★ “An excellent graphic retelling of a climactic moment in American history . . . Four dead in Ohio, indeed—but Backderf’s vivid, evocative book does a splendid job of keeping their memories alive.

“A masterwork of graphic history, and the most sharply drawn commentary regarding the current moment in American history . . . meticulous down to the last detail . . . Kent State is a poignant and powerful memorial for the four students who were mercilessly and needlessly killed that day in Ohio.”

“Derf’s new graphic novel Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio has much to offer in our current climate . . . The result is a work of journalism and art that shows the reader what happened 50 years ago, and why it’s all-too-sadly relevant today. During a time where widespread Black Lives Matter protests have been sweeping the nation in the wake of the heinous killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others at the hands of law enforcement, the parallels are clear.”

“I was rendered nearly breathless by the expert storytelling and breakneck pacing in this epic retelling of that pivotal event in American history. [Backderf] reveals the day-to-day moments of those oh-so-tenderly young people whose heartbreaking deaths would inflict a mournful impact of the American soul. Derf helps us imagine what it might be to know Allison, Jeff, Sandy and Bill, and, horrifically, what it may have been like to ‘find them dead on the ground.’”

“When reading Kent State, it’s easy to imagine it being drafted as a response to our moment, but the quality of history and rich network of stories testify to this being a labor of many years—albeit one with impeccable (or horrifying, depending on your perspective) timing . . . Kent State attempts to set the record straight, and the combined excellence of research and storytelling makes it easy to witness both the tragic loss of life and senseless police actions that were never punished.”

“Delivers an emotional wallop.”

“Powerful. A deep journalistic dive into the still-resonant tragedy.”

“This book is amazingly detailed and informative. Which is what makes it all the more horrifying. Most of us know the basic outlines of the events of May 4, 1970, at Kent State University in northeast Ohio: Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four. But there’s a lot more to the story, and Backderf tells it. He finds every interview, every news story, every autopsy report. He takes you into the lives of various students and Guardsmen days before the event, allowing you to get to know each one personally.”

“Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio is a remarkable achievement, the product of a cartoonist at the top of his game telling a story he’s uniquely suited to tell at precisely the time it needs to be told.”

“Deeply researched . . . one of the year’s most tragic and insightful books of any genre . . . painfully relevant today.”

“Derf Backderf brings historical context and a propulsive sense of narrative to this graphical history of the Kent State shootings . . . Backderf’s noodly style uncannily evokes that era, and his sparse palette (black and white with some restrained gray shading) imbues his tale with force and urgency. His attention to the guardsmen’s side of things—their lack of training in de-escalation, systemic hostility and paranoia toward anti-war demonstrators—strikes a resonant chord in a year marked by images of police and National Guard troops brutalizing Black Lives Matter protesters.”

“The success of Kent State lies in Derf’s skills as a cartoonist and as a storyteller. His style is distinct, bridging that gap between the realistic and the exaggerated. Moments such as the burning ROTC building are powerful thanks to Derf’s use of contrast, the fire burning bright, illuminating the canisters of tear gas, a torn peace shirt, and a long shadow of the bell used as a rallying point. The tension builds and builds and builds and then . . . is released. In a harrowing final act that, even knowing what was coming, brought me to tears because of the work Derf had done in the preceding pages, Kent State reminds us why this story is still being told 50 years later and why it remains powerful and tragic. Kent State is a marvel of a book.”

“This is one of the books you need to be reading on civil protest, and on violence.”

“Backderf has delivered a career-defining work here that will likely be required reading in many a college history course in the future.”

“Humanizes the victims and breaks down the events with clarity and anger. It unfortunately remains as timely as ever.”