Wobblies!: A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World

by Paul Buhle (Editor), Nicole Schulman (Editor), Mike Alewitz (Contribution by), Sue Coe (Contribution by), Sabrina Jones (Contribution by)

Overview

The stories of the hard-rock miners' shooting wars, young Elizabeth Gurly Flynn (the "Rebel Girl" of contemporary sheet music), the first sit-down strikes and Free Speech fights, Emma Goldman and the struggle for birth control access, the Pageant for Paterson orchestrated in Madison Square Garden, bohemian radicals John Reed and Louise Bryant, field-hand revolts and lumber workers' strikes, wartime witch hunts, government prosecutions and mob lynching, Mexican-American uprisings in Baja, and Mexican peasant revolts led by Wobblies, hilarious and sentimental songs created and later revived--all are here, and much, much more.

The IWW, which has been organizing workers since 1905, is often cited yet elusive to scholars because of its eclectic and controversial cultural and social character. Wobblies! presents the IWW whole, scripted and drawn by old-time and younger Wobbly and IWW-inspired artists.

Contributors include Carlos Cortez (former editor of the Industrial Worker), Harvey Pekar (author of American Splendor), Peter Kuper (MAD's Spy vs. Spy), Sue Coe, Seth Tobocman, Chris Cardinale, Ryan Inzana, Spain Rodriques, Trina Robbins, Sharon Rudahl, and the circle of artists for World War 3 Illustrated.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781844675258
Publisher:	Verso Books
Publication date:	04/17/2005
Edition description:	Deluxe Ed, /DV ed.
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	936,219
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Paul Buhle, formerly a senior lecturer at Brown University, produces radical comics. He founded the SDS Journal Radical America and the archive Oral History of the American Left and, with Mari Jo Buhle, is coeditor of the Encyclopedia of the American Left. He lives in Madison.

Nicole Schulman is an artist and activist on the editorial board of World War 3 Illustrated, to which she frequently contributes work. Her comics and illustrations have appeared in publications such as the New York Times, and are in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. She lives in New York City.

Harvey Pekar is a comic book writer and author of the autobiographical American Splendor series, which was adapted into an Academy Award nominated film. Pekar is also a prolific jazz and book critic. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Retired cartoonist and current comics historian Trina Robbins has been writing graphic novels, comics, and books for over 30 years. Her subjects have ranged from Wonder Woman and The Powerpuff Girls to her own teenage superheroine, GoGirl!, and from women cartoonists and superheroines to women who kill. She lives in a moldering 103 year-old house in San Francisco with her cats, shoes, and dust bunnies.

Spain Rodriguez is one of the most well-known artists in the comix underground. He (along with Robert Crumb) was one of the original members of Zap Comics and has a reputation as an outstanding political artist. He is the author of several other graphic novels, including the highly acclaimed Nightmare Alley. His work is prominently featured in BLAB!, an annual comic anthology that has also featured Charles Burns, Mark Mothersbaugh, Daniel Clowes, and Chris Ware.

Table of Contents

	Strike	vi
	The New Century Sang of Freedom	x
	Acknowledgments	xiii
	Introduction
	Why "Wobblies"?	4
1	Early Days	6
	Miner
	A New Kind of Union
	Mother Jones
	Big Bill Haywood
	The Miners
	Lucy Parsons
	Solidarity Forever
	I Object to Anarchism in this Boxcar
2	Lawrence and Paterson	50
	Mujeres
	Strike! (Lawrence 1912)
	To Live and Dye in Paterson
	1,000 Red Carnations
	Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
	It's All Ours!
	Carlo Tresca
3	Wobblies Far and Wide	106
	Hobo
	The Free Speech Fights
	Sabo-cat
	Red Emma Goldman
	Bloody Wheatland
	Timberbeast's Lament
	Los Hermanos Magon
	Joe Hill
	Joe Hill
	The 2 Bums
	I Will Win
4	Repression, Martyrdom, General Strikes	158
	Protesta
	Black Wobblies
	"I Stand for the Solidarity of Labor"
	Frank Little: No War But Class War
	Ralph Chaplin
	GEB Statement Against the War-1916
	Solidarity
	Mourn Not the Dead
	Centralia Mural
	Class War in Centralia
	We are in Here for You
5	Beyond Martyrdom	212
	Harvester
	Sabo-cat
	Primo Tapia and the Mexican Agrarian Revolt
	Ricardo Flores Magon
	T-Bone Slim
	Tom Scribner
	College of Complexes
	Wobblies in the '60s
6	The IWW Lives!	242
	Nunca va a Morir: Homage to Carlos Cortez
	What Time Is It?
	Gary Snyder
	Time to (Dis)Organize
	Utah Phillips
	Who Bombed Judi Bari?
	Wobbly Wildcat 2001
	No to the WTO
	The Art and Music of the IWW	269
	Wobbly Originals	277
	Artists' and Writers' Biographies	289
	Bibliography	299

Editorial Reviews

"Tell the bosses to go to hell and buy an extra copy of this wonderful history. Give it to an exploited friend or just leave it in a public place. On the centenary of the IWW, we should be replanting the seeds of rebellion."--Mike Davis

"Wobblies! is a magnificent commemoration of the IWW centenary. The book reminds us that the Wobbly way of direct action and solidarity is as relevant today as it's ever been. Get hold of the book, share it, and then go take on your boss."--Daniel Gross

"When I was in graduate school, we longed for "Classic Comics" of some of our more inaccessible historical tomes. Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman have gone way beyond that with Wobblies! A Graphic History. Carefully researched, interesting, informative and accessible, this book could not be more timely."--Sara Paretsky

"America, contrary to what you might have been led to believe, has a deep indigenous radical tradition. Wobblies! excavates an essential part of American history that has been conveniently overlooked in recent years, and does so with style, great graphics, and no punches pulled."--Luc Sante

"The Wobblies made a unique and remarkable contribution to American culture and the everlasting struggles for freedom and justice, with effects that reach very far, and should in the future as well. The excitement and inspiration of their creative and courageous work is brilliantly captured in this wonderful graphic history."--Noam Chomsky

"Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman shine an illuminating spotlight on a dimly lit corner of American history with their Wobblies! A Graphic History ... and, even better ... it's chock full of great images. The Wobblies never stood so tall."--Bill Griffith

"Wobblies! is an entertaining and richly instructive history of the IWW, a story told largely through illustrations whose styles vary from spare to surreal. Some of the stories and biographies are familiar, others obscure or little known. But the lessons are stark: even the most progressive activists today suffer little for their convictions, and our dreams and expectations and goals are narrow and shriveled compared to those of the Wobblies who provide our inspiration."--David Newby

"More than a superb-looking coffee table book; it is an introduction to a critically important chapter in American history, and a graphic guide to grassroots political organizing. This book is highly recommended to fans of cartooning and class warfare."--Kent Worcester

From the Publisher

More than a superb-looking coffee table book; it is an introduction to a critically important chapter in American history, and a graphic guide to grassroots political organizing. This book is highly recommended to fans of cartooning and class warfare.

Kent Worcester

Wobblies! is an entertaining and richly instructive history of the IWW, a story told largely through illustrations whose styles vary from spare to surreal. Some of the stories and biographies are familiar, others obscure or little known. But the lessons are stark: even the most progressive activists today suffer little for their convictions, and our dreams and expectations and goals are narrow and shriveled compared to those of the Wobblies who provide our inspiration.

David Newby

Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman shine an illuminating spotlight on a dimly lit corner of American history with their Wobblies! A Graphic History…and, even better…it’s chock full of great images. The Wobblies never stood so tall.

Bill Griffith

The Wobblies made a unique and remarkable contribution to American culture and the everlasting struggles for freedom and justice, with effects that reach very far, and should in the future as well. The excitement and inspiration of their creative and courageous work is brilliantly captured in this wonderful graphic history.

Noam Chomsky

America, contrary to what you might have been led to believe, has a deep indigenous radical tradition. Wobblies! excavates an essential part of American history that has been conveniently overlooked in recent years, and does so with style, great graphics, and no punches pulled.

Luc Sante

When I was in graduate school, we longed for “Classic Comics” of some of our more inaccessible historical tomes. Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman have gone way beyond that with Wobblies! A Graphic History. Carefully researched, interesting, informative and accessible, this book could not be more timely.

Sara Paretsky

Wobblies! is a magnificent commemoration of the IWW centenary. The book reminds us that the Wobbly way of direct action and solidarity is as relevant today as it's ever been. Get hold of the book, share it, and then go take on your boss.

Daniel Gross

Tell the bosses to go to hell and buy an extra copy of this wonderful history. Give it to an exploited friend or just leave it in a public place. On the centenary of the IWW, we should be replanting the seeds of rebellion.

Mike Davis

The Wobblies, as members of the Industrial Workers of the World were known, were influential in the labor movement at the dawn of the 20th century. A grassroots organization that fought for equality and safe working conditions, the Wobblies also had ties to women's rights and socialism. This book attempts to encapsulate the rich history of the movement through comics (and connective essays) by such contributors as Peter Kuper, Harvey Pekar and Seth Tobocman. It's a colorful story, from Chicago's Haymarket riot in 1886 through epic strikes in Lawrence, Mass., and Patterson, N.J., to the controversial 1915 execution of folk singer Joe Hill. Peripheral characters include a parade of activists, including Margaret Sanger and "Mother" Jones. Though the group was most active from the turn of the century through the 1920s, later chapters address the Wobbly influence up to the present-day (noting, for example, its protests against Starbucks). The materials are assembled in as anarchic a manner as the substance of the source material, and all the lynchings and riots can start to run together. The loose structure and sometimes crude artwork do succeed in capturing the energy and emotion of the movement, however, and its spirit of activism, which continues today. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly