Mike Konopacki
Mike Konopacki (born c. 1951) is an American political cartoonist from Wisconsin, specializing in labor issues.
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. Konopacki's Press Connection cartoon originals are archived at the Wisconsin State Historical Society.
Syndication[]
After the Connection went bankrupt in 1980, Konopacki began syndicating his work through the labor news service , 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]
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 . He animated the 1998 video Global Village or Global Pillage, narrated by Ed Asner.[4] In 2005, Konopacki illustrated the section, "Wobblies in the '60s" in Wobblies!: A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World.[5] 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[6]
Personal life[]
Konopacki lives in Madison, Wisconsin.[7] He has earned his M.A. (2009) and M.F.A. (2010) degrees from UW-Madison's School of Art.[8] His MFA exhibit was titled, One Nation Under God.[9]
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". Archived from the original on 2011-07-02. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ Global Village or Global Pillage Archived 2010-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 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[]
- 1950s births
- American editorial cartoonists
- Artists from Madison, Wisconsin
- University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
- Living people