- Mike Konopacki
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Mike Konopacki (1951? - ) is an American political cartoonist from Wisconsin, specializing in labor issues.
Konopacki in 2010
Contents
Background and early career
A 1974 graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison (B.A. in political science[1]), Konopacki began cartooning for the Madison Press Connection in 1977, as the successor to Pete Wagner.
Syndication
After the Connection went bankrupt in 1980, Konopacki began syndicating his work through the labor news service Press Associates, Inc. In 1983 he and Gary Huck (a cartoonist for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America) created their own syndication service, Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons. Huck and Konopacki have published six collections of cartoons: Bye! American, THEM, MAD in USA, Working Class Hero, Two Headed Space Alien Shrinks Labor Movement and American Dread.[2]
Archives of the syndicate
The business records of the early years of the partnership are archived in the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library's Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives.[3] Ed Garvey reports that Konopacki wanted to donate them to the Wisconsin Historical Society, but refused, stating ""The Wisconsin Historical Society has been gutted. It's sad to have to give it to someone out of state, but the NYU collection is one of the leading labor archives outside Wisconsin."[4]
Other work
Konopacki has created comics on a number of topics, including union organizing, welfare reform, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization, often in collaboration with writer Alec Dubro. He animated the 1998 video Global Village or Global Pillage, narrated by Ed Asner.[5] In 2005, Konopacki illustrated the section, "Wobblies in the '60s" in Wobblies!: A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World[6] In collaboration with Howard Zinn and historian Paul Buhle, he co-wrote and illustrated A People's History of American Empire, a graphic novel adaptation of Zinn's A People's History of the United States[7]
Personal life
Konopacki lives in Madison, Wisconsin.[8] He has earned his M.A. (2009) and M.F.A. (2010) degrees from UW-Madison's School of Art.[9] His MFA exhibit was titled, One Nation Under God.[10]
References
- ^ Wisconsin Book Festival: "Mike Konopacki"
- ^ Huck/Konopacki Cartoons: Who We Are
- ^ Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives: Gary Huck and Mike Konopacki Labor Cartoons Business Records Collection WAG 264
- ^ Garvey, Ed. "Mike Konopacki" GarveyBlog March 13, 2004
- ^ Global Village or Global Pillage
- ^ Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman, eds. Wobblies!: A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World London/New York: Verso, 2005; pp. ix; 238-241; 293.
- ^ Macmillan Books listing for A Peoples' History of American Empire
- ^ Macmillan Books: "Mike Konopacki"
- ^ Huck/Konopacki Cartoons: Who We Are
- ^ Master of Fine Arts Exhibition by Mike Konopacki: One Nation Under God
External links
Categories:- 1950s births
- American editorial cartoonists
- People from Madison, Wisconsin
- University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
- Living people
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