From hell

“Truth is, this has never been about the murders, not the killer nor his victims. It's about us. About our minds and how they dance.”

I've always been fascinated by Jack the Ripper and all the mystery surrounding him and what happened. Who was he really? We'll never know. But it's always fascinating to see the many ways in which people try to explain this story. This graphic novel tells one of those potential stories, in thorough and compelling detail. I loved Alan Moore's take on Jack the Ripper and Eddie Campbell's art could not have been more perfect for the story. It was very dark and very gory and very much what one would expect to see in a close-up look at London in 1888 at the height of these murders. It is so interesting to me how much these murders have significantly impacted our culture since then and how far we've twisted these events to make them into so much more. Moore was right, it's nor about the murders, killer, or his victims. It's about how we see them and consume them and turn them into endless hysteria and obsession with events that happened over 100 years ago. As crazy as some of this book was; despite the entire chapter devoted to depicting the murder of Marie Kelly, I found it compelling and a fascinating look at how many different ways there are to tell this story that has become an integral part of our culture.