Derf Backderf: My friend Dahmer - a graphic novel

Derf Backderf kertoo sarjakuvaromaanissa kiusatusta koulutoveristaan, joka tuli tunnetuksi amerikkalaisena sarjamurhaajana: My friend Dahmer - a graphic novel (Abrams ComicArts, 2012; ISBN 978-1-4197-0216-7).



Romaani ei mässäile sarjamurhaaja-teeman parissa, vaan kertoo Dahmerin elämästä sen mitä ulkopuolinen pystyy siitä sanomaan, paikoitellen hyvinkin läheltä kohdetta tarkastellen ja samalla pohtien sitä, olisivatko asiat voineet tapahtua toisin.

Koulukiusaamisesta teos on melkoinen puheenvuoro, samaten niistä kauheuksista joita ihmiset toisilleen ja erityisesti lapsille aiheuttavat.

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, “Jeff” 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 one readers will never forget.