Palestine By Joe Sacco

Palestine is a non-fiction graphic novel created by Joe Sacco that tells his experiences in Palestine. Palestine is a comic that shows the journalist traits of Joe Sacco efficiently. It takes Israel and Palestine conflict as the subject.

Let's take a look at a couple of pages from the comic to get a better understanding of the style and techniques Sacco uses in his work. On page 28, for example, Sacco uses five distinct frames.

However, the first thing a reader notices is not frames but the chaos on the page. It looks complicated when it is seen first. These frames are not orderly. In the first frame, a narrative balloon covers the face of a character. Characters are not drawn with defined sizes compared to a realistic drawing style expected from a journalist's view. By using this drawing technique, Sacco can clearly show characters’ emotions through non-realistic mimics. Sometimes he uses bold characters or underlined words in speech balloons. This technique is used to show different speaking such as shouting or stressing something important. Sacco used underlying as another form of stress. It could be seen that he generally underlies words such as could, must, etc. This technique of stressing can be related to Sacco’s journalist background. Characters are in a car in the first frame which is a “confined” area as Eisner talks about. Speech balloons turn into narrative balloons in the next frame. The transition between these two frames is called the “Aspect to Aspect” transition as McCloud mentions in his book. In one frame we are presented with the inside of a car and in the next one, we can see out of the car. We can see a city away from the car. We can see the city life in the third frame which is wider than the other frames. The city is depicted in a realistic way which is again an outcome of having a journalist background. Sacco’s alternating between narrative balloons and speech balloons serves as a guide for the reader between frames. We can see another form of transition between the second and the third frames which is the “Scene to Scene” transition. This transition does not stimulate the reader to think about actions between frames because there is not much to consider between these frames. This transition only serves as changing scenery. We can see anxious soldiers in the fourth frame, they look like they are on alert. Also, buildings are drawn in all black which stimulates the feelings such as fear and anxiety. These buildings may contain several mysterious dangers in them and characters cannot have any idea about them which creates the fear of the unknown. Sacco changes the transition between the frames again. We can see that between the third and the fourth frames he used the “Aspect to Aspect” transition. By using this transition technique, he guides us through city life. We can see a club in the last frame and he used a “Scene to Scene” transition between the fourth and fifth frames. We are not presented with what happened between the frames and have to make inferences. By letting the reader fill the spaces between scenes, Sacco enables the reader to be included in the work.

On page 32, Sacco uses different frames again. There is one frame that has no borders and it stands out from others. Sacco continues to tell stories via narrative balloons.

There is a special frame on this page. It is the first frame which is a drawing of a photograph and the narrator mentions it openly. A woman can be is seen helping his son in the next frame. The transition between the first and the second frames is the “Aspect to Aspect” transition. The third frame has no border and this shows that the scene is limitless and timeless. The character is in pain and this framing technique and perspective it is drawn from help effectively show the feeling of the person in distress. Narrative balloons continue to guide the reader from one frame to the other. In the next frame, we can see the narrator leaning toward a translator which makes the scene rather realistic and shows another journalistic trait. A wounded person is also depicted to show his strong feelings such as pain and agony. It can be seen on his face by his mouth, his tears, and sweat that he is in distress. This frame is another realistic aspect of the comic.

In short, Palestine is a work of bitter reality showing the lives of Israelites and Palestinians. The usage of distinct frames and lines makes this work unique. It creates an impact on the reader with its subject and its narration style. In addition to all of these, journalist traits help make the story have a deeper meaning.