cover image Gaza in My Phone

Gaza in My Phone

Mazen Kerbaj. OR, $20 trade paper (144p) ISBN 978-1-68219-643-4

This bold collection of political cartoons from activist Kerbaj (Beirut Won’t Cry) first appeared as a series of Instagram posts observing that Israel’s attack on Palestine is the first genocide to be livestreamed. Though not a narrative, it captures a sense of unfolding in real time. Sometimes Kerbaj simply redraws a news headline: “Red Crescent Loses Contact With the Team Trying to Rescue Besieged Child Hind Hamadeh.” A few pages later: “Update: Hind is Dead.” Other posts combine agit-prop influences in ironic and striking black-and-white cartoons. “Palestine: The Mother of All Struggles” is the caption above a Russian nesting doll, the mother broken open to reveal a baby with their fist in the air. Kerbaj—who grew up in Lebanon during that country’s 15-year civil war, laments his own feelings of overwhelm. One text-heavy page is dedicated to “My Life On Post-Its, Or: What I Didn’t Find the Time to Draw Yet,” such as “a doctor operating under the light of a smartphone” and “A father leaves his son with doctors at hospital. He comes back an hour later: no hospital - no doctor - no son.” Kerbaj’s takes are quick and shocking, but his message rings clear: The enormity of the crisis is not a reason to give way, but to lean into resistance. (June)