4 Comics for Fans of Making a Murderer

4 Comics for Fans of Making a Murderer This post was originally published at Panels, our sister site about all things comics! Check out more from them here. _______________ While the sophomore  season of Serial has yet to recapture the the zeal surrounding its debut caper, true crime enthusiasts have found a new obsession on Netflix. The 10-episode Making a Murderer documentary is a sensation. A decade in the making, it chronicles the prosecutionand some argue persecutionof Wisconsins Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey for the 2005 abduction, rape, murder, and mutilation of photographer Teresa Halbach. The crux for the defense teams, particularly in Averys case, was the suggestion that Avery, previously released from prison after serving 18 years for an assault he didnt commit, had been targeted by vengeful county law enforcement and attorneys. Dasseys team further posited that the inept teen was coerced into providing a damaging, though wildly inconsistent confession implicating himself as well as his uncle in the crime. Is this simply a messy and disorganized prosecution, or were one or both of these men wrongfully convicted as the result of a deep conspiracy? Ive personally been watching the series in a loop since it premiered in December, pausing however infrequently to dash out for repeat screenings of The Force Awakens. The twists and turns in the investigation and ensuing trials makes for endlessly compelling television, the level of access an invaluable resource for fans and writers of true crime and legal dramas alike. Theres also something especially bittersweet about Dasseys story in particular, and much has been written about the snapshot of modern tragedy provided by the banal phone conversations with his beleaguered mother. Yeah?Yeah.Huh?Yeah?Yeah. Yeah. Next time on #MakingAMurderer paul montgoMERRY XMAS, YALL! (@fuzzytypewriter) December 23, 2015 Yep, Ive been caught in the riptide, alright. Ive lost days of sleep trying to parse Brendan Dasseys offhand mention of that girl who got eaten by the alligator. #MakingAMurderer paul montgoMERRY XMAS, YALL! (@fuzzytypewriter) January 1, 2016 Absolutely my favorite moment of #makingamurderer A post shared by Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) on Jan 1, 2016 at 10:34am PST Right, so, where to turn to next. Especially for us comic readers. Well, Ive got some options for you. Green River Killer by  Jef Jensen and Jonathan Case   This ones the high water mark for investigative reports on high profile killers, the one I first recommend when asked for non-fiction crime comic recommendations. Stark and sobering, Jensen and Case offer an account of an evolving investigation. Just as the advancement of DNA testing exonerated and freed Stephen Avery after his 18 year bid, those same breakthroughs helped put Gary Leon Ridgway away for at least 49 murders in Washington state. This case is of particular interest because it centers on 180 days of interviews between Ridgway and investigator Tom Jensen, the writers father. Such access is vital stuff. And it doesnt hurt that this Eisner winning book is drawn by Jonathan Case (Batman 66), one of the industrys best craftsman. My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf This is generally the second book I recommend, right after GRK. Again, access is a big thing, but this is a very different book. Written and drawn with an R. Crumb level appreciation for the grotesque and banal in everyday life, My Friend Dahmer is an intimateif sometimes admittedly vagueremembrance of a sociopath in his troubled youth. John Derf Backderf attended Richfield, Ohios Revere High School with Jeffrey Dahmer. Friendships are a tricky thing, and Backderfs seemingly candid depiction of his relationship with Dahmer suggests something closer to observer and curiosity than any deep bond. But the authors speculation about Dahmers home life is a tender addition to the story, particularly as he attempts to make sense of the violence to come. Surviving Saskatoon: Milgaard and Me by David Collier This is a bit of a deep dive and may prove a bit of a goose chase in the vein of finding a green Toyota Rav4 in a packed salvage yard (then again). Published back in 2000, cartoonist David Collier (American Splendor) recounts the trial of another David, Milgaard, wrongfully convicted in 1971 for the rape and murder of a nursing assistant named Gail Miller. Its also a portrait of both  Davids native Saskatoon at the time. Though he was only eight at the time of Milgaards trial, Collier vividly recalls a deeply conservative community, rigid and suspicious. By the time Milgaard was released, a year before Collier released his comic, the man had served 23 years in prison. The essay strip is also collected in Portraits of Life. The Lindbergh Child: Americas Hero and the Crime of the Century (Treasury of XXth Century Murder) by Rick Geary As you can see from the parenthetical in the title, Gearys pretty serial, erserious, about serial killers. Hes written and drawn six graphic accounts of graphic murders from the 20th century, eight more from the Victorian era. Any of them would prove ideal followups to Making a Murder viewers, but Im singling out this, the first in this XXth Century Murder series, for the conspiracy element. The 1932 disappearance, ransom, and murder of toddler Charles Lindbergh,  Jr.  remains a contentious case (as well as a not-so-timely anecdote my mother offers helpless cashiers when shes unable to find correct change in her massive, overstuffed purse). Over a two year investigation numerous suspects were sought and a number of attention-craving interlopers strove to insinuate themselves into the affair. Gearys profiled far more prolific killers, but the Lindbergh case trumps them all for convolution and a startling whorl of deception. Sign up to The Stack to receive  Book Riot Comic's best posts, picked for you. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.