My Friend Dahmer: A Graphic Novel

Backderf, D. (2012). My friend Dahmer: A graphic novel. New York: Abrams ComicArts. This book is told by Derf Backderf in the form of a graphic novel, featuring his recollections of his friend Jeffery Dahmer before he became a serial killer. Dahmer was never popular; he was shy, and an outcast. Growing up Dahmer’s parents fought all the time and never paid attention to him. His father was a chemist and his mother was a housewife hooked on depression medication and often had episodes due to all the medication she took. As a young boy Dahmer was obsessed with picking up road kill and trying to dissolve his finds in acid. He later progressed to killing animals and dismembering their bodies. At the age of 15, Dahmer realized that he was gay and fantasized about dead men’s corpses. In order to suppress his feelings he became an alcoholic. He continued going to school to get away from his home life. After graduation, his parents got a divorce and his mother left with his younger brother. Dahmer was left alone in his childhood home and succumbed to his dark desires and became a killer. This graphic novel is an easy read and very easy to follow. The novel’s strengths are the detailed illustrations and the detailed accounts of Dahmer’s journey to becoming a cold blooded killer.