Fantagraphics Books is pleased to present, for the first time, the definitive, expanded, hardcover collection of Sacco's landmark of comics journalism. Palestine: The Special Edition is more than a new edition: consider it the "Criterion" Palestine. In addition to the original, 288-page graphic novel and introduction by the late Edward Said, The Special Edition includes a host of unique material never before published, including many of Sacco's original background notes, sketches, photographic reference, and much more. The book also includes a new, introductory interview with Sacco about the making of the book as well as a new cover and design. Palestine: The Special Edition will be a cornerstone of any serious comic collection. With the Middle East's role in contemporary world politics, Sacco's Palestine has never been more relevant or more valuable to a country desperate to understand this long-running conflict. 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 Palestinians and Jews), 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. Sacco's insightful reportage takes place at the front lines, where busy marketplaces are spoiled by shootings and tear gas, soldiers beat civilians with reckless abandon, and roadblocks go up before reporters can leave. Sacco interviewed and encountered prisoners, refugees, protesters, wounded children, farmers who had lost their land, and families who had been torn apart by the Palestinian conflict.

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"Sacco uses the comic book format to its fullest extent, creating bold perspectives that any photojournalist would envy." – Utne Reader

"Gripping... a political and aesthetic work of extraordinary originality." – Edward W. Said, from his introduction

"Sacco's Palestine brilliantly and poignantly captures the essence of life under a repressive and prolonged occupation." – Nasseer H. Azuri, Professor of Political Science, The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

"Sacco is a pioneer." – Journal of Palestinian Studies

"Page after page, drawing after drawing, word balloon after word balloon, we sense a propinquity, a closeness, an intimacy with the truth that shapes and defines this sad part of the world (the occupied territories) at a particular period of time (the early to mid '90s)... the imagination of a person who can absorb so much information in such a short time must be taken seriously." – Charles Mudede, The Stranger

"...[The] special edition of Palestine [is] decked out with as good an author's section on making a great comics work as has ever been published and still anchored by those great, heartbreaking, insightful, lushly drawn and chaotically depicted comics pages, a barely contained howl at the way the world works for millions of people fueled by the passion of a cartoonist working at the outer edge of his talent." – The Comics Reporter

"A crisp, solid hardcover edition of a comics classic... which re-arranged thinking about what is possible in the comic book form." – The Oregonian

"There's nobody else anywhere near Sacco's level doing journalistic comics in English." – Douglas Wolk

"...A reissue done right... given the beautiful hardcover packaging and the indispensable nature of the bonus material, Palestine: The Special Edition is an unquestionably worthy purchase for both first time readers and those who already have a tattered copy of the first edition sitting on their bookshelves." – The Daily Cross Hatch

"Sacco's work to reveal the truth about what is happening between the Israelis and the Palestinians remains as powerful and timely now as it was when originally published, and it deserves to be seen and experienced in this new, prestigious edition. Whether you're a longtime Sacco follower or just curious about what it is that he does that makes him so noteworthy among his fellow cartoonists, Palestine: The Special Edition is absolutely indispensable." – Alan David Doane

"One of the most vital, engaging, artfully executed comics projects in the history of the form... More than a decade after it was completed, Palestine is still one of the most thoughtful examinations of the Palestinian/Jewish conflict in any medium, with Sacco thrusting himself and his own sense of dislocation into every finely etched line and probing interview. This is stirring reportage, acknowledging the common humanity of the Middle East's powerful and powerless, without ignoring either side's faults." – The Onion A.V. Club

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