Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Eddie Campbell, From Hell initially seems to be about Jack the Ripper. Moore started the project in 1988, around the centennial of the murders, deciding to explore Stephen Knight's theory about the killings covering-up a royal bastard child. Admittedly taking this theory to probably be a hoax, Moore uses it as a launching-point to explore wider Victorian society and—eventually—making a statement about the ways violence can resound throughout history. Called into action by Queen Victoria, Royal Surgeon William Gull turns the cover-up into an elaborate masonic ritual designed to ensure the continued power of men over women. This sounds crazy (and it is), but Moore uses the mysticism as a structural and storytelling element to understand how the values and mores of the nineteenth century led to the twentieth.

The movie adaptation turned the plot into a whodunit, but Moore's ambition lays closer to The Wire. I'm giving it four stars, but only because its ambition exceeds its grasp and demands further exploration of the issues, an exploration that Moore's fictive conduit is sadly unable to provide. But it's still a damn fine work of literature that you should read, especially if you're only familiar with Moore's superhero-centric efforts.

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Years later: Lol never mind I'm giving it five because this book owns