10 Terrifying Comics About Real Life Crimes
Obviously you wish Batman were real. But sometimes it's nice to have something actually real!
The comic book industry is, of course, dominated by superheroes. When you ask someone what comics they read, they almost certainly tell you something like Batman, X-Men, Spider-man - and maybe if you're lucky someone like Booster Gold.
But that is a somewhat hurtful stereotype of what is a massive industry. Comic books are just as capable of telling a multitude of stories, just like normal novels and films.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour, for example, doesn't have any heroes fighting huge battles against larger than life villains. It simply tells you the story of two girls who fall in love in France (and it does it very well, just don't read it while on public transport).
Something that has grown in popularity as of late due to countless documentaries being made is True Crime.
This is a topic that comics have been covering for a very long time and often to terrifying effect. Sure, Batman: The Killing Joke is a horrifying and startling look into the psyche of a deranged killer... but what if it turned out the main character was real?
So, here are some premium comic stories you should pick up if you're starving for a true crime fix in comic book form.
10. From Hell By Alan Moore And Eddie Campbell
Anyone with a passing interest in serial killers will know the infamous Jack The Ripper. The man (or ape as some theorists would have you believe) who haunted the streets of East London in the late 19th Century is a fascinating tale of terror.
As you will know, The Whitechapel Murderer was never caught and people to this day are still trying to figure out who he is.
This comic gives Alan Moore's (the writer of such works as Watchmen and V For Vendetta) own interpretation of who he thought may have been the Ripper, based mostly on the book by Stephen McKnight.
Moore points the finger at William Gull, the real Queen Victoria's real physician, who is sent on a hit of four prostitutes who are blackmailing a member of the Royal Family.
Obviously, given the subject matter, most of this story is fiction, however, the back of the collected edition of this story is filled with details listed in the appendix on why Moore decided to write what he did. After seeing the evidence, you may just be convinced of Gull's guilt.