Even though he has won an American Book Award, Eisner Award, and Ridenhour Book Prize, I believe Joe Sacco (b. 1960) deserves to be better known in the wider culture, beyond the arenas of journalism, comics, and publishing. The Maltese American, Portland, Oregon–based cartoonist and journalist has published some of the most important works of graphic nonfiction of the past two decades.
In such books as Safe Area Goražde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995, War’s End: Profiles in Bosnia 1995-96, Footnotes in Gaza, and Palestine, Sacco has proven to be a master of on-the-ground graphic reportage from some of the world’s hottest hot spots. Add in two other noteworthy, co-produced works—Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt (with Chris Hedges) and The Great War (with Adam Hochschild), both of which received Kirkus stars—and you have what the Economist astutely labeled the “heir to R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman.”
His latest, Paying the Land (Metropolitan/Henry Holt, July 7), which our starred review called “yet another triumph for Sacco,” takes on the fraught nexus of Indigenous land and traditions and modern society’s seemingly endless thirst for natural resources and “so-called progress.” The author and illustrator spent six weeks with the Dene people of the Mackenzie River Valley in the Northwest Territories of Canada, which “is the size of France and Spain combined but has a population—less than 45,000—that might not fill a modern football stadium.”
Deep in this inhospitable yet beautiful landscape—rich with oil, gas, and diamonds—a sadly familiar clash has played out over generations. As predatory corporations move in to extract the resources, Indigenous inhabitants seek to maintain their age-old customs as well as the natural world that has sustained them for centuries. At the same time, investment, jobs, and higher wages have complicated matters, leading to improvements in such areas as infrastructure but also to waste, debt, and substance abuse.
“Many readers will be distressed by the many indignities that modern society has visited upon the Dene people,” wrote our reviewer. “The recent phenomenon of fracking creates division between those who see economic opportunities and those who believe the practice is a defilement of their land. Sacco also portrays in stark relief the pervasiveness of problems stemming from substance abuse.” Sacco wisely allows the Dene to carry the narrative, and his distinctive style brings their voices vividly off the page, showing the many issues at play when Native ways of life (“ownership is not how we look at the land”) run up against what Sacco describes as “the snarling and bucking transactional world.” Each page is packed with informative dialogue and narration, but what truly shines are the richly detailed, meticulously rendered black-and-white illustrations. It’s immersion journalism in a cartoon format, pushing readers along but also rewarding closer attention when desired. Our reviewer noted, “part of what makes Sacco’s portrayal so masterful is his proficiency as a journalist; he uses the real words of Dene citizens to tell their stories, augmenting them with his extraordinary artistic insight.”
There are countless individuals and groups around the world who deserve such a platform to voice their stories; after savoring this one, I look forward to Sacco’s next foray into parts too little known.
Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction and managing editor.
