Joe Sacco
Joe Sacco
Joe Saccois a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books Palestineand Footnotes in Gaza, on Israeli–Palestinian relations; and Safe Area Goraždeand The Fixeron the Bosnian War...
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth2 October 1960
last palestine people trip trying
My guide had a copy of Palestine on my last trip to Gaza. He'd bring it out and show people what I was trying to do. That usually went over pretty well.
best director represent scene took trying
It's like a film director trying to represent a scene that took place in the 1700s. You reconstruct it to the best of your ability.
amount apparent bosnia side spent time
There's probably one more story about Bosnia that I'd like to do, because I spent a fair amount of time on the Serb side of the lines, which isn't apparent in the other books.
generally good
I think I'm generally a good listener anyway.
I'd much rather hang out in a cafe. That's where things are really happening.
drawn
Of course, I'm drawn to a place like Iraq because It's the biggest story of our generation.
advantage asking learned people talk
What I've learned is that people like to talk about themselves. And that's kind of the advantage you have when you're asking people questions.
became clicked later searching
When I was there, something clicked in my head; I found myself interviewing people, searching out facts and figures. Later on I became much more self-conscious of what I was doing.
comics format information solid
With comics you can put interesting and solid information in a format that's pretty palatable.
When I went to Bosnia, I was there to tell someone else's story and I was more methodical.
stay
Oh, it's essential. I mean, you have to - if I'm writing about the Middle East, I have to go there, and if possible, stay long enough to get a real feeling for what's going on.
ask ground precisely seems
I try to ask visual questions. I'll ask what someone was wearing, if that seems relevant. If possible, I'll walk over the same ground that they're depicting. Of course, I can never get it precisely as it was.
people
It's a visual world and people respond to visuals.
figure neglected people
I tried to draw people more realistically, but the figure I neglected to update was myself.