My Friend Dahmer
Backderf, D.
(2012). My friend Dahmer: a graphic novel.
New York: Abrams.
My Friend Dahmer is a biography that tells the story of
the Jr. High and High School years of notorious serial killer Jeffery Dahmer in
graphic novel format. Derf Backderf was a classmate of Dahmer’s and it is his
recollections and research that tell this story. Dahmer’s story is told not to
create sympathy, but understanding of what went wrong in Dahmer’s life. Dahmer
spent most of his teen years either being bullied or ignored. Dahmer spent many
hours alone in the woods “experimenting” with dead animals. He spent a
significant part of his later school years drunk (at school!) and stoned. Dahmer
dealt with his parents fighting and subsequent divorce his Senior year. In high
school Dahmer also realized that he was gay, which was not very acceptable in
the 1970’s. Throughout his high school years, no intervention ever happened for
Dahmer and teachers repeatedly said that they never noticed anything wrong.
This biography in
graphic novel form would definitely interest reluctant readers. This difficult topic
is handled well and discusses only one of Dahmer’s murders. Backderf meticulously
researched this story and includes detailed notes on each story, why it was included
and his source. The biography being a graphic novel also adds a strong
visual element to the story, especially since it utilizes muted colors setting
the serious tone of the narrative. The pictures convey the desperation of
Dahmer and his inner struggle with his demons. Dahmer is always drawn with the same haircut
and glasses, making him easy to spot in the panels. This biography could be
used to look at people with understanding (not approving of the behavior) but a
look at what events could have played a part of Dahmer’s mental break and maybe
what could have been done to change his path of destruction.
Awards:
Alex Award (2013)
Book Trailers:
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