My Friend Dahmer (6 points)

 For this week I also chose to read My Friend Dahmer by Derk Backferf. Whether it be because I had already known a little bit about this subject matter beforehand or simply because my morbid curiosity demanded it, I went into this novel expecting nothing less than a creepy story. Overall, it was a completely different tone shift after just reading March, but nonetheless, it did provide some interesting entertainment. I wasn’t too fond of the art style from the get-go, but it was a new take on the Dahmer image and probably was less unsettling than watching a real-world documentary. The blocky yet very stoic depiction of everyone’s limbs left actions feeling a bit wonky, giving me more inclination to focus on the expressions that were drawn out very much like an exaggerated caricature.  This story was a bit different from some of the other Dahmer media material I’ve seen thus far as it was written and drawn out as a personal memoir. Perhaps that could make it more accurate to the events that transpired but to me, it also felt a lot more creepy and personal. To be a person who knew Dahmer personally enough to be able to recall events before his downfall must be shocking and guilty to look back on, but I do think the artist tried his best to capture Dahmer and his own faults in a very neutral light. By not focusing so heavily on the horrific actions of Dahmer and rather all the factors that led up to it, it does give readers a newer feeling of sympathy for Dahmer, at least for a while. I’m also kind of glad the artist didn’t go too far in depicting the violence, with only a few exceptions being animals. The rest was implied, and I think that’s all that’s really needed in that situation.