Joe Sacco is a Maltese-born cartoonist and journalist based in Portland. He is a seminal figure in comics journalism, establishing the form's seriousness and legitimacy in the 1990s with his groundbreaking investigative graphic novel Palestine. He has since become the most prominent figure in the genre he virtually created, and has published numerous investigative works of graphic journalism, including Safe Area Gorazde, Footnotes in Gaza, Paying the Land, and his most recent book, The Once and Future Riot. He is also the co-author with Chris Hedges of Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. Sacco is the recipient of the American Book Award, multiple Eisner and Harvey awards, and in 2023 was awarded a Doctor of Literature degree (Honoris Causa) by the University of Malta.