Talk by Derf Backderf

The May 4 Visitors Center will host a discussion by Derf Backderf, author and illustrator of the acclaimed graphic novel “Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio,” on Thursday, April 11 at 5:30 p.m. at 147 Taylor Hall, Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. This event is free and open to the public. 

Through his dramatic book, Backderf tells the unforgettable, true story of the May 1970 Kent State shootings that resulted in the death of four students killed by Ohio National Guard troops. He laboriously researched Kent State’s Special Collections and Archives’ May 4 Collection, using sources from oral histories, personal interviews, maps, artifacts and newspaper articles. The book received several accolades, including an Eisner Award for best reality-based work, an Alex Award from the American Library Association and a Ringo Award for high achievement in a comic book. Additionally, it was named “Best Book of the Year” by New York Times, Forbes, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and NPR.