Joe Sharpnack (born 1962)[1] is an editorial cartoonist based out of Iowa City, Iowa in the United States.

Early life

Sharpnack was raised on a ranch in Colorado. His father was the editor-in-chief of the Fort Collins Coloradan. After he graduated high school Sharpnack traveled as a musician, and then attended the University of Iowa, where he received a degree in English[2] in 1987.[1]

Career

While studying at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, he began his career as a political cartoonist. The Daily Iowan, the university's school paper, published Sharpnack's first cartoon, "Campus Zero," on November 3, 1986, about President Ronald Reagan and the Iran-Contra affair. While still at the University of Iowa his cartoons were syndicated by The Washington Post.[2]

After graduating Sharpnack went to work at his first job at Chicago's Daily Southtown.[2]

He returned to Iowa after working in Chicago, maintaining almost 40 freelance jobs with newspapers across the USA. During the 1990s he created flip books, and published an anthology- Attack of the Political Cartoonist. He held a staff position at the Cedar Rapids Gazette for ten years.[2]

Sharpnack left the US and taught English to South Korean children in the third to sixth grades for over a year.[2]

He joined the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a drummer with the band called Oink Henderson and the Squealers.[2]

Rare eye ailment

In 2017 Sharpnack was diagnosed with a rare condition that reduced his eyesight by 26.2 percent of what it had been.[2]

Books

His work has appeared in many local, national, and international newspapers and magazines. In addition, he has produced three books, namely Attack of the Political Cartoonists, Attitude: The New Subversive Political Cartoonists, and What America Wants, America Gets: Notes from the 'G.O.P. Revolution' and Other Scary Stuff.

Awards

He received the Lisagor Award while working in Chicago.[2]

Mention in Frazz

Sharpnack was mentioned in the comic strip Frazz on January 15, 2007.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Joe Sharpnack". lambiek.net. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Clayton, Brooke. "Laughing in the face of 'Fake News'". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  3. ↑ "When a Cartoonist Goes Blind". The Daily Cartoonist. 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2020-03-01.


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