Greetings, friends!
Last week, I made the decision to use this blog space to review/discuss/otherwise talk about comics that I have read and one of the first books I wanted to write about was KENT STATE: FOUR DEAD IN OHIO by DERF BACKDERF.
Kent State was probably the most anticipated book of 2020 for me. I’ve been a fan of Derf’s work since his first graphic novel, Punk Rock and Trailer Parks, but he’s undoubtedly more widely known for his autobiographical graphic novel, My Friend Dahmer, in which he tells the story of his teenage acquaintanceship with future serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. Following Dahmer, he produced a book called Trashed, which was a fictional story about garbagemen (inspired by his own experiences in the job) that doubled as a history of garbage management
Continuing in the style of a fictionalized narrative mixed with historical biography used for both Dahmer and Trashed, Kent State tells the tragic story of the 1970 Kent State Shootings. Specifically, he depicts the circumstances leading up to the horrific event by following the lives of the 4 students who were tragically killed by National Guard soldiers who had been on campus to quell political protests.
This book is heavy, both literally and figuratively. The story itself spans 251 pages and is followed by an additional 28 pages of acknowledgements and sources. Kent State was clearly meticulously researched in order to give the most detailed account of the event, right down to the routes and pathways the students walked around town to their school campus.
Granted, this may be a personally biased opinion, but I think that graphic novels are uniquely qualified to effectively depict a biographical story like Kent State, more so than prose writing or film. There can be a lot of power in the artistic imagery that helps to center the reader in the event, but without feeling as exploitative or manipulative the way a biopic, or even a documentary, can feel. In many ways, it allows the story to be simultaneously detached and intimate with the reader, a feeling Derf uses to great effect.
Aside from being a detailed chronicle of the historical event, Derf’s Kent State doubles as a poignant look into the personal lives of the 4 students that lost their lives in the shooting. Derf’s narrative rides the line between cold, clinical presentation of historical records and charmingly relatable depiction of the stress of young student life. Everything comes together in a powerfully moving climax in which we see the shooting explained in excruciatingly minute detail.
Derf’s artistic style has matured steadily and subtly with each new book, and Kent State is his best illustrated work yet. Derf’s art is recognizable by it’s use of black ink and stylized caricatures with pronounced cheek bones and exaggerated anatomy. In his older work, I think his figure posing fluctuates between awkwardly stiff or inhumanly fluid, which contributes to a surreal aesthetic that conjures images of Eastern European artwork smuggled out from behind the Iron Curtain back in the 80’s . It is not exactly pretty. Combine all that with heavy shadows and his characters can have a harsh ugliness that spins all the way around to attractive and uniquely striking.
With Kent State, Derf’s figures feel less exaggerated and more naturally grounded in their environment. Additionally, the pages feel fuller than his previous works. The panels are full of detailed backgrounds and there are many pages full of prose describing intimate historical details. Perhaps this was a conscious effort by Derf to do justice to this momentous and historically significant piece of work, or perhaps it’s just the natural evolution of a professional graphic story teller with decades of art under his belt perfecting his craft over time. Either way, Kent State is a visual masterpiece that cannot be experienced in any other artistic medium.
The events of Kent State happened 50 years ago, and there’s a sad irony that it was published in the year 2020, a year in which civil unrest and organized protests have again become the top headline of the day. Without speculating too much, I think the awful events of Kent State have left a deep scar on the American consciousness, the effects of which can been seen playing out in protests today.
If you are a fan of historical nonfiction, I highly recommend Kent State as a complete, detailed, and immersive description of one of the darkest days of American history.
If you are anxious about current events, I think Kent State is a sober reminder that the United States of America has a long, uncomfortable history of civil unrest. Nothing about this story is comforting, but it does help provide a grounded perspective of history, and in doing so, a grounded perspective of current events.
Give it a read.
-Aaron