My Friend Dahmer: A Graphic Novel

Backderf, D. (2012). My friend Dahmer: A graphic novel. New York: Abrams.

Derf Backderf writes an interesting personal memoir of his recollections and friendship with the notorious serial killer Jeff Dahmer. Through the popular writing style of a graphic novel, he shares his personal account of Dahmer from middle school and high school as one of his classmates. This gives Backderf a unique personal take into Dahmer’s personality and personal struggles. Jeff Dahmer grew up in a small conservative town, but his family lived secluded in the woods set back from the community. He was very quiet with no real friends to speak of. His parents constantly argued and subsequently divorced causing Dahmer to act out in high school. His antics entertained his peers, but people were wary of his strangeness. No one knew his mom was mentally ill, and Dahmer had no adult guidance at home or school. He had an obsessive interest in death and felt strong homosexual urgings with corpses, which he had no idea how to deal with. This led him to heavy drinking and playing the clown at school.  With no true friends, he was an outsider left with only the voices in his head. After high school, Dahmer was completely alone, and his life as a serial killer began. Backderf hadn’t given Dahmer a second thought until 13 years later when he heard about Dahmer’s arrest. The illustrations and dialogue bring life to the recounting of Backderf’s experience. This graphic novel will entice and engage high school readers by showing how history can come alive through nonfiction text.