#old derf

[thevegetablewhichnoonedaresname]

cannot express how much I love an unkillable guy. not in a cool way, but in a cockroach way, like by all rights we have physically seen him die onscreen multiple times but against everyone's wishes he just keeps coming back. the first time he comes back it's a plot twist. the second time he dies you start to see where it's going. it only gets exponentially funnier after that

[shannanigan-art]

✨Zyxx Vinyl Stickers!!✨

Now that the sticker sheet has officially been previewed for the Mission to Zyxx Vinyl, I’m elated to share the ones I was commissioned to make! The Zyxx cast and crew have been so wonderful, and designing these for them was an absolute joy. First official merch design, and I owe it to one of my favorite podcasts of all time!!!

Commission info || YCH commissions || Ko-fi

[powerlineangel]

Also heres derf with his (pickle coined) derfhawk

[paper-star-ships]

NEW ZYXX PROJECT NEW PROJECT IN THE ZYXXVERSE I'M BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS I'M BARKING I'M GNAWING AT THE BARS OF MY CAGE

[rakehellish]

Old doodles and photos of Dahmer from My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

[mediaevalmusereads]

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio. By Derf Backderf. Abrams Comicarts, 2020.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Genre: graphic novel

Part of a series? No

Summary: On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University. In a deadly barrage of 67 shots, 4 students were killed and 9 shot and wounded. It was the day America turned guns on its own children—a shocking event burned into our national memory. A few days prior, 10-year-old Derf Backderf saw those same Guardsmen patrolling his nearby hometown, sent in by the governor to crush a trucker strike. Using the journalism skills he employed on My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, Backderf has conducted extensive interviews and research to explore the lives of these four young people and the events of those four days in May, when the country seemed on the brink of tearing apart. Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, which will be published in time for the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, is a moving and troubling story about the bitter price of dissent—as relevant today as it was in 1970.

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: violence, blood, casual racism/misogyny

Overview: I can't quite articulate why I decided to pick up this book. I find Backderf's work to be definitely intriguing, but I've never been a close follower. I guess I was in the mood for something like a memoir, though this certainly isn't one (Backderf himself wasn't at Kent State). It's not quite historical fiction either, and Backderf himself likens it to a reenactment. Whatever genre we call it, Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio is a masterfully crafted graphic novel that evokes a lot of strong emotions. I could feel myself seething at the injustice of it all as I was reading, so for that, this book gets 4.5 stars.

Writing/Art: I've never been a huge fan of Backderf's art style, but I think it works better (for me, at least) in this book than in My Friend Dahmer. His use of exaggerated proportions and bold inks combined with the details he puts into his scenery seem to produce a sense of heightened emotion or tension that I think works with this story; the cartoonish anatomy mirrored the almost cartoonish incompetence of the military, and the facial expressions clearly set the tone for any given scene. Panel layout was also very clear and easy to follow, so there's no real chance of getting lost or reading panels out of order.

My only major criticism is that, with Backderf's style, it can be hard to tell some characters apart. Without the aid of color or distinctive clothing, it can be hard to make sure your reader knows who is who. But I also think Backderf did the best that he could, so maybe it's just an error in how I read.

Plot: The plot of this book covers the days leading up to the shooting at Kent State in May 1970. It covers the growing political tension between the government and college campuses as well as the anti-war protests during the Nixon administration. The book ends with a retelling of the fatal standoff between Kent State students and the Ohio National Guard. It doesn't delve too much into the aftermath of said standoff save for 2 pages of prose at the end, which describe what happened to the victims' families and the involved military personnel, but it does feel "complete," so to speak.

TL;DR: Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio is an incredibly moving and impactful rendition of the events at Kent State from May 1 to May 4, 1970. Backderf masterfully builds tension and dread while also not losing sight of the fact that the victims were people, and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in graphic memoirs or anti-war movements of the 1960s-1970s.

This book was incredibly moving. While I had some knowledge of Kent State going into this book, I felt like I could more easily emotionally connect with that knowledge because Backderf takes the historical facts and makes them feel more personal. Not only does Backderf hit you in the face with bold art that sticks in your memory, but he also masterfully builds tension over the course of the narrative, giving the reader a greater and greater sense of unease and dread as the events unfold. By showing the escalation of conflict in the days leading up to the shooting and also inserting helpful blurbs about what's taking place on the national stage, I felt like Backderf connected larger, national concerns to local events, making them feel more real and less like abstractions. The result was that I could feel myself becoming more and more angry at how unjustly the National Guard treated the students; this was probably the point because the message of this book is definitely that Kent State was a tragedy, but not one without clear perpetrators. No matter what one might think about the violent, militant arm of the anti-war protesters, what happened at Kent State was not justice, nor was it law and order; it was an attack on innocent young people, motivated by increasing paranoia about opposition to the Vietnam War and the threat of communist sympathy. Given that I'm reading this book in 2023, a lot of the themes resonate with our current political landscape.

Characters: I feel a bit strange analyzing the characters of this book as if they were authorial creations because most (if not all) of them are/were real people. I can't speak to how well Backderf represents the actual victims, but I did appreciate the effort to make them feel like people with hopes and dreams. All of them had complex inner lives that were at times separate from Kent State but at times defined by the politics of the day. Some of them were politically active and some weren't, and seeing them simply try to do their best was both inspiring and heartbreaking.

When it came to the actual shooting and depictions of violence, I think Backderf handled the graphic nature well. Though I can't speak to what the victims' families might think, as a reader, I found Backderf's drawings to be emotionally impactful, especially his drawing of Bill. Because Backderf spent most of the book portraying each victim as a real human, the violence didn't feel necessarily gratuitous. Of course, the violence is meant to come as a shock, but it's not the kind of shock that's meant to be entertaining. It's insread meant to make us feel angry on behalf of the victims and to turn our ire against injustice, especially injustice at the hands of the government.

[shatteredreliccampaign]

"Other than the king of old, possibily signifying Ganonderf (sic)" Sheix "Ganonderf." me "Derf derf derf derf" in a tune, by Michi's player who gets vocal tics (I did ask if it was okay to quote this part before posting"

[libidomechanica]

Beating his schulde many ane, I can

Of a kyng anyway, and evil? Well his charity. And calumny and spring, but fourty at eyes finger pale erþe, þat mon sevent was we know the maim’d, and sayde, Wyȝe, and masters were, þat vmbetorned to thilke gome might for grew pan, i’ll see by glimmers had ful wel þat all dead, the mon of the false fourme world and þenne?—Then he watz laȝt on his cheated. And his economy: what was derf has before, Charis, your grieve, when her can remember—a moment, down better hair—her Cheek being sod; the old be at his slaught, thou have so in air of her wenged, Wylde went as fyrst he did nip a faut serenely seruaunt for heares! For his teuelyng of wing, he went the doolfu’ tale; their bedde, I sette þe blaunner doorbells we trained Muse: these shafts. Perhaps, as thou like thee? Beating his schulde many ane, I can a hundrest, thou list it self wits of all sigh’d;—the guests, all me trysten time.

[leanstooneside]

Pointing out assumptions

- LAWE LOKEN VNDER BO3E3 OF MONY

- NO3E [E] WYTH SERE SEWES & SETE[2] SESOUNDE OF þE

- D] ÞENNE COM HO OF HIR

- TOKEN OF TRUTH

- BYLDE & BREMLYCH SYNGEN [G] FOR SOLACE OF þE

- AT FYNE FADER OF NURTURE

- NELEDE OF þE

- SE SLE3TE3 OF þEWE3

- TALE HERDE OF þE

- WENTEN; NOW AR þAY STOKEN OF STURNE

- TRUEST OF SPEECH

- WYTH LEUE LA3T OF þE

- AT ART OF LYF

- TO þE HE3 LORDE OF þIS

- SAUAGE þE DUK OF CLARENCE

- HERE SCHAL LERNE OF LUF

- E FYRE & FRE OF HYS

- PLEASURE OF HIS

- LEE OF LEUDE3

- DERF MEN VPON DECE DREST OF þE

- PE FYRST OF PE

- ALLE þIS COMPAYNY OF COURT

- G] OF DESTINES

- HAUE WHEN BURNE3 BLYþE OF HIS

- E OLDE LORDE OF þAT

- KERCHOFES OF þAT

- BEST ALLE OF ERMYN

- FRO þE FACE OF þE

- TIDINGS OF HIM

- WIFE OF HIS

- L] ÞAT NO3T WAT3 BARE OF þAT

- E WELCOMEST WY3E OF þE

- BLYSFUL BLUSCH OF þE

[pinnithin]

“You can just say clown, we’re all just clowns.”

Justin Tyler thank you for being one of the weirdest characters in improv comedy I loved this interaction

[powerlineangel]

I have no idea if this counts really or if it was planned or not at all, but i always love in season 1 when Derf’s introduced and he warns Pleck that Nermut is wack and not to be trusted and then skip a couple season, whoulda guessed! Wack Nermut!

I really want to make a list of Zyxx guest contributions that stuck around as recurring parts of canon. I was listening to the fancast episode where Adal Rifai was surprised to find out that the eye patch stuck around in such a major way, and I know I've heard multiple people point out that Rodd was a Jordan Carlos contribution. But I was listening to some season 1 episodes, and the multiple of kroon being kroon was a guest thing, and the first mention of Centurion Tiddle's first name was also a guest. They always could have cut some behind the scenes conversation where someone else actually came up with a thing, but it would still be fun to try

[mtzyxx]

link

[skeleton---arts]

Always sunny redraw 🤡

[thevegetablewhichnoonedaresname]

AND... bear with me for just a second... if Pleck is his own grandfather, then Old Derf may just be Pleck's dentist

Theres a lot of dad-ness going on on the Bargarean Jade i realised… AR-33 deciding C-53 was his dad, AJ referring to Pleck as papa, Dar being mom and dad of Hoha, Nermut being co-parent (dad) of Hoha, Pleck getting (accidental) forms filed declaring him Dar’s dad, Justin (hes here too) whos dad is the Emperor (their enemy)… this podcast sure can hold a LOT of too on the nose ‘found family’

Theres also the fact Pleck inadvertently killed someone’s dad so. Lot of dad talk!

[cyberstevie]

oh btw i feel like yall should know that i have spoken to justin tyler a non-zero amount of times (including in person) and he’s literally just like that all the time. like that’s what his voice sounds like when he talks. i’ve told him that he sounds like he’s always doing a character but the character is him and he laughed and did not tell me i was wrong. old derf is a real human man and he is a father

[unlikelyfalconrhythms]

Review (to be continued): the new Netflix series on Jeffrey Dahmer viewed in the light of Derf Backderf’s graphic novel

This is the beginning of my analysis / review of the Netflix series Dahmer - Monster: Jeffrey Dahmer’s Story (2022) created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. I’ll continue this text later. After creating shows like Glee and American Horror Story that have witty use of cultural memory and its discourses but are (in my opinion) kinda on-the-nose, wonky and campy in nature, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan give us stylistically coherent, insightful miniseries on the homicides of Jeffrey Dahmer and especially the communities the adolescent Dahmer lived in, affected and was affected by in the 1980′s and 90′s Milwaukee. How does this series compare to the graphic novel My Friend Dahmer by Dahmer’s old schoolmate Derf Backderf? While it’s interesting to compare the two takes on the same subject matter, I would like to also tell how having read Backderf’s graphic novel (for a couple of times, actually. It’s one of my favorite graphic novels.) affected my own viewing of Murphy and Brennan’s 2022 Netflix series. What I really liked about this series was its non-chronological pacing and a sense of greater and greater closure for the characters as the series went on. There are something we call ‘plot holes’ and they are brilliantly and effectively used here to beg the audience questions about inequality and unfairness in neglectful infrastructures. Details of the dialogue are carefully left out and moved elsewhere for us viewers to encounter later in the series or inside the same episode. And they often answer questions that the show has managed to evoke in our minds. The ‘plot’ to follow isn’t as much the event-by-event life story of Dahmer but the people’s involved mental struggle to seek comprehension and redemption at the face of Dahmer’s actions. Other people like the victims and by-standers, the victims’ families, friends and subgroups, Dahmer’s neighborhood and also the offender himself Dahmer and his own family. Having read Backderf’s graphic novel, I was able to expect certain story beats in the flashbacks of the Dahmer series. That preknowledge also made the series more accessible for me as I’m sometimes drawn away from shows purely by the amount of lore or flashbacks I find quite laborsome to dive into instead of advancing the plot without too many interruptions. Despite of everything I had learned about Dahmer’s teenage years from Backderf’s story, I was quite unfamiliar with the details of his adolescence, apart from what the book’s paratexts, common knowledge and random pop culture references had provided. I submit the rest of the text later on.