Published in 2008 by Slave Labor Graphics, this is a fictional tale of misspent youth, small rural Ohio towns, and…well, punk rock and trailer parks. Equal parts humorous, poignant, and biting, you can tell that Derf drew a lot from his own experiences growing up on the outskirts of Akron, Ohio.

You can read a preview of the book here.

Behold Comic Strip Tees.

Some of the bigger-name featured artists so far have included Roger Langridge, Mike Allred, and Evan Dorkin, who contributed this funny piece:

I also dig this weird illustration by Farley Katz:

This one-shot/graphic novel was written and illustrated by Derf, and published by Slave Labor Graphics in 2002. It’s a funny, poignnt autobiography, recounting Derf’s time spent as a garbage man in his rural Ohio small town. I highly recommend this title.

You can read several chapters for free on his website here.

“It kind of goes in cycles. To that end, I only get paid a couple of times a year, and some years I make a decent amount and others I make almost nothing. Being a full-time graphic novelist means being extremely conscious and disciplined in your spending habits!”

Cartoonist Raina Telgemeier, from her interview over at Tor.com

“Ohio State grad and Cleveland-based cartoonist Derf Backderf visits to discuss his new graphic novel, My Friend Dahmer, an account of growing up in the same small Ohio town as notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

Best known for his strip The City, Derf is a two-time Eisner Award nominee and received a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism award in 2006. Join us following the event for a book signing in the Wexner Center Store.”

The talk is free and open to the public, so if you have the time, I highly recommend it. I interviewed Derf for the OSU Alumni Magazine several years ago, and he’s a very interesting artist. Cynical, but socially conscious, his work touches upon politics, religion, and the human condition as a whole. I’ve read the original, single-issue comic book version of My Friend Dahmer, but not the expanded graphic novel (yet). Looking forward to hearing him speak.

Published in 2002, this comic is a memoir of Derf’s high school years, where he was classmates and friends with Jeffrey Dahmer, who grew up to become one of America’s most infamous serial killers. Far from being a sensationalist piece of storytelling, the book is actually a very honest look at a troubled kid, and even explores Derf’s feelings of guilt many years later for not recognizing the warning signs or doing more to help out his classmate.

Just this month, Derf came out with a graphic novel of the same name, published by Abrams ComicArts, which is a much more detailed and comprehensive look at the material originally found in his one-shot. Here’s the cover to the GN:

I’m not a fan of organized religion, and by extension, works of fiction with religion as a central topic. So despite the accolades this graphic novel had received, I wasn’t exactly rushing to the bookstore to grab a copy. But I’m glad I did, because it really delivers on all levels.

Joann Sfar’s art took a while for me to warm up to, but on every page there’s something new – a detail, a sight gag, a different technique – that proves he’s an illustrator at the top of his game. And the story…wow. It’s poignant, charming, funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and meaningful. Sfar uses the characters of an old Rabbi in Algeria, his daughter, and his cat (who gains the gift of speech after eating the Rabbi’s parrot) to masterfully ruminate on the nature of religion and Judaism, human nature, philosophy, and relationships. And just when you think that the subject may be getting a bit too deep or heady, he very naturally and organically interjects subtle humor into the narrative.

Through the pages of this book, I traveled to Algeria and Paris in the 1930s, saw human foibles through the eyes of a smart-ass cat, and fell in love with the central characters. A truly fantastic work of sequential art and storytelling. Sfar has a sequel to this book, and I’m looking forward to reading it as well.

Cover painting by Iain McCaig.

Published in August, 1988, this was the only issue of the series published, and one of the last books from Adventure Publications. Well, that is before they were “acquired” by Malibu comics, and made into an imprint for crappy licensed books like Planet of the Apes and Alien Nation.

I don’t remember much it, other than it was set in the modern world, and followed a supernatural theme. The interior art by Gabriel Morrissette was quite pleasing, though. It was written by Adventure mainstay (for the time, at least), Mark Ellis.

“The harsh ruling handed down to Shokraiyeh is not an isolated case in Iran. In the past, other cartoonists such as Mana Neyestani have also been imprisoned for their work.”

Yeah, a caricature is going to lead to him getting whipped.

No, you’re not mistaken. It is the 21st century.

This is what happens when you have an oppressive theocracy.

Star Rangers #3, cover by Dave Dorman, published in 1987. Story by Mark Ellis, art by Marvel veteran Jim Mooney. Synopsis from Wikipedia:

“Set in the 25th century, the series revolved around the crew of the Sabre, the last ship in the Frontier Battalion of the once-fearsome Star Rangers Corps. In both Star Rangers and its companion series Death Hawk, the era is a dystopia of solar system-spanning corporations that held the true power behind the centralized government of the Sol 9 Commonwealth. By the time of the series, the Star Rangers Corps has been reorganized into a token peacekeeping force while the corporations maintain their own security divisions, such as the Sol 9 Shogunate’s Tigers of Heaven. As such, all Star Rangers ships and weaponry are outdated, making it difficult for Sabre crew to perform its duties.”