“A well-told, powerful story. Backderf is quite skilled in using comics to tell this tale of a truly weird and sinister 1970s adolescent world.â€? —R. Crumb NATIONAL BESTSELLER Named a BEST OF 2012 by Time, The Village Voice, A.V. Club, comiXology, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, MTV Geek, and more! “ASTOUNDING.â€? —Lev Grossman, Time 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, Dahmer 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 readers will never forget. This new paperback edition will coincide with the release of the movie adaptation of My Friend Dahmer and will include additional bonus content from the author archives.

ダーフ・バックダーフの本作は、殺人鬼ダーマーを「怪物」ではなく「かつての友人」として捉え直した痛烈なドキュメントです。閉塞した日常で誰にも救われず深淵へ堕ちる少年の孤独と、周囲の無関心が招いた悲劇を、執拗な筆致で描きます。本作の本質は、悪の萌芽を傍観した我々自身の加害性を突きつける点にあります。 実写版が放つ生々しい身体性に対し、原作は独自の絵画表現で「記憶の断片」を繋ぎ、映画の行間を埋める圧倒的な内省をもたらします。両メディアを横断することで、一人の少年が崩壊し怪物へ変貌する過程が、より残酷な解像度で浮き彫りになるはずです。