Exclusive Biography

Joseph Sharpnack is an Iowa City editorial cartoonist who currently produces cartoons under contract for the Iowa City Gazette. His work has appeared in numerous domestic and international publications including USA TODAY, the Washington Post, Newsweek Interactive, and the Financial Times of London.

Mr. Sharpnack has garnered a host of regional and national awards throughout his cartooning career and in 1989 was the first college newspaper cartoonist (University of Iowa, BA 1987) ever to be nominated for the Menken Award. In 1991 while on staff at the Chicago Daily Southtown, he received the Chicago Headliner Club's Peter Lisagor award. In 2002 he received an honorable mention from the John Fischetti editorial cartoon competition of Columbia College, Chicago.

In 1998 he contracted with Tribune Media Services for two on-line comic strips and Andrews & McMeel for Finger Flix a series of novelty flipbooks.

He is the drummer for Oink Henderson and The Squealers, the eastern Iowa Rock & Roll sensation that is..." not responsible for questionable performances, poor taste or paranormal aberrations at anytime during the show."

His play, "Little Cheep-Cheep the Chicken" was rejected by New York play publishers, Samuel French, Inc. The bastards.

Did you know that Joe was a rodeo bull rider in high school?

Joe can be reached at the following email address:

sharptoons@yahoo.com