Reviewed by Cord A. Scott, UMGC-Okinawa
Dave Cowen and Gabriel Wexler. Should We Buy a Gun? Los Angeles: SerioComics, 2025. 330 pp. US $35.00. ISBN: 979-8-9920-5509-2. https://www.shouldwebuyagun.com/
Comic books have often contended with serious political issues. It is not often through direct discussion, but through allegories. When we think of the PATRIOT Act (2001), we think not of a direct comic, but the story arcs in Avengers: Civil War. While there are historically- or politically-based comics, they can be text-laden or even biased in their political leaning. However, many political issues are not simply a matter of black and white, but of nuance and a variety of factors that influence the outcome. Add to that the charged arguments of gun control in the United States, and the topic would seem to be a bad idea. This is most certainly NOT the case with the publishing of Should We Buy a Gun?
The premise is one that many Americans might well relate to: the idea of people who have grown up in one part of the country with a set of standards, and the realities that sometime intrude. In the story, two newlyweds, Dave and Maggie, live in Austin, Texas, in what would be considered standard lives. He is a high school counselor, from a liberal family in New York. Maggie is from Texas and is a producer for the National Public Radio station in Austin. They are liberal-leaning and look at the ills of society through that sort of a lens. When events lead to a mugging, where two youths hold a gun on the couple (and in an ironic twist, escape on e-scooters), the elements of reality and shock set in. The couple are trying to have a child, and this threat to safety, and the breakdown of the defense narrative--“if I were threatened by a guy with a gun, I would ….,” is destroyed. Dave cries because of his lack of protecting his young bride, and Maggie sees threat everywhere. Soon after, she purchases a gun, bedecked in American flag colors, and Dave is shocked, as it goes against what he sees as a perpetuation of the violence narrative.
It is here that the story deviates from the expected. Cowen writes the story in such a way, that early on, it is clear that this issue is simply not as easy as many believe. For foreign readers, the idea of gun ownership is a part of American culture and governance, where the guns now outnumber people in the U.S. But, the idea of gun ownership, its origins, and the problems of the current government’s regulating the industry are all brought into the story arcs.
One area that Cowen hones in on is the concept of gun arguments directly. For people on both sides of the issue, there are statistics in their favor. However, it is not as clear-cut. While the location of Austin--a politically liberal city in a conservative state of Texas--is important to the story, several other cities could fit the bill. Gun advocates note that despite some of the most restrictive gun ownership laws in the country, Chicago is still a dangerous place, with a large overall number of murders because of gun violence. What is often not discussed is the loose checks and purchasing requirements in Indiana, where one can actually walk across the street from Chicago to Indiana, then purchase a weapon with little restriction, thereby negating the Chicago laws. This sort if disparity in enforcement occurs in several areas throughout the United States.
The story line also looks at issues of mental health (one of Dave’s students in high school has mental health issues, as well as a broken home), a mass shooting (in this case, the son of the governor and several other members of legislature), as well as media discussion of gun ownership through Maggie’s employer, National Public Radio (NPR). The strain of gun ownership, combined with issues concerning ownership and proficiency of the weapon, leads to discussions about what members of society should possess weapons, and potential use of a firearm, when other deterrents might work with less lethal force.
The story also goes into the omission of specific parts of speeches from famous leaders, such as Martin Luther King, who advocated non-violence, but noted the need for a weapon (193). There is also a conversation between Maggie and her minister concerning what is discussed concerning the ownership and use of weapons in all forms within the Bible. The historical narrative even goes so far as to mention what Gandhi and King thought of weapons as a deterrent to violence (233), as well as the seemingly controversial aspects of shootings, from George Zimmerman to the Black Panthers, where race was also a considerable factor (193-194).
The end of the book weaves together some elements of the back stories, as well as ancillary characters. In all, the story is one that, as noted in the blurbs, does use humor to weave in serious issues. It is a book that should provoke conversations on the issue of gun ownership in America.
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