"Laws are like cobwebs, for if anything trifling or powerless falls into them, they hold it fast, but if a thing of any size falls into them it breaks the mesh and escapes." -Anacharsis (c. 600 BCE)
Anacharsis, the philosopher, is quoted at the beginning of chapter twelve of Alan Moore's From Hell, the graphic novel nearing six hundred pages chronicling the life and times of the world's most infamous serial killer: Jack The Ripper. The quote is referring to the novel's floundering police characters who can't seem to figure out who is brutally slaughtering women around Victorian London. A crime so large and vicious, it has simply broken free from the webs of law enforcement, spilling out into society where the public can become involved in the investigation. Society hears the news of this mass murderer, and soon enough there are posers, pretending to be the same serial killer. Authors writing into the police pretending to be the killer (it was even in a fake letter that Jack The Ripper got his name). And finally, people insisting that they can help with the investigation.Connections
Once again Alan Moore has proven to us all that the graphic novel/comic book medium can be used as a serious method of storytelling; something that can also be seen in his previous works such as Watchmen. Though in this story, Moore brings another rare aspect to the table: a graphic novel that does not feature a superhero, or a character that strives to bring out the best in society. Though, there is some heroic perspective, seen through the eyes of Detective Abberline, the officer in charge of solving the case, the majority of the novel follows Sir William Gull, also known as Jack The Ripper, a psychotic individual who takes an assignment too far and begins murdering innocent women. This concept was very interesting to me, because I am so used to reading texts in which the protagonist is the good guy.
Nowadays if you were to approach anyone on the street and ask them to name the first serial killer that came to their mind, you might hear answers like Ed Gain, Charles Manson, and perhaps even the Zodiac Killer. But the name that you would likely hear the most is Jack The Ripper. A serial killer most people know for his name, but not always for his actions. Before I read this novel, I couldn't tell you much about Jack The Ripper, besides the fact that he was a serial killer from the eighteen hundreds that murdered prostitutes. And of course now I could tell you much more. I found that learning about Jack The Ripper through the graphic novel medium was vastly different then reading up on him online or through one of the many studies of the anonymous killer. The graphic novel allowed me to connect to characters and gave me a better, more vivid understanding on what were believed to be the hallucinations of Jack The Ripper. At times during the novel I even forgot that what I was reading was suppose to be based on a true story.
This novel clearly portrays the fact that the general public is fascinated by brutal happenings. In chapter six, page eighteen, a scene is depicted where a group of people have gathered around the cleared murder scene to gawk. It seems to me that the human race has always been drawn to public spectacles of violence. In the days before the rise of television, this fascination can be seen on occasions like the one in From Hell, where groups would come to see "live coverage" of murders and the like. Today, it's easily seen in the brutal acts of violence portrayed on every television channel through crime shows and violent movies.
Visual Representation
The drawing to the right is an image taken directly from the pages of From Hell. It depicts Sir William Gull and his coachman Netley pulling up next to a lone woman walking on the street. This ominous picture captures the darkness and evil undertones that run throughout the novel. Alone, it can also sum up the majority of the novel by showing Jack The Ripper and one of his many helpless victims.
Questions
How true is this story? Why is society so obsessed with violence? Do things like this happen in our government often, if ever? How would this play out if it happened today? Would this novel be considered creative non-fiction? How much of the meaning in this novel would change if the pictures were different?
Reflection
I thought that this was a brilliant graphic novel. Its complex plot and dark (and at times hard to understand) drawings easily kept my attention throughout the entire book. The one thing that got rather difficult was keeping the characters straight. The drawings of certain characters were to similar to those of others, and there was way to many names to keep straight.
