By Steve Baxi — In Book 2 of Plato’s Republic, Glaucon recounts the story of the Ring of Gyges. The wearer of the ring becomes invisible, and thus free of consequences for their actions. He argues society must be structured around appropriate expectations and consequences for each individual but questions whether any person could be so just as to not use the ring for their own self-interest to avoid this social contract. Socrates responds by arguing justice ought to be such that anyone who held the ring would not use it, regardless of consequences. The Ring of Gyges is pivotal for understanding The Republic because in Socrates’ answer we learn the question of the text is not so much how a “just” society can coerce just behavior through consequences, but rather what builds good character such that we don’t intuitively view something like the ring as a method of personal gain. The Republic is ultimately about how to be a just person, and the entire dialogue is framed around the limits of forcing compliance rather than strength of character, a lesson Plato makes abundantly clear by the time Socrates is killed by the state.

We Only Kill Each Other — by Stephanie Phillips, Peter Krause, Ellie Wright, and Troy Peteri — follows the quest of two rival, Jewish mobsters, Levi Solomon and Jonas Kaminsky, as they try to stop the growing Nazi movement in 1930s America. In the process, they attempt to reconcile their differences over their shared heritage and discuss the questions of the individual vs. society that Socrates died for thousands of years earlier. While We Only Kill Each Other has some interesting things to say about justice, and provides a unique world to stage a crime thriller in, it often feels like it sacrifices a thorough character study for fast-paced action. Phillips’ characterization is strong, and the discussion of the Ring of Gyges that reoccurs throughout the middle of the story are interesting, but never particularly compelling or emotionally engaging.

Peter Krause and Ellie Wright are a strong art team, going less for the noir elements of heavy shadows and instead invoking almost a pulp adventure. The action of the series escalates quickly as we go from small bar fights in the first issue all the way to a shootout on a moving train by the end. While some of the noir elements of mistaken identities, corruption and the inevitability of tragedy accent the series, a majority of it focuses on quick car chases, angry mobs and rapid gunplay. Our protagonists are always on the run, whether that be from each other early on or from both law enforcement and Nazis hunting them down. The result is a rapid pace but with very few moments or sets that truly feel lived in or memorable. The colors evoke a nostalgia of the past, a warm brown that almost filters the whole series like an old movie, but without much attention to how the characters interact with the scenery, it almost washes over me without leaving a distinct impression.

The core problem for me, then, comes down to Phillips’ writing. While an interesting world, interesting characters, and interesting conflict, it never gets to the point where the ideas introduced are being responded to by the characters themselves. We read Jonas wax philosophic about the Ring of Gyges, dropping out of a philosophy class before he could get further into the intricate nature of Plato’s Republic. While he learns Plato’s ultimate lesson, his views never feel like they get properly challenged or externalized when it would matter the most, they never feel like they evolve internally the way he clearly seems to be evolving externally while on the run with Solomon.

We Only Kill Each Other opens by throwing a wrench into the idea that heroes and villains can be clearly delineated. As the narrative evolves, we see how the aims of the Nazis and the abuses of political figures lead to similar ends. While the DA, for example, might be planning an operation to take down a Nazi movement, he himself is not immune to treating people like fodder, to mobilizing the same way a Nazi would. The most important thing to remember about the evolution of Nazi Germany from the American perspective is that Hitler modeled a great deal of his laws and internal processes on American laws post-Civil War and in the Jim Crow era. Once Nazi Germany fell, all manner of Nazi scientists and documents found their way into American institutions, creating a vicious cycle of fascism where no one was completely innocent.

Jonas and Solomon are not particularly good people, after all we meet them in the middle of bar fights and gangland executions. They both have their own virtues, but its political coercion that forces them into doing the right thing, Jonas in particular cares little about his Jewish identity and the consequences of the Nazis if not for being blackmailed by the government. As he muses about the Ring of Gyges, Phillips is able to carefully thread a line on how far fear of consequences can truly go when it comes to making good citizens.

The Republic opens at a party with a group of people, including Glaucon, wanting to discuss what makes for a just city-state. Socrates is in attendance and wants to opt out of the discussion. However, he’s told that there are too many people insisting for him to refuse. As Socrates attempts to demonstrate, justice is often exercised as simply the interests of the stronger. From his friends pressuring him all the up to the government putting him on trial for not behaving like a pious Athenian, justice rests on the ability for citizens to be forced into a social relationship that they cannot realistically refuse. Socrates thus tries to demonstrate that while this is what justice seems to be in practice, it is not what justice ought to be. The nurturing of the soul of the individual ought to be the aim of a just society, and where the DA and Nazis fail to coerce cooperation out of our protagonists, Solomon ultimately attempts to plead with Jonas about what the right thing to do is regardless of who is forcing your hand. Perhaps there is blackmail involved, but like the Ring of Gyges, would the fear of consequences really change your mind that Nazis are ultimately bad?

Phillips is able to take this element of the story and transform it into something that could be quite powerful, but it never feels particularly thorough. We Only Kill Each Other is a fast-paced thriller that certainly is fun to read. However, I found myself retaining little of the emotional impact, and the ideas never end up clicking in the moment. I never feel like Jonas is at risk of losing anything or combating any ideology, even Nazism, as much as he’s just trying to survive the day. Solomon as the gangster with old world nobility ends up playing the more Socratic role, guiding Jonas to answers by asking him questions about who he is and what matters to him. But Jonas’s internal monologue never seems to reflect the uncomfortable or challenging nature of the questions being asked of him.

We Only Kill Each Other is a fun ride, with some witty dialogue and strong art. However, it never interrogates the ideas it introduces in a way that feels particularly satisfying. The picture of being a good citizen, what your heritage means, and the complicated nature of the US government with the rise of Nazism are all strong avenues to take this story, but I find myself being caught up too much in what this book could be, and not so much in what it actually is.

Trade Collection Review: We Only Kill Each Other

We Only Kill Each Other
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Peter Krause
Colorist: Ellie Wright
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Publisher: Dark Horse
Price: $19.99
With World War II on the horizon, Nazi sympathizers and fascists have taken root on American soil in alarming numbers, intending to push the U.S. towards an alliance with Germany. When the lone hope of stopping the American Nazi movement falls to Jewish-American gangsters currently entrenched in a violent turf war, the gangsters find that there's only one thing they hate more than each other: Nazis.
Collects We Only Kill Each Other from the ComiXology original digital series in print for the first time.
Publication Date: April 20, 2022
Buy It Here: Digital / Physical

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Steve Baxi has a Masters in Ethics and Applied Philosophy, with focuses in 20th Century Aesthetics and Politics. Steve creates video essays and operates a subscription based blog where he writes on pop culture through a philosophy lens. He tweets through @SteveSBaxi.