On a cold November evening in 1957, at a decrepit farmstead in Wisconsin, sheriff's deputies will make a horrifying discovery that will fracture the American psyche. Thus begins the legacy and legend of Ed Gein. A murderer and body-snatcher, Ed was raised by an over-bearing mother and a cuckolded alcoholic father. After the death of his father and mysterious death of his brother Henry, it was just mother and son. And Ed was in heaven. But that paradise was fleeting.
No less than a year after Henry's passing, mother Gein died too. And an already mentally fragile Ed snapped. Ed first tried to dig up his mother. But she was encased in a concrete underground vault. So Gein began to dig up the bodies of recently deceased women of similar age and built to mother and he got creative.
When the sheriff deputies raided Gein's home in 1957, they found the body of hardware store owner Bernice Worden. She had been shot and mutilated. But on top of that, the authorities found the remains of what would be estimated 40 more women. Roughly trained in taxidermy, Gein used the bodies to make a demonic assortment of arts and crafts. And he had made masks and suits in a bizarre attempt to resurrect his mother.
If this story sounds vaguely familiar, it should. Gein's handiwork went on to inspire writer Robert Bloch in the creation of his 1959 novel Psycho. It would later become an Alfred Hitchcock feature film and all-time classic of horror and film studies. Texas filmmaker Tobe Hooper would play on the Ed Gein family dynamic and desire to dress in human skins in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie series. Gein's influence would later pop up in the 80s as the godfather of slasher films culminating in 1991 with the main baddie Buffalo Bill in the Oscar willing Silence of the Lambs.
Jump forward to 2021 and the story of Ed Gein is still terrifying millions. Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? is a graphic novel account of the story of Ed Gein. Written by horror writer and Gein biographer Harold Schechter, this book takes an all-encompassing look at the horrors committed by Ed. It dives into the family history, the cause and effects of an over-bearing mother, the fact and legends surrounding Gein's crimes.
There's considerable time spent exploring Gein's questioning by authorities, including psychologists and criminologists. Readers spent time jury stands during Gein's numerous court appearances. And we visit him during his final days in a state run facility for the criminally insane. All around this story, Schechter reveals how the horrors of Ed Gein changes American family norms, our sense of security, and thelurid desires of entertainment.
Helping Harold Schechter on art is Eric Powell. The creator of the black comedy Dark Horse series, The Goon, Powell's resume is one of noir, freakish crime and macabre humor. I've seen a couple of documentaries on Ed Gein prior. So I have a fairly good idea what Ed Gein looked like. Eric Powell does an amazing job making Gein and the other major players look like they did in real life. Maybe even better.
This graphic novel looks like a crime dossier. The black and white art embellished with this moldy green hued cover and chapter breaks gives everything a slightly spoiled look to it. I think it symbolizes the rotting of Gein's victims as well as the decay of the American dream. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But, the palette elicits an unsettling affect.
For those who enjoy tales of the bizarre and macabre, Did You Hear With Eddie Gein Done? is the graphic novel tale of true crime you have been looking for. Definitely not a graphic novel that is safe for work, the horrors contained inside literally was the stuff nightmares are made of. I could only read this book on weekends because I didn't want to be in a dark mood during the work week. But I would not trade this book for anything- except for maybe an autographed copy!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
Completing this review completes Task #38 (That Is A Murder Mystery) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
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