10 Greatest Horror Comics You NEED To Read
7. From Hell
From Hell was created by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. The title’s origins come from the first two words of the letter sent to the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, George Lusk, in October of 1888. It was sent with a preserved human kidney. The letter was believed to be sent by the Whitechapel killer, more famously known as Jack the Ripper.
In Moore’s ten-issue series, readers are introduced to Sir William Gull, who is tasked with covering up a royal scandal by Queen Victoria involving the Duke of Clarence and an East End shop girl named Annie who he married and fathered a daughter. Gull damaged Annie’s brain, had her committed, and thought the matter closed, but several prostitute friends of Annie’s knew the truth and tried to blackmail Gull. With the aid of a carriage driver named Netley, Sir William began murdering the women and became increasingly unhinged, seeing visions. Opium-addicted Inspector Fredrick Abberline failed to uncover the true killer behind the murders and quit after discovering a cover-up.
Moore’s From Hell is a fascinating examination of what could have happened in the Whitechapel Murders. It’s practically a crime documentary in book form. It asks the readers to look at what is wrong with the entire society and how that contributed to what happened. It’s an indictment of the Victorian Age.