From a hated terrorist to a dreamy teen heartthrob - that's the transformation that image makers at Rolling Stone magazine are peddling for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are peddling.

The cover of the August issue, seen below, describes the bomber who took away three lives and injured 260 others, as "a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster."

Mr Tsarnaev entered a not guilty plea.

Even before the publication could hit newsstands, the cover story has generated negative reactions in social media.

In Rolling Stone's Facebook page, here are some samples of violent reactions to the image spin on the bomber.

Shawn Anthony commented, "I think it's wrong to make celebrities out of these people. Why give the guy the cover of Rolling Stone? TIME gave Charles Manson the cover and all the magazines carried pictures of the Columbine shooters on the covers, to. Don't make martyrs out of these people."

Adrienne Graham added, "Oh look, Rolling Stone magazine is glamourizing terrorism. Awesome. I will NOT be buying this issue, or any future issues."

Similarly, David Beck ended his subscription and called the attention given to the bomber as bullshit. "Let's honor those who hurt innocent people. Who's next, George Zimmerman?? Rolling Stone is a music magazine, not the Taliban Times," he pointed out.

Tim Snell, a Rolling Stone subscriber since 1982, also cancelled his subscription, along with a growing number of disillusioned readers.

Similar negative reactions were seen in Twitter. Judd Legum noted the similarities between the image of the bomber and Jim Morrison when he placed the two covers side by side.