My second read through this nonfiction comic, it was just as gripping as the first time I read it. But as several other people have noted, in a very normal way - almost boring.

My Friend Dahmer is not about the extraordinary or grotesque aspects of Dahmer's life. It's about the ways in which normal life in the 70's molded Dahmer into the person he became. It wasn't anything extraordinary that made him wake up one day and go out and kill a young hitchhiker. It was the ignorance and disconnect of those around him, and thoughts he really couldn't deal with on his own.

The art style really reflects this as well. Backderf has a very distinct style that goes a long way into channeling the ugliness of Dahmer's reality. The ways in which the world twisted around him. Backderf knows he is walking a very thin line, talking about how sorry he feels for the kid who came before, but has no empathy for the killer who comes later.

A really great book for those among us who aren't really into serial killers. Backderf has purposely tried to avoid depicting any of those parts of Dahmer's life directly. Although there are some scenes with Dahmer experimenting on road kill. The dark and grotesque feeling that pervades the book is predominantly stylistic - the ominous feeling that comes before the storm.