The Killing Joke - Alan Moore & Brian Bolland

Loved it. The Joker's origin story took me by surprise and worked very well as a window into his psyche without making him any less enigmatic or terrifying. Also loved the bit at the end where he acknowledges (in an obscure way) that what he's doing is wrong and for a moment shows regret, and then he makes a joke and Batman laughs at it. For a few panels they are brought together, not reconciled but not in conflict either. It's a gen of a book, short and sharp and confidently crafted.

Voice of the Fire - Alan Moore

SPOILERS AGAIN!

No idea how it took me so long. All wonderful stories, and tantalisingly linked so that I was half disappointed  by the final one being non-fiction as opposed to an apocalyptic drawing-together of everything up to that point (the other half was thrilled at the very idea of the author coming out from behind the curtain and going "here I am!" How many other authors could pull that off?) Could write a whole essay on this book; no room. First story remained my favourite.

From Hell - Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

A deep, dark, winding, labyrinthine work of art. In Moore's words, a whydunnit rather than a whodunnit, so deeply researched that almost everything that happens either did happen or could have. The appendix telling the story of "ripperologists" through the ages is a work of art in its own right. General consensus among Mooreites is that From Hell is his crowning achievement, but I'm not sure it's better than Watchmen... Either way, he's a visionary for our times and should take a place in the same line as Milton and Blake.