Joe Sacco

Born October 2, 1960, Joe Sacco is a Maltese-American cartoonist widely recognized as the pioneer of comics journalism—using the sequential art form for rigorous, investigative reporting. He entered the field in the late 1980s, initially self-publishing work that appeared in titles like *Yahoo* and *Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy*, before turning his focus to war and conflict zones. Sacco’s breakthrough came with *Palestine* (2001), a compilation of his reporting on life in Gaza and the West Bank that won a National Book Award in 1996. He followed with *Safe Area Goražde* (2000) and *The Fixer* (2003), both documenting the Bosnian War, and *Footnotes in Gaza* (2009), which earned a Ridenhour Book Prize. His later works include *Paying the Land* (2020), *The War on Gaza* (2024), and *The Once and Future Riot* (2025). Known for his dense, expressive black-and-white art and meticulous research, Sacco often collaborates with editors and translators but remains the sole writer, artist, letterer, and colorist on his major projects. Over a career spanning from 1987 to 2025, he has been credited on 63 issues, with his most frequent titles including *Palestine*, *Bumf*, and *Notes from a Defeatist*. Sacco’s influence is profound: he established a new genre of reportage, and his work is studied in journalism and comics programs alike.