There are lots to love about Moore and Campbell's comic book novel FROM HELL, but what sticks out when all is said and done is the sheer amount of research Moore and Campbell had done at the onset of the project and as it was happening. Moore's half of the research is given spotlight in the appendices of the FROM HELL proper as annotations for the book, and Moore's display of the thought and talent he applied in the writing of the book is as astounding and awesome as it is charming. THE FROM HELL COMPANION chronicles Campbell's half of the research and actual work done for the book: how he processed Moore's scripts, how he worked out the pages in thumbnails, how he developed the art style he eventually settled on, how his family life developed their routine around the daily production the book demanded, all the books he read not only to be on the same page as Moore was but also as research for all the crime scene reenactments, all the renditions of the people involved, all the room interiors and street exteriors of late Victorian London, and the negotiations and compromises that need to happen to make collaborations work. In short, THE FROM HELL COMPANION threshes out all the problem solving that needs to be done to make what is probably one of the best comic books so far in the history of the form.
