Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?

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In a way, this book was a bit of a first for me. I have read graphic novels before, but this was the first which had true events at its heart. And, with those events being truly horrific, I was interested to see how this subject matter would be handled in this genre. But those are fictional characters, and Eddie Gein is for sure NOT. He was a mentally unstable person abused by his mother and other people in his town, and eventually averted his attention to killing folks because...well reasons. But in this book they go into a deep dive. You'll learn about Eddie from birth to death, and while it's most certainly not painting him as a worthy person to be talked about, it shows who and maybe even hints to why he did what he did. Eric Powell—the legendary creator of comics like The Goon and Hillbilly—and Harold Schechter—the author of true crime classics including Deviant and The Serial Killer Files—are collaborating on an ambitious new graphic novel about one of the most notoriously deranged murderers in American history, Ed Gein. Eric Powell, perhaps best known for The Goon comics, was also an excellent choice for illustrator. Every muted panel captures the sadness and dreariness of Gein's world.

Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? eBook : Powell, Eric

Even as a kid who grew up in the ’80s, the story of the 1950s ghoul was a topic in school,” Powell tells The Hollywood Reporter regarding his interest, maybe obsession, with the killer. “How there was really a guy they based Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre after. The scenario that created this sad figure who committed these terrible crimes has fascinated me ever since.”In Chapter 11, Professor O’Hara explains your theory regarding the possibility that Gein’s mother had become a sort of deity to her son. If taken as a metaphor for Gein’s deranged mind, the effect is such that we do not feel intimidated, yet, if taken as proof that Gein’s was not something peculiar, that his was not a case never to be repeated, this means that he was simply acting out a primordial need that is part and parcel of humanity (or, at least, of part of humanity). Your theory, so it seems to me, destabilizes our preconceptions of what a serial killer is. Is our idea of progress and civilization, something we derive from ancient Greece (with its us-civilized and them-uncivilized dichotomy), a blatant lie we tell ourselves?

Ed Gein Graphic Novel Explores the True History of the - IGN Ed Gein Graphic Novel Explores the True History of the - IGN

I believe Gein’s story continues to haunt us because he’s entered the realm of folklore,” answers Powell. “A real-life bogeyman who lived in a house of horrors. He’s become a truly American urban legend. A mid-century Vlad the Impaler.”I trust as a society, we’re doing a better job of identifying at risk people and giving them the help they need as a child. Gein was obviously a disturbed person but I think was a product of his upbringing. Of course, Ed Gein – lonely, battered, pathetic, almost pitiable, working his dark craft in an empty house on a frigid plain in central Wisconsin – was no Charlie Manson. He was as much a product of his time and place as Manson was of his, but it was a very different time and place. And that’s where Eric Powell, the endlessly gifted artist behind The Goon and the primary reason to buy this book, comes in. Schechter’s writing is perfectly competent and sometimes very engaging, and no one can fault him for having a poor grasp on the facts of the case, but he’s a true crime writer in the classic sense: a very plain and straightforward journalistic style, wordy and precise but rarely artful, and more reliable than inventive. Powell's art is unique in that most of a panel could be ink wash or pencil strokes with only the most important focus getting inked. His handling of people and their body language is brilliant and rarely matched. But it is not the solution that we should be looking for, rather what the matter entails. If society bears the burden of creating citizens, then society is always to blame for the rise of elements with antisocial and harmful tendencies. A beautiful option, this one, as it allows for the idea that by perfecting the education of men and women we can reach the goal of producing the best human beings that Earth could ever hope to give birth to. I always do deep research for my books. Deviant, my book about Gein (and my first foray into the true crime genre) was written pre-Internet, so I had to do a good deal of digging in archives, libraries, courthouses, etc. I also made a very fruitful visit to Plainfield, where I was able to interview neighbors and acquaintances of Gein’s.

Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? - IGN

If you have lived in Wisconsin, as I have, you know the book Wisconsin Death Trip which makes a case for the state being one of the creepiest places on the planet (including chapters on monsters/serial killers such as jeffery Dahmer, and so on). But before Dahmer, in 1957, there was Eddie Gein, one of the most truly macabre people to ever walk the planet (oh, I know he has competition). And I admit, I have recently taken a (shallow, hypocritical) stand against the sensationalization of murder in my review of a graphic memoir, The Murder Book (Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell), a book about the author's obsession with True Crime, as I was at the same time reading Norman Mailer's Executioner's Song, about psycho-killer Gary Gilmore. When I was a kid I remember hearing talk about how Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a true story. That there was a real Leatherface. I don’t remember what age I was but it was probably too early to be hearing about people being strung up in barns and skinned. I think much like the kids in the 50s who read the story in Life magazine, Gein became a real life bogeyman to me. It was really Harold’s work that got me interested in the family dynamic. He has explored that area of Gein’s life probably more than any true crime writer. We describe the isolated farmhouse in the book as an incubator for madness, and I think that’s a pretty accurate description for the abusive cycle this family put themselves through. Powell and Schechter share writing duties but the art is all courtesy of the man who created The Goon, Powell himself. As stated, What Eddie Gein Done? looks at the life of the killer that many got to know as The Butcher of Plainfield, after Gein’s hometown. It goes from childhood to old age and it focuses on two big phases in his life: his upbringing with a strict, near-misanthropic but fundamentally religious mother figure, and the aftermath of his arrest for his many crimes, in all its dimensions. This book takes Gein’s gruesome crimes out of the realms of exploitation and delivers a powerful, fact-based dramatization of the tragic, psychotic, and heartbreaking events,” said Powell. “Because, in this case, the truth needs no embellishment to be horrifying.” He added: “And when my favorite true-crime author and Gein expert, Harold Schechter, enthusiastically agreed to work with me on a project, it was a dream (nightmare?) come true. The best part is we have a really unique take with in-depth information. I’m really proud of this book and I think anyone also intrigued by the darker aspects of the human psyche is really going to enjoy it.”

I appreciated the insight into Gein’s motivations because Gein took that information to the grave (unmarked, following years of vandalism of his headstone, though he would’ve been pleased to know that he’s buried next to his beloved mother) and we’ll never know why he did what he did. Schechter/Powell’s theory is a believable explanation for someone so unhinged and it’s more satisfying to have this included from a reader’s perspective. Harold Schechter is a true crime writer who specializes in serial killers. He attended the State University of New York in Buffalo, where he obtained a Ph.D. A resident of New York City, Schechter is professor of American literature and popular culture at Queens College of the City University of New York. Original Caption) Edward Gein, owner of Plainfield, Wisconsin farm where butchered body of Mrs. ... [+] Bernice Worden was discovered hanging in a shed, is shown as he was taken to the state crime laboratory to face a lie detector test. Intensive detailed questioning on the lie detector was begun after preliminary tests proved him to be a suitable subject, cooperative and able to answer simple questions coherently. Results of the test have not been revealed. Bettmann Archive Kaikin puolin surullinen sarjakuva perustuu aika tiukasti faktoihin, joiden pohjalta Harold Schechter on kai kirjoittanut elämäkerrankin. Loppusanoissa mainitaan kohdat, jotka ovat arvelun varassa tai tekijöiden omaa tulkintaa. Obviously Ed Gein’s story has been fictionalized many times in the movies,” said Schechter in a press release. “In no visual medium, however, have the bizarre inner workings of his mind been explored and portrayed. The graphic novel is the perfect medium to conduct such an exploration. DID YOU HEAR WHAT EDDIE GEIN DONE? will not only bring the factual details of Gein’s crimes to vivid, compelling life but draw the reader into the phantasmagoric realm of his uniquely deranged psyche.”