Graphic Novelty²

“An ode to the crap job of all crap jobs” is an excellent introduction to this graphic novel that is equal parts fiction, non-fiction and memoir.

Trashed is written by Derf Backderf who is most famous for knowing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in high school and writing a book about him, My Friend Dahmer. In this book here he too recounts stories of his youth as a trash collector, but fleshed it out to bring it up to date and add facts about the garbage collecting industry. This book about trash is surprisingly good and has a rather timeless feel.

Derf switched the narrative away from himself and writes the story from fictional college drop out JB’s perspective. JB and his friend Mike suffer through an entire year of garbage collecting in their hometown, starting as easily grossed out newbies to being stoic workers in a year’s time. They work with a misfit crew:  their boss who never gives them a moment’s peace, the hipster roommate, the truck driver who is a genius but has no common sense, a creepy racist, along with a few good guys.  Small town politics are shown along with the realities of just getting by in a working class environment. And of course there is the endless supply of garbage that people heedlessly throw out, not thinking of the workers, much less the impact their waste has on the world. Out of sight out of mind.

Interspersed among the narrative are the non-fiction segments that show how trash collection has evolved from medieval times to present day. These sections will really make you pause and think of your own goods consumption and subsequent trash. Its sobering to realize that despite recycling efforts America’s trash is a huge and growing issue. A brief mention is made of how other countries handle their waste in better ecological ways than we do, but going into more depth than that would veer off too far from the narrative.

As I said in my Dahmer review, Derf’s artwork is very reminiscent of Robert Crumb and of Don Martin from Mad magazine, with the angular and strangely jointed people. It is all drawn in black and white, and while not an attractive art style, it does get that underground comix vibe right. This subject matter is certainly socially relevant and satirical in nature, with Derf drawing with loving detail the most disgusting parts of the job. Because I read this book after his first, I could not help but compare the two books to each other as his style is very distinctive and the Ohio setting is the same. I kept on expecting a teen aged Dahmer to appear as some of his characters look eerily familiar to how he drew him in the other book.

While this graphic novel may not be a light heartened romp, it is worth a read for its humor and insight into an issue we should be more informed about.

-Nancy