Comic books are known for action-packed stories, but after flipping through the colorful pages of his new comic, Mekhi Mixon, 12, from Jacksonville, AL, said he wants other young people to know that violence is not the answer.

As gun violence remains the leading cause of death among Alabama children, the Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP), a nonprofit based in Oxford, created a comic book, Ballers and Barbers Against Bullets, to encourage young people to say no to violence and substance misuse. Seyram Selase, executive director of the agency, said he hopes the comic book will make young people think twice about their actions and consider their futures when solving disputes.

“Stop the violence, stop the bullying and treat people the way you want to be treated,” Mixon said. “My message to other young people is always keep your mind straight and always be nice to people. Don’t go get engaged in any type of violence or anything like that. You can do anything that you set your mind to. You can do anything. Anything is possible.”

The comic book follows the stories of two teen basketball players navigating what could have become a deadly situation. With the help of a local barber and mentor, the characters work together to fend off perilous villains like Caliber, a bullet-shaped bad guy who has taken the lives of other local teens.

“The biggest lesson young people should take away from the comic book is the value of their life, and if they simply value their lives, they can accomplish anything,” Selase said.

ASAP started the Ballers and Barbers Against Bullets initiative in 2023 after a community survey found that Anniston and Talladega area youth, ages 16-23, were the primary victims of gun violence.

Selase said he hopes to encourage young people to put the guns down by working with people that youth in their community look up to: local barbers and renowned athletes.

“Young people are already being exposed to the viciousness of gun violence. If we can get to their minds early, by the time that it really picks up around the age of 16 to 23 then they possibly won’t engage in that behavior,” Selase said.

Since the comic book’s launch in October, the agency has given out more than 3,500 copies in cities across Alabama, including Montgomery, Gadsden and Birmingham. Selase said the comics were handed out at the Magic City Classic, placed in local public housing authority properties, universities, counselors and doctor’s offices and barbershops.

Thomas Zimmerman, owner of Pooh’s Barber Shop in Anniston, helped to write the comic book and passes them out to all the children and teens that walk through his door.

In an episode of the agency’s Barbers Against Bullets podcast, Zimmerman said when he started cutting hair at his local barber shop at age 15, he finally found male role models that he could look up to.

“Those guys taught me how to be a man. They taught me how to live. They told me what to do and what not to do. How to make money honestly. And how to stay away from the gun violence and the gang violence,” Zimmerman said in the podcast.

He told AL.com that he hopes the comic book and initiatives like Barbers Against Bullets will encourage the community to come together to stop the violence.

“The point of the book is to give kids a solution and make them understand that there are more ways to solve issues, to diffuse issues. You have to think about things before you do it, and you have to use your mind, and you have to have some self-control, and be humble, work together and realize that killing each other is not the answer,” Zimmerman said.

On Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 5:30 p.m., the Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention will host a Ballers Against Bullets symposium at the UAB Hill Student Center where gun violence prevention advocates, including neurosurgeon and former athlete Myron Rolle will talk to youth about the importance of nonviolence.

“We want this message to spread across the state of Alabama and across the country. We want our kids to know that violence is not the answer,” Selase said.