Derf, author of My Friend Dahmer (Abrams Comics Arts 2012) will give a multi-media presentation at the Coventry Library (1925 Coventry Rd.) on Wednesday, April 4th at 7 p.m. You only think you know this story. In 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer—the most notorious serial killer since Jack the Ripper—seared himself into the American consciousness. To the public, Dahmer was a monster who committed unthinkable atrocities. To Derf Backderf, “Jeff” was a much more complex figure: a high school friend at Revere High near Akron with whom he had shared classrooms, hallways, and car rides. In My Friend Dahmer, a haunting and original graphic novel, writer-artist Backderf creates a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a disturbed young man struggling against the morbid urges emanating from the deep recesses of his psyche—a shy kid, a teenage alcoholic, and a goofball who never quite fit in with his classmates. With profound insight, what emerges is a Jeffrey Dahmer that few ever really knew, and one readers will never forget.   Derf is also the author of the much acclaimed Punk Rock and Trailer Parks, a graphic novel depicting the live music scene in Akron during the punk era and Trashed, a graphic novel about garbage truck workers. Derf also writes The City, a weekly syndicated comic strip. This event is part of a reading series sponsored by the CH-UH Public Library, Mac's Backs-Books on Coventry and Appletree Books.