from hell

Born today in 1953 in Northampton, England, Alan Moore grew up to be a giant. His impact on comics is so vital and apparent that even reporting on his accomplishments feels both daunting and profoundly unnecessary. Widely regarded as the best comics writer of all time, Moore's influence is without question; his presence an articulate line of demarcation carving up the medium into two decidedly different eras. Moore is a juggernaut, monolithic in both influence and intractability, with a true legacy even greater than his supposed one.

Eddie Campbell was born on this day in 1955. Comics' greatest raconteur, Campbell has been chronicling memories, spinning yarns, and chasing trains of thought since the early 80s, influencing entire generations of creators along the way.

Image Comics' Humble Bundle offer, which ended about two weeks ago, was a notable success with tens of thousands of readers naming their price for contemporary comics. Top Shelf Productions is part of the site's newest book offer, which will benefit Doctors Without Borders and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Buyers can snag three Top Shelf books through the site: March Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell; From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell and Ed Piskor's Wizzywig.

True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto has claimed that Alan Moore Moore and Grant Morrison were the first writers to excite him about the possibilities of storytelling. With everyone looking to solve the many remaining mysteries of True Detective, it’s tempting to ask: are comic books the key? Pizzolatto’s spectacular Moore crib aside, I’d go with with a big no. Ain’t nothing going to settle the debate around Carcosa let alone Marty Hart’s hot dating skills, but comics do represent a largely unexplored and appropriately strange route into the show. So without further ado here’s our by no means exhaustive guide to True Detective and weird comic books. SPOILER WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for True Detective, Top 10, From Hell and some of The Invisibles.

While it may not have ever reached the same level of recognition as Watchmen or V for Vendetta, Alan Moore's From Hell -- his collaboration with artist Eddie Campbell, which speculated on the possible identity and motivations of infamous 19th century serial killer Jack the Ripper -- is considered by some to be the writer's greatest work...

As Eddie Campbell collaborated with Alan Moore on the spectacular From Hell, his daughter Hayley - then just 7 years old - took inspiration from his work and created her own Jack the Ripper book called The Ripper File. With sections called things like "Being Basht to Death" and "Being bitten on the neck by a vampire," it's is every single bit as awesome as you'd expect it to be