My experience with Ripper comics is limited.  I’ve read Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola’s Gotham by Gaslight, a Batman tale set in 1889 where the Ripper has moved from London to Gotham City, continuing his grisly work.  The police arrest Bruce Wayne himself, and he’s sentenced to hang, but the truth is not only terrifying but heartbreaking as well.  This is Elseworlds at its best, and thanks to the recent animated adaptation anyone easily can obtain a reprint edition.

Then we have Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell, and who but Moore could have so much twisted fun adapting a popular but improbable theory about Jack’s identity while exploiting Masonic elements and absolutely chilling his audience’s blood?  Did I mention blood?  Unsurprisingly, there’s much of that here.  Watch the film if you want but read the graphic novel if you haven’t – now.

Two other Ripper comics merit attention, one published during the mid-1980s, and another a recent webcomic now available in trade paperback.  Which Ripper comics have I missed?   Not these two, and you shouldn’t miss them either.

Blood of the Innocent

Written by Rickey Shanklin and Mark Wheatley, with art by Marc Hempel, Blood of the Innocent (1986), a four-issue miniseries, was the first comic to appear weekly over a single month.  Publisher WaRP Graphics, famous for Elfquest and MythAdventures, was branching out entirely into new territory with this prequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  The Count travels to London, particularly Whitechapel, seeking any who might emigrate to his homeland.  He encounters Jack the Ripper, of course, and even falls in love with a local woman.  Even casual Ripperologists will see where the plot is going, but they’ll enjoy the ride, nonetheless.

Two theories surrounding Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, and Queen Victoria’s grandson, have been wildly popular among those speculating about Jack’s identity.  Indeed, they believe Albert Victor, or “Eddy” to family and close friends, either was Jack the Ripper or was responsible for others creating Jack on his behalf.  One theory depicts Eddy slipping into syphilitic madness, targeting sex workers whom he blames for his condition.

The second theory becomes more convoluted, a cover-up with Sir William Gull, an eminent physician and high-ranking Mason, and other agents committing the murders to hide that Eddy had married a Catholic woman with whom he had a child.  Stephen Wright proposed this scenario which he details in Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1976).  He bases his hypothesis on information from Joseph Gorman-Sickert, who apparently got the story from his father, Walter Sickert, a Ripper suspect himself. I might wonder how supposition grows into a wildly popular theory, but there were the 1970s and 1980s paranoia that birthed the Satanic Panic. Then I recall QAnon and Pizzagate, and people’s willingness to believe diabolical cabals were meeting in the basement of a pizza restaurant that doesn’t even have a basement.  I’m not only reminded how human minds often wander down strange paths but also that at least Wright’s complicated musings didn’t foment an attempted insurrection.

Shanklin and Wheatley combine the two Eddy theories deftly, giving a story that while not equaling Alan Moore’s From Hell engaged me well.  Are these authors adherents to any version of the Eddy theories?  I can’t say, but I know all three recognize good story fodder when they see it, and readers will feel thankful.  Royal scandal, upper-crust scheming (albeit not Masonic here – seek out From Hell for that instead), and a vampire in love.  Who could resist?  I wish a collected Blood of the Innocent would appear. Interested parties can seek out affordable copies online.  I found mine for around $20.00 altogether.  In 2011, Dave McNary of Variety reported that Inferno Entertainment had optioned film rights for Blood of the Innocent, but we know how such deals often don’t go.

Zatanna & the Ripper

In August 2021, Webtoon, a South Korean webcomic enterprise, partnered with DC to adapt that company’s characters to original stories on its platform.  The first two released were Batman: Wayne Family Adventures and Vixen: NYC.  Webtoon grabbed my attention, however, with the third offering, Zatanna & the Ripper, a 51-chapter webcomic now published in trade paperback format.  The first volume has been set loose, the second is due out in early December 2023, the third drops in May 2024, and there’ll be at least one more volume after that.

Zatanna Zatara, the brainchild of Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, first appeared in Hawkman #4 (1964) and over time has garnered much popularity among fans.  She’s served with versions of the Justice League, including Justice League Dark, and recently she’s had relations with John Constantine, the nature of which varies from writer to writer.  Despite this relationship, and that she inherited her magical abilities from her father, Giovanni Zatara (first appearance: Action Comics #1 along with some dude called Superman), Zatanna always stands strong and independent.  How could one ever trifle with someone who can make anything happen by stating her wishes backward?

Upon hearing about this effort written by Sarah Dealey with art by Syro, I wondered how long these creators might sustain the storyline.  Obviously, time travel would be involved somehow, but no matter the setting or era Zatanna could zap Jack’s misogynistic ass decisively.  Dealey solves that issue by crafting a young and inexperienced Zatanna still trying to grasp her unpredictable powers, and so her wobbly magic transports her to 1888 London where – voila! – she encounters Jack the Ripper who maybe has magical backing of his own.

Zatanna struggles with her budding powers, how she doesn’t feel worthy of the independence toward which her father has been encouraging her, and how she fails to save him when the story’s main antagonist attacks him.  Indeed, the depression from all this is what caused her abilities to go awry.   That the narrative begins on Zatanna’s 21^st birthday quite clearly signals that this is a coming-of-age adventure.

Each time Zatanna attempts to return home, objects from now manifest instead, including John Constantine.  Constantine recognizes the situation almost immediately, being knowledgeable about Ripper lore.  Of course, the two will pair up to solve the predicament.  Since I’ve only read the first volume and haven’t peeked ahead into the already completed webcomic, I’m not sure how Dealey handles Constantine’s powers yet, since in his most recent incarnations he displays great sorcerous skill.  I’ll know once the second volume drops.

The pacing is slow, but this allows time for readers to appreciate the characters’ complexities and for the action to slowly swell rather than explode too rapidly.  Dealey’s meticulous with psychological angles, too.  I’m still not sure how what happened between Zatanna’s father and the main antagonist will play out, and so far, Jack’s nature doesn’t seem to follow any known theory about who or why he is.  Again, I’m waiting for future volumes.  If you jump ahead by engaging the webcomic, and you should if that format appeals to you, please – no spoilers.  I’m eagerly awaiting the denouement.