Review - My Friend Dahmer

My Friend Dahmer
by Derf Backderf
Date: 2012
Publisher: Abrams ComicArts
Reading level: A
Book type: graphic novel memoir
Pages: 224
Format: e-book
Source: library

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.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I'm not quite sure how to review this one. As a graphic novel, it did what it set out to do: tell the story of some of Jeffrey Dahmer's formative years, exploring how he might have come to be a serial killer. In that respect, it succeeded. In fact, despite knowing on a visceral level how very wrong Dahmer's crimes were, this book makes you feel somewhat sympathetic toward a young kid who was pretty much screwed from the beginning. The people who could've changed the course of his life did nothing. The people who were supposed to be there for him weren't. As the author says, it's a tragic story.

My problems with this book are mainly technical ones. The artwork is visually arresting, but not really to my taste (although other readers might love the style). I'm also not a fan of all the extra crap shoved into the back of the book, which accounted for 1/4 of the page count (in very small print). Just when I thought I'd gotten to the end, I was faced with pages and pages of endnotes and deleted scenes. Some of the endnotes were interesting, but much of that information could've been gleaned from other sources.

There's also a rather large generational divide that some readers might be uncomfortable with, as evidenced by the casual ableism shown throughout the book. I'm not even entirely sure the author is aware that times have changed, because he referred to "spazzes" outside the context of actual dialogue from the time period. Younger readers might find these 1970s attitudes to be eye-opening and distasteful.

This is a decent graphic novel memoir about a fascinating subject, but it's not quite strong enough for me to really like it. Readers who enjoy true-life crime stories will probably have a more favourable opinion on this one than I did (especially if reading lots of fact-laden endnotes is your cup of tea).

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: 2/5
Illustration: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall Rating: 2.63 out of 5 ladybugs