Footnotes in Gaza

"Joe Sacco's brilliant, excruciating books of war reportage are potent territory . . . He shows how much that is crucial to our lives a book can hold."—The New York Times Book Review

"Sacco first became curious about the extraordinary events of November 1956 when Harper's Magazine enlisted journalist Chris Hedges and Sacco to report on how Palestinians in Khan Younis were dealing with the Israeli occupation in 2001 . . . Footnotes to Gaza is a milestone of comics and journalism . . . Sacco's attention to detail in his drawing and his journalism is extraordinary . . . Footnotes in Gaza is energized by Sacco's relentless reporting, self-deprecating asides ('And thus begins the aggravating mismatch pitting hapless cartoonist against wily ex-guerrilla,') and the design sense that he brings to each of its 389 pages. The graphic investigation provides essential context for the bitterness that keeps Palestinians and Israelis at one another's throats. And it rescues the terrible events of November 1956 from the 'pile of obscurity' that is the final, silent resting place for the refugees who lack a champion and a voice."—Steve Duin, The Oregonian (Portland)


"Solid, old-fashioned war reporting . . . a superb way into the truth of events, understanding different sides and poking around in people's minds and houses. Unlike a war photographer, Sacco always gets the best shot, perfectly framed, sometimes years after the event. Unlike a writer, he adds facial expressions to each statement. And unlike a film maker, he can slip between past and present without the jolt of costumed docudrama . . . I learned more about the Palestinians, war, the intifada and the best honey pastries in Gaza than I ever had from newspapers or television."—The Times (UK)


"The first good news to report about the massive, fascinating new Footnotes in Gaza . . . is that the cartoonist is in top form throughout. If there's something that Joe Sacco's done in a previous comic that you've liked or with which you've been impressed, then that same technique or approach is likely to be on display here in a comparable or more effective way . . . A story soaked to the marrow with heartbreaking insights . . . One of the best long-form comics of this decade, and Sacco's greatest work to date."—The Comics Reporter

"Having already established his reputation as the world's leading comics journalist, Sacco is now making a serious case to be considered one of the world's top journalists, period. His newest undertaking is a bracing quest to uncover the truth about what happened in two Gaza Strip towns in 1956 . . . Sacco's art is alternately epic and intimate, but it's his exacting and harrowing interviews that make this book an invaluable and wrenching piece of journalism."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)