My Friend Dahmer: Derf Backderf (Graphic Biographies)

Product Information

Moral Event Horizon: In-Universe. While initially viewing him as something of an endearing weirdo, Derf makes it clear that he loses all sympathy for Dahmer as soon as he actually commits murder.

Derf couldn't remember what the walls, carpets, and furnishings in the Dahmer house looked like, so everything inside is based on the general fashions of the time period. As with other serial killers, Dahmer's childhood was plagued by injury and misery. As well as the hernia injury depicted in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Dahmer's legs were in casts for the first four months of his life, and he wore lifts in his shoes until he was six. On top of his mother's mental illness, the family moved around a lot. In the Monster true story, when he was eight years old, the Dahmer family moved into the home depicted in the series. This was their third home in two years, the parent's sixth since their marriage. In spite of the turbulence, the Dahmers had another child, and Jeffrey was allowed to name his new brother David Dahmer. Fisher was a co-editor of Glenn Danzig's independent comic publisher Verotik from 1994 to 1995. [11] In 1995, he and Christian Moore co-authored the comic A Taste of Cherry with which was released by Verotik. [12] Irony: A lesson of sorts in not judging books by their covers; Lloyd Figg makes a big show of being a huge psycho edgelord while Jeff looks relatively normal and well-behaved (even Derf in the lunchroom lampshades ◊ this when Figg's having a meltdown) in comparison... but it is the latter who becomes a genuine Serial Killer. And Dahmer's parents? They were basically indifferent, caught up in their own brand of marital warfare. His mother may have suffered from some mental problems.

Comics

Class Clown: Jeff gets a following by pranking students and teachers with fake cerebral palsy behavior. The book covers Dahmer and Derf’s last years of high school in bucolic Bath, Ohio, one of the safest neighborhoods in the state. And by the end of the summer following their senior year, both have discovered their passion — Derf has become a fledgling artist, Dahmer a practicing psychopath and murderer. Drawn in high-def contrast, with his slightly-grotesque portrayal of the human form, this book serves as the universal countering force of Dahmer’s own dark obsession. The art’s creation only made possible as a result of the acts it chronicles and the effect it had on the artist. JFINNEKE (2014-01-29). "Alex Awards 2013". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) . Retrieved 2022-08-05. Sometimes when reading non-fiction it feels like it is just an extended research paper. But, when the author was actually involved in the events, it gains a bit more of a personal investment. My Friend Dahmer is definitely the most intense first-hand non-fiction I have ever read. It's not just another exposé on a horrifying story, it is well fleshed out, truthful retelling of previously little known events from before the nightmare began. But now comes this peculiar addition, a graphic novel about the author’s friendship (kind of) with JD during his high school years at Eastview Junior High School in Bath, Ohio. This was the kind of friendship where a group of guys fairly low down in the social hierarchy adopt a mascot even lower down and more despised than they are. Jeffrey was the freak they adopted. What made him a freak at the age of 15 and 16?

Subverted in regards to Lloyd Figg, whom Jeff is compared to. Lloyd appears blatantly Ax-Crazy next to the more quiet and awkward Jeff... but Jeff is the one that became a Serial Killer. My Friend Dahmer is a nonfiction graphic novel about the author's time growing up as a junior high/high school classmate of the infamous serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. He explains how pitiable of a teen Dahmer was, and the home life that plagued him, as well as going into some of the mental health struggles the killer faced from a young age, such as his obsession with corpses and their insides, or his desperate fantasies of having relations with them. Also invoked later when, during a field trip with classmates to Washington DC, Jeff uses a payphone and talks an aide into letting him and Neil visit the Vice President of the United States.Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Double-Subversion in Jeff. On one hand, he does become one of the grisliest serial killers in modern history. However, he's presented somewhat semi-sympathetically (at first) in the comic and comes off more as a Reluctant Psycho than a gleeful sadist. Senior year, they all stopped hanging out with him. So now I'm supposed to believe that the author was his friend, knew Dahmer's inner demons, and there are even at times when he wonders if their bunch could have prevented Dahmer from committing his atrocious crimes? The author never even sees Dahmer anytime after graduation. Yet the book is titled My Friend Dahmer.

Problem is, I'm more sympathetic to Dahmer than Derf! That's crazy! I mean, it's Dahmer and Derf is just like... a douche. But even then the douchiest douche can't possibly inspire more negative feelings than a goddamn serial killer! I mean... can it? In 1995, Boneyard in turn was sued by the sportsman and felon O. J. Simpson for the unauthorized biographical comics, Doin' Time with O.J. and O.J.'s Big Bust-Out. [25]In 2003–2004, Fisher worked with a fellow horror writer/publisher, Joseph M. Monks, on a number of projects, including the books Road Kills ( Chanting Monks Press, 2003) and Sex Crimes (co-published by Boneyard Press & Chanting Monks, 2003). Fisher directed the straight-to-video horror film, Flowers on the Razorwire: Chance Meeting (Crime Pays, 2004), [13] which was written by Monks. There Are No Therapists: There certainly wasn't any kind of professional attention towards Jeff, as Derf repeatedly points out. Derf speculates that the Dahmer family didn't consider getting Jeff help, since his mother had previously sought mental care herself with little results. Victims' Relative Lose Suit Against Dahmer Comics". Orlando Sentinel. August 21, 1994 . Retrieved January 29, 2013. Chekhov's Gun: Jeff's dumbbells. They never play a part in the actual story itself, but Derf mentions that they were used to kill his first victim in the afterword. Barnette, Mark (November 1994). "Comics Library: The New Icon: Boneyard Press". The Comics Journal. No.172. p.9-50.

The Collector of the Strange: First roadkill, then skulls belonging to live animals he has killed. It's a Foregone Conclusion what Jeff will move on to next... But what would have changed the way things turned out for Jeffery Dahmer and his 17 victims? We'll never know. I can't help thinking Caroline Picard (February 23, 2014). "Two Separate Conversations: An Interview with Dave Daley and Stephan Elliott". Make . Retrieved October 18, 2022. Cashing in on his notoriety, Fisher published additional Dahmer-themed comics shortly thereafter, including Jeffrey Dahmer vs. Jesus Christ #1 (February 1993) [6] and Dahmer's Zombie Squad (1993). [7] Fisher appeared on a 1993 episode of the Sally Jessy Raphael show and on a CNN show in 1994 [8] to discuss criticism of the creation of the Dahmer comics.

Loners Are Freaks: Freaks of the " awkward, bespectacled, roadkill collecting/dissecting, alcoholic, Class Clown, closeted-homosexual, future Serial Killer" variety. Aside from missing this opportunity in his book, it is a fascinating and sad story. It certainly made me think about my own cruelties to others, while reminding the reader you never ever know how much small kindnesses may mean to another person. It also touches on the nature/nurture question, as Dahmer's mother had problems during her pregnancy with him, and the household, while forlorn, was certainly something many many other kids have weathered better than Dahmer did. Communications and Marketing Office (2013-01-28). "YALSA announces 2013 Alex Awards". News and Press Center . Retrieved 2022-08-05. Jason Thibault (June 1, 2009). "Hart Fisher on Comics Journalism, Frank Miller, Running Danzig's Verotik and Life in Los Angeles". Optimum Wound . Retrieved February 6, 2013.