1. Derf Backderf is most famous for his graphic novels, especially My Friend Dahmer, the international bestseller which won an Angouleme Prize, and earlier for his comic strip The City, which appeared in a number of alternative newspapers from 1990 to 2014.
In 2006 Derf won the Robert F Kennedy Journalism Award for cartooning.
Derf Backderf attended Eastview Junior High and Revere High School, where one of his classmates was future serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Derf Backderf began as a political cartoonist, for the Ohio State Lantern, then professionally at The Evening Times, the evening counterpart of The Palm Beach Post, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Derf Backderf worked as a staff cartoonist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer in the late 80s.
In 2014, Derf announced that he was discontinuing The City to focus on graphic novels.
Derf Backderf then self-published a scaled-back 24-page My Friend Dahmer comic book in 2002.
Derf Backderf revisited the project as a webcomic in 2010 and 2012 on his website.
Derf Backderf cites Spain Rodriguez, Mad magazine and Lynda Barry as important influences on his art style.
Derf Backderf's illustrations have appeared on posters, T-shirts, and CD covers.
Derf Backderf was a member of the newsroom team for the Akron Beacon Journal that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1995.
In 2006 Derf won the Robert F Kennedy Journalism Award for cartooning.
Derf Backderf received the Prix Revelation at the 2014 Angouleme International Comics Festival in France.