My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

About the Book

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

You only think you know this story. In 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer — the most notorious serial killer since Jack the Ripper's seared himself into the American consciousness. To the public, Dahmer was a monster who committed unthinkable atrocities. To Derf Backderf, “Jeff” was a much more complex figure: a high school friend with whom he had shared classrooms, hallways, and car rides.

In My Friend Dahmer, a haunting and original graphic novel, writer-artist Backderf creates a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a disturbed young man struggling against the morbid urges emanating from the deep recesses of his psyche — a shy kid, a teenage alcoholic, and a goofball who never quite fit in with his classmates. With profound insight, what emerges is a Jeffrey Dahmer that few ever really knew, and one readers will never forget.

Some Reviews

My Friend Dahmer is a vivid 1970s period piece, reeking of Mad magazine and acid rock, and with his trippy, expressive black-and-white drawings, Backderf shows how the sickness of that self-obsessed decade is somehow inseparable from the disease that drove Dahmer. --Time Entertainment online

About the Author

Derf Backderf

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