Joe Sacco's comics finally debut on digital devices

(Image credit: Michael Tierney)

Five of writer/artist Joe Sacco's riveting non-fiction graphic novels are finally debuting digitally today - a first for the 60-year old award-winning cartoonist.

Safe Area Gora&#382;de: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995 — (Image credit: Joe Sacco (Fantagraphics Books))

Palestine, Safe Area Goražde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995, But I Like It, Notes from a Defeatist, and Bumf Vol. 1: Buggered the Kaiser are all now available on both Comixology and Kindle, as part of a deal with Amazon and Sacco's publisher for these books, Fantagraphics.

Safe Area Goražde is a standout for Sacco's perspective as effectively an embedded journalist during the Bosnian War. This OGN was named 'Best Comic of 2000' by Time Magazine, and won both an Eisner Award and an Eagle Award for 'Best Graphic Novel.'

These are the first of Sacco's graphic novels to be made available officially for digital reading. While day-and-date digital and print release of comics are standard for most serialized comic book publishers, Fantagraphics and other booktrade-oriented publishers usually debut books in print first, with a digital release being secondary.

While these five digital releases of Sacco's work are a welcome sight, other notable books by the author such as Footnotes in Gaza (Henry Holt and Company), The Fixer: A Story from Sarajevo (Drawn & Quarterly), and Journalism (Metropolitan Books) remain unavailable for digital readers.

In 2020 Sacco released the OGN Paying the Land, and is currently working on a new project about the Rolling Stones - similar to his previous music journalism book, But I Like It.

For the best digital reading experience, check out our list of the best digital comics readers for Android and iOS devices.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)