Jack the Ripper is history’s greatest serial killer and his murders remain unsolved to this day. As with many historical events, there have been plenty of adaptations of the movies from movies, comics and even video games. One of the more recent ones is a comic simply titled “Jack the Ripper†written by Francois Debois with art by Jean-Charles Poupard.
In 1888, London, the Jack the Ripper murders are well on their way. Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Abberline is investigating these for both professional and personal reasons. This case will take him from London’s East End to France in order to find out who Jack the Ripper is.
It’s hard to write a narrative about Jack the Ripper and make it interesting while keeping true to real-life events. Debois does manage the historical part, but the interesting storytelling is a different story. The comic starts off interesting enough, a cop who wants to Find Jack the Ripper because of personal reasons. The problem is trying to keep the story interesting throughout. By the midway point, the story starts to drag on and loses steam fast. The comic becomes more about Abberline’s personal life, which should be interesting, but it only makes you want to see more of the murders than him. Even the ending, which the beginning spoils, isn’t all that interesting.
Poupard’s art isn’t anything spectacular either. Mind, there are some nice touches here and there, such as how he draws locations, especially London’s East End. The art goes into bland territory when it comes to everything else. The character designs are basic, some of the action portions don’t give a sense of excitement and parts that are supposed to be dark due to a murder happening are yawn inducing rather than awe-inspiring.
“Jack the Ripper†has the perfect plot and setting to work with, but the execution missed the mark. It drags as it goes along, boring, generic and the art doesn’t help things by people just and generic as the story. It’s a squandered opportunity to add to the Jack the Ripper mythos.
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