FROM HELL #11

by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

            Unexpectedly, Kitchen Sink Press has released a new volume in the award winning FROM HELL series. In the last volume, the series had ended on a somewhat mystical note with the short epilogue winding up most of the loose ends. Now, this new volume appears as a second epilogue which actually contains four different parts: 1) A 24 page comic strip by Moore & Campbell, “The Dance of the Gull-Catchers”, detailing the history of Ripperology since 1888; 2) A short retrospective by the series artist, Eddie Campbell; 3) A brief article on “Jack in the Penny Press” by George Hagenauer, and 4) a quick photoessay on Whitechapel today by George and Mary Ellen Hagenauer.

            Of these four pieces, “The Dance of the Gull-Catchers” is the most substantial and the star of the book. In 24 pages, Moore and Campbell summarize the history of Ripperology since 1888 and Moore offers a few philosophical thoughts on this strange obsession and where it might go in the future. Moore uses an analogy of a group of people (all men, interestingly enough) chasing after an elusive gull with nets. The symbolism is obvious of course: the catchers are the Ripperologists while the gull is the elusive identity of Jack (it does not stand solely for Sir William Withey Gull). Moore begins the story showing the catchers running around in circles with the following narration:

            “This is harder than it looks.

            “They all take a swing at it.

            “Some even think they’ve bagged it, but the net, upon examination, turns out empty.

            “They all get in each other’s way; sometimes deliberately trip each other up.

            “This sport should be outlawed, like bare-knuckle fighting. People are hurt, reputations damaged.

            “The quarry, meanwhile, is elusive, unidentified and unidentifiable, a suspect archaeopteryx.

            “A fraud.

            “Perhaps there’s no such bird.

            “Its call, the colour of its plumage, these things are unknown. Its tracks are never found.

            “The tracks of its pursuers, to the contrary, are everywhere.

            “In studded football boots the endlessly cross-track and over-print the field of their enquiry. They reduce its turf to mud. Only their choreography remains readable.”

            From here, Moore tracks Ripperology through its ‘beginnings’ with Walter Sickert’s dinner tales of murderous lodgers through all the major theories (pointing out many of their inconsistencies) and ending with a brief rumination on the future of Ripperology. The analogy of “gull-catchers” turns up throughout the segment as more hunters join the chase and still others fall to the wayside. Especially poignant is the brief appearance and swift fall from grace of Stephen Knight. Most of the theories presented are well known to students of the field and Moore handles them well. Campbell utilizes a frequent panel showing each new suspect bursting into Mary Kelly’s room (much to her surprise) to commit the final murder.

            Still, despite all the information contained within, there is a feeling of sadness here as Moore portrays all these men chasing after a goal that can never be truly accomplished (in the final panel, the gull flies away leaving the catchers behind). He shows the field of Ripperology as a once thin ground turned to mud from the constant churning of feet trampling over the same ground again and again. It is that note that Moore returns to at the end of the epilogue as he ponders what will become of Ripperology in the future. In a field so minutely explored, what is left?

            “What have we to look forward to? Abberline’s school nickname, or the make of Mary Kelly’s shoes? Koch’s snowflake: gaze upon it, Ripperologists, and shiver.”

            Moore is referring to the concept of Koch’s snowflake which, briefly, holds that over time the exploration of a certain contained area can become infinite but only within the specified and limited range of the defined area. There is something to be said for this. How often can we, even those of us intensely interested in the subject, read the facts of the case over and over again? What, if anything, can come after Philip Sugden’s comprehensive study, THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF JACK THE RIPPER? Where will the field go in the future? It’s a question that many of us may be wondering. It is ironic that such a question is broached by someone who has also profited from the Ripper mythos and staked out their own patch of mud in that well trod field.

            Still, even at it’s most superficial, the epilogue by Moore and Campbell is an excellent brief primer in Ripperology history. With his usual attention to detail, Moore provides a chronological view of the study of the case and, even if you get nothing else from this, makes it worth reading.

            The other segments do not fare as well but that is primarily because “The Dance of the Gull-Catchers” is so powerful and provocative that it is a hard act to follow. The retrospective by Eddie Campbell (“Odds and Ends”) is interesting but does not hard a great deal to the understanding of the series. It does reprint several of his character sketches which show his attention to detail and talent at capturing the personalities of these unusual characters. If anything, Campbell takes offense at the inclusion of Sir Gull as a suspect and points to Gull’s long and impressive medical career. It seems that Sir Gull was one of the first doctors to recognise the condition of anorexia nervosa and diagnosing it as a mental, not physical, condition. The rest of his segment involves an examination of editorial illustrations from PUNCH which, though interesting, is not particularly noteworthy.

            The article “Jack in the Penny Press--The Graphics that Started it All” by George Hagenauer is unfortunately too short. It brings up some interesting thoughts and touches once again upon the thought that one of the main reasons that Jack is still remembered today is because of the then unusual press attention. More work should be done in this aspect of the case with more articles and illustrations reprinted.

            The final piece, “Hell Today” by George and Mary Ellen Hagenauer is really nothing new to most students of Ripperology and visitors of the CASEBOOK. The photos of Whitechapel today are familiar because we’ve seen most of them in some form before. It’s the weakest part of the book and will probably only appeal to those who are coming to the case new.

            Overall, the latest issue of FROM HELL is a fine addition to the series and manages to entertain as well as provoke thoughts about where Ripperology has been and where it will be going in the coming years. Highly recommended.