My Friend Dahmer

Derf Backderf’s graphic memoir, originally published by Harry N. Abrams, offers a haunting, first-hand account of his high school years alongside the teenage Jeffrey Dahmer. Based on Backderf’s own memories and extensive research, the book humanizes the isolated, awkward outsider before his crimes, without excusing them. A landmark in true-crime comics, it’s a stark, empathetic, and unflinching look at the roots of a monster, drawn from the perspective of someone who was there.