Jake Tapper to make graphic novel debut with The Butcher
CNN's Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper is using the graphic novel format for his latest historical journalistic effort, The Butcher: The Decades-Long Hunt For Klaus Barbie, One Of The World's Most Notorious Killers .
Journalism through the medium of comics is a respected form with an extensive history. While it’s typically linked to personal memoirs like Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis or Kate Beaton’s Ducks, there are numerous other instances of in-depth investigative journalism in this format. Sarah Mirk and Alexandra Beguez chronicled their experiences at Guantánamo Bay for The Nib, and The New Yorker collaborated with Medar de la Cruz to win a Pulitzer in 2024 for their reporting on life inside Rikers Island prison.
Now, according to a release from Top Shelf Productions, CNN’s Chief Washington Correspondent, Jake Tapper, is venturing into the graphic novel format for his latest historical journalistic endeavor. Tapper’s debut full-length graphic novel, "The Butcher: The Decades-Long Hunt for Klaus Barbie, One of the World’s Most Notorious Killers," marks the culmination of his three-year off-camera work.
An avid reader of comic strips such as Charles Schulz’s Peanuts and Bill Griffith’s Zippy The Pinhead, Tapper chose Top Shelf as his publisher due to its reputation. Top Shelf, known for works like George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy and Congressman John Lewis’s March trilogy, is reported to have pushed Tapper to deliver his best work, giving him rigorous feedback that led him to significantly improve his drawing skills.
“The Butcher” tells the gripping true story of Klaus Barbie, a mass murderer who evaded justice for decades, the Nazi hunters and journalists who eventually tracked him down, and the shocking investigation that exposed those who aided his escape. Tapper, who used his investigative skills and researched in four different languages—German, English, Spanish, and French—has chronicled the relentless pursuit of one of the world’s most wanted war criminals with remarkable detail.
Writing and illustrating the book himself, Tapper expressed his dedication, saying, “This has been one of the most difficult and rewarding projects I’ve ever worked on—both in terms of the research into the astounding and troubling life of one of the world’s most notorious and elusive Nazi war criminals, the effort to turn that into compelling storytelling, and the work to illustrate it all.” He hopes readers will find the book as compelling and satisfying to read.
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