From Hell

anticipation makes it better.

Like in the like in the Jon Favreau movie Chef.

That's right.

Or the Adam Sandler movie Spanglish.

Also right.

Where both of them take the time to make a fancy sandwich.

Murdering people in the streets at night and taking their pancreases.

No, they started extracting...

Yeah, this is a period of Moore's career where he's really getting into this in-depth research.

And it's something he carries forward into his work in From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

You hear him talk about it in interviews about how the research really becomes this launching pad for new ideas.

And he's able to cram so much information in here.

It's post-Watchmen, he's left DC, and really the majority of mainstream comics behind.

But you look at this and the short he self-published in the ARG anthology, The Mirror of Love, you can really feel he's intentionally wanting to move into a new phase of his work.

And yeah, you look at this from Hell Lost Girls, Big Numbers, It does feel like he's wanting to expand beyond the limitations of most comics and make a concerted effort to push the medium into this more literary realm where you don't need to couch the metaphors and genre.

And you mentioned his work in ARG, very political, you know, that and brought to light.

And this next one we're reading because you suggested it and I haven't read it.

Yeah, so we're reading From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell.

It's a graphic novel that's been out for, I guess, decades now at this point.

If you like Talks More, I think you'll like From Hell too.

If you like weird conspiracy theory kind of things, I think you'll like it.

If you like scratchy black and white illustrations, I think you'll like it.

And

hopefully you will be too.

I'm still writing for the beat and K comics beat.

Um, if you are in the Orlando Maitland area this coming Wednesday, I will be leading a graphic novel club discussion of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's from hell.

I am excited to do that.

Um, yeah, that's about all I've got going for me right now.

I mean, you always got the sense that this was a guy who had read every book in his Northampton library from a young age.

But following this story, you see him throwing himself into research for things like Brought to Light, From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

It's something he's still doing to this day with his long London novels.

And it's important to note that he's not just listing off facts and events.

But I can see how at the time it felt repetitive.

I think Steve Bissett, who started Taboo, really wanted to do something much more cutting edge, something much more focused and literary.

I hate to use the word literary because maybe that's not the right word, but So, you know, of course, Taboo is most well known for having been the first publication from hell when that started.

And Alan was serializing that with Eddie Campbell.

But I think we now go, well, no.

And Eddie Campbell, I'm sure you know Eddie Campbell, the artist on From Hell.

He did some deep dive researching and found out that at the time in the early 20th century, people in the story is set in the Midwest, a localized strip in that sense.

The people from the Midwest were known for taking an awful long time to say goodbye.

Yeah, I got some...

I did not watch From Hell last night, like I said I was going to do.

I ended up watching...

I don't remember.

I was like, ah, I don't feel like going to a Target or something like that.

So I put some of the – some sweet cream creamer in it when I got home.

And I was like, oh, I'm going to watch From Hell.

And I think I just pulled up YouTube.

Yikes.

Immortal Hulk, which is at 28% of the vote; and a tie between Deceased and From Hell-

Whoa

... which are both at 33% of the vote.

Uh, definitely wanna hear from you all about this.

Get your votes in, because we need them in by Tuesday so we know what we're gonna read for the following Tuesday.

Have you guys read From Hell?

No.