SHOULD WE BUY A GUN

Cowen’s debut graphic novel explores gun control and gun violence–related issues.

Set in Austin, Texas, the story follows Adam and Maggie Brooks, newlywed “progressives” who are trying to start a family; Adam is a high school counselor and Maggie works as a video producer at National Public Radio. When the couple gets robbed at gunpoint outside of a market (where they just purchased a pregnancy test), their relationship is put to the test: Maggie—afraid for her and Adam’s lives after the robbers identify their names and home address after stealing his wallet and her purse—purchases a gun without telling her husband. Having a gun in their home ignites intense debates about safety statistics regarding gun ownership, the Second Amendment, and license to carry regulations, among other issues. Complicating matters are Adam’s three overbearing sisters; the news of a mass shooting at the Texas capitol building in which 47 people are killed; and a deeply troubled teen named Dave, a highly medicated high school senior who has aspirations of being a filmmaker. As Dave’s home life deteriorates, his mental health spirals out of control and the prevalence of violence in his everyday life (Quentin Tarantino is a role model) threatens to push him to do something unimaginable. As a conflicted Maggie has second thoughts about buying the gun, her husband surprisingly finds solace in gun culture and embraces his aggressive machismo by becoming “Rambo Adam.”

The raw emotional intensity of the couple’s struggle to reconcile their differences regarding gun ownership and save their crumbling marriage is complemented by an array of profound quotes from historic figures including Martin Luther King, Jr. (“Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it”), Abraham Lincoln (“He permits war for some wise purpose of His own, mysterious and unknown to us”), and Susan B. Anthony (“Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation”). A sequence toward the novel’s end, in which Maggie creates a piece for NPR sharing her story with the world, features some powerful Jungian-inspired wisdom: “If we learn to deal with our own shadows. We have done something real for others. We have succeeded in shouldering a small part of the unsolved problems of our day.” The brilliantly understated approach to the look and tone of the graphic novel can’t be overlooked. The seemingly simplistic drawings by Gabriel Wexler create a stark contrast to the complex subject matter; Wexler manages to convey an impressive range of emotions experienced by the characters through an uncluttered and minimalistic perspective. A dream sequence in which Molly’s dead, gun-toting father (who traces his lineage back to the lawman Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the OK Corral) shoots and kills one of the couple’s robbers while a helpless Adam watches paralyzed with fear, for example, is emotionally stunning.

Not claiming to provide any answers, this story will compel readers to consider both sides of the gun control issue.