Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Fantagraphics | Tagged: graphic novel, joe sacco, palestine

Fantagraphics Rushes Joe Sacco's Palestine Back To Print

Fantagraphics has announced a reprinting and a return to stock for the graphic journalism novel, Palestine by Joe Sacco.

Published Mon, 11 Dec 2023 10:57:07 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Fantagraphics reprints Joe Sacco's acclaimed graphic novel "Palestine" with an intro by Edward Said.
Soaring demand for "Palestine" follows recent Middle East conflicts, leading to a fast sellout.
Originally serialized, "Palestine" broke ground in comics as empathetic political journalism.
Sacco's "Palestine" remains relevant, reflecting the enduring plight and resilience of Palestinians.

Fantagraphics has announced a reprinting and a return to stock for Palestine by Joe Sacco, saying; "Back in stock: Palestine, a landmark of journalism and the art form of comics by Joe Sacco, with an introduction from renowned author, critic, and historian Edward Said. Based on several months of research and an extended visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early 1990s (where he conducted over 100 interviews with Palestinian and Jewish people), Palestine was the first major comics work of political and historical nonfiction by Sacco, whose name has since become synonymous with this graphic form of New Journalism. Like Safe Area Gorazde, Palestine has been favorably compared to Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus for its ability to brilliantly navigate such socially and politically sensitive subject matter within the confines of the comic book medium."

Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth told the Observer newspaper that "after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the subsequent bombing of Gaza, demand for the book had soared. "We blew out of our inventory of several thousand copies quickly and are reprinting now. Retailers and wholesalers began ordering the book in far greater quantities than in the recent past, which indicates that every element down the chain – consumers and retailers – are expressing demand for it.""

Groth recalls the original publication as a serialised, then collected, comic book. "Original graphic novels were a rarity back then and the book trade had no graphic novel category, so no one knew quite what it was… so few people shopping at comics stores wanted to read about the Palestinian plight; they mostly went there to buy their weekly dose of X-Men comics. It was only Joe's commitment to serious journalism and the comics form that propelled him to finish those nine issues, which have since become recognised as a great empathetic work of art."

Sacco followed Palestine a decade later with Footnotes in Gaza, also still out of print, hopefully returning to print next year. He says,"the level of violence is on a scale that – if we're talking about civilians – dwarfs what we're seeing in Ukraine. In the first intifada, when I was working on Palestine, maybe 1,200 Palestinians were killed over a few years. Now, in tiny Gaza, that amount of dead is a matter of two days… That the book itself still has relevance is a sorry testament to the enduring tragedy of the Palestinians – though, in some ways, it's also a tribute to their fortitude, their unwillingness to give in. I would go back, if I could get in. Thankfully, many brave Palestinian journalists are doing exemplary work despite the appalling conditions and the very real danger to themselves and their families. But the main reason I would like to go back to Gaza is to see my friends there. I hope they will make it through this."

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