Young Jeffrey Dahmer [My Friend Dahmer]

John Backderf, writing and drawing under the name Derf, created this starkly personal comic for Derfcity Comics, first published in 2002. Based on his own teenage experiences, the series—which currently consists of a single issue—offers a haunting, non-sensationalized look at the high school years of the notorious serial killer, focusing on the awkward, troubled boy he knew before the crimes. It stands as a powerful, intimate work of graphic memoir and true-crime reportage from a classmate who was there.