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My Friend Dahmer
240 pages
A chilling, retrospective look at the mundane high school days of a future monster, steeped in creeping dread and the tragic failure of the adults who looked the other way.
What it feels like
Reading this graphic novel feels like watching a slow-motion car crash through the lens of a faded 1970s yearbook. The pace is steady and deliberate, anchoring you in the suffocating, mundane reality of suburban adolescence while a profound sense of dread bleeds into the margins of every page. Backderf's stark, heavily inked art style perfectly complements his candid, journalistic narration, capturing the grotesque awkwardness of teenage life alongside the chilling isolation of a disturbed mind. The mood is deeply unsettling, balancing empathetic observation with the horrifying knowledge of what is to come. It is a haunting, melancholic experience that will captivate true crime readers and fans of psychological character studies, leaving them grappling with the tragic, terrifying banality of a monster in the making.
- Mood
- dread-soaked
- unsettling
- melancholic
- mundane-yet-sinister
- Tone
- observational
- candid
- retrospective
- chilling
- empathetic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- adolescent alienation · the failure of adult intervention · the banality of evil · retrospective guilt · the making of a monster
- The writing
- Stark, heavily inked, grotesque yet expressive illustrations paired with blunt, journalistic narration.
- The arc
- Begins with awkward, darkly comedic teenage nostalgia and descends into suffocating, inevitable tragedy and horror.
- Who it's for
- True crime aficionados and graphic novel readers who appreciate psychological deep dives and the dark, messy realities of adolescence.
Content notes
- animal cruelty
- alcoholism
- bullying
- homophobia
- discussions of serial murder
- disturbing imagery
About the book
You only think you know this story. In 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer—the most notorious serial killer since Jack the Ripper—seared himself into the American consciousness. To the public, Dahmer was a monster who committed unthinkable atrocities. To Derf Backderf, Dahmer 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 readers will never forget.
This new paperback edition will coincide with the release of the movie adaptation of My Friend Dahmer and will include additional bonus content from the author archives. Source: Publisher
Description from Open Library.
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