Review: War on Gaza by Joe Sacco.
Fantagraphics, December, 2024. 32 p. ill. ISBN 9798875000904 (softcover), $12.99.
Reviewed July, 2025
By: Erin Murray, Library Project Cataloger, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Joe Sacco’s latest book is a pithy examination of political accountability for the current war in Gaza. This comic-book-sized work centers the political leaders involved and portrays their actions with unflinchingly grim wit. The commentary is voiced in Biblical tones and interwoven with references to political philosophy as well as Sacco’s own nightmares and family history. Ultimately, he questions the meaning and limits of democracy in political crises.
Sacco is not new to this topic, having previously won awards for his full length works on Palestine. War on Gaza, a slim 32 pages, is more of an urgent dispatch, lacking the atmospheric detail of his earlier work. In the opening, Sacco acknowledges his responsibility to speak up as well as the difficulty of articulating his shock and horror at the unfolding events in the real world. He somewhat humbly presents his thoughts “as I turn them out,” but his voice carries weight, and his reading of the situation, while it can seem like a jumble of unexplained references, cuts to the philosophical foundations of a complex political history.
The black and white drawings are clean and at times almost stark. The wrinkled, expressive faces of political leaders and solid black, looming missiles have a visceral effect. Scenes are rendered without excessive detail, enhancing the sense of urgency that drives the narrative forward. It is skillfully depicted, but artistry is in service to Sacco’s message, perhaps fitting for a work of graphic journalism.
This work is appropriate for young adult and adult collections in public and academic libraries. While not exactly a primer, it could serve as a quick introduction to Palestinian issues, especially alongside Sacco’s other books. It would particularly support coursework in history, political science, cultural studies and journalism.
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