: DC Comics

The name is a mouthful, but until very recently, these stand-alone stories were the only two Superman tales that you could read without being completely confused or bored to tears. Among the last stories that featured the Man of Steel before his 50-year history was rebooted in 1985, these mind-bending pieces hit every high note that captivated fans all these years, and wrapped up Superman’s life with a flourish (and a knowing wink).

Lost Girls
Artist: Melinda Gebbie
Publisher: Top Shelf

Moore’s love for Victoriana, both real and fictional, is well-known but it takes a great deal of courage to come up with a pornographic version of popular fictional characters (Lewis Carroll’s Alice, Wendy from Peter Pan, and Dorothy from the Oz books. Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s 16-year collaboration disturbs, entices and completely redefines the “graphic” in graphic novels.

Tom Strong
Artist: Chris Sprouse
Publisher: ABC/Wildstorm

A dash of Doc Savage, a taste of Tarzan, a smattering of Superman ”“ Alan Moore’s glorious Tom Strong paid tribute to the golden age of pulp fiction and comics by coming up with inventive twists on the “science hero” archetype. Moore’s 22-chapter streak on his creation spans multiple timelines, dimensions and universes and features characters, ideas and scenarios that run from brilliant to completely deranged.

The Ballad of Halo Jones
Artist: Ian Gibson
Publisher: Fleetway Publications

Strong female heroines outside of the superhero genre have not usually been the forte of comic books and their writers. Halo Jones, who appeared in Britain’s longest-running comic series 2000 AD was a refreshing exception to the norm, as Moore and artist Ian Gibson explored ten years of a woman’s life in a futuristic sci-fi universe. Sadly, complications with rights forced a premature end to the series, but the three volumes of Ballad make for emotionally engrossing examples of feminist space opera.

Top 10/SMAX
Artist: Zander Cannon/Gene Ha
Publisher: ABC/Wildstorm

Top 10 is a police procedural set in a city where every sentient being has superpowers of some sort, while its spinoff series SMAX is a tongue-in-cheek look at fantasy tropes. Moore and collaborators Zander Cannon/Gene Ha take superheroic fantasy to its most ludicrous limits, covering new ground in a genre that critics claimed had been done to death. One look at a panel featuring Galactipuss and the Atom Cats, for example, and you will be hard-pressed to disagree.