# Is "Palestine" by Joe Sacco a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Palestine by Joe Sacco (Fantagraphics Books, 1996 (two-part collected) / 1993 (serial)) is identified by: Serialized as Palestine issues 1 to 9 (Fantagraphics, 1993 to 1995). The 1993 to 1995 single issues are the true first appearance of Sacco's comics journalism here.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Serialized as Palestine issues 1 to 9 (Fantagraphics, 1993 to 1995)
- First collected book form: the two-part set Palestine: A Nation Occupied (collecting issues 1 to 5) and Palestine: In the Gaza Strip (collecting issues 6 to 9), Fantagraphics, 1996
- The single-volume Palestine collection with Edward Said's introduction (Fantagraphics, 2001, ISBN 1-56097-432-X / 9781560974321) is the most cited collected book edition
- Verify the Fantagraphics imprint and first-printing statement
- Correct publisher/imprint: Fantagraphics Books

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Joe Sacco |
| Publisher | Fantagraphics Books |
| Year | 1996 (two-part collected) / 1993 (serial) |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | Serialized as Palestine issues 1 to 9 (Fantagraphics, 1993 to 1995) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Serialized as Palestine issues 1 to 9 (Fantagraphics, 1993 to 1995). First collected book form: the two-part set Palestine: A Nation Occupied (collecting issues 1 to 5) and Palestine: In the Gaza Strip (collecting issues 6 to 9), Fantagraphics, 1996. The single-volume Palestine collection with Edward Said's introduction (Fantagraphics, 2001, ISBN 1-56097-432-X / 9781560974321) is the most cited collected book edition. Verify the Fantagraphics imprint and first-printing statement.

## Is this the true first?
The 1993 to 1995 single issues are the true first appearance of Sacco's comics journalism here. The two-part collected set appeared in 1996; the canonical single-volume collected book is the 2001 edition introduced by Edward Said. Distinguish serial issues, the 1996 two-volume collection, and the 2001 single-volume edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The 2001 Said-introduced single-volume collection is told apart from the earlier 1996 two-part set by title, contents (all nine issues in one volume), and the presence of Said's introduction.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Palestine* by Joe Sacco a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/palestine
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.