Cartoon: Face-to-Face with Mr. Block – Industrial Worker

Editors note: This is the eighth issue in the “Pacey Pratt the Sabo Cat” series. Today, workers deal with a traitor in their midst – Mr. Block himself! Let’s see how the workers deal with a rat.

A thirteen-panel comic strip entitled “Pacey Pratt the Sabo Cat in Face to Face with Mr. Block”

In the first panel The Boss, a giant rat, reclines at his desk, speaking to Mr. Block, a worker with a cubic head. “I noticed you weren’t with that mob of wobbly scumbags who marched in here demanding a pay raise, Block.”

“Gee Boss,” says Mr. Block, “If workers can just demand raises, that what are contract negotiators for?”

In the second panel the boss leans forward over his desk and says “Exactly. You’ve got your head on straight Block—that’s why I want you to spy on those wobblies for me.”

Mr. Block raises his right hand in salute and says “I’m sure they’re planning an action—I shall do my duty to Precision Machining Incorporated.”

In the third panel Mr. Block approaches a group of three workers, Cade, Bella, and Mattie, who are celebrating having fixed a machine.

“These workers up ahead are wasting company time laughing!” says Mr. Block. “They must be wobblies. I’ll cleverly drop my D.S.A. card so they know I’m a radical too.”

“Ha!” says Cade, the tall worker, to his fellow workers, “We did it—we got this miller working again.”

“Nice work, gang!” says Mattie, the short worker.

In the fourth panel Mr. Block approaches the workers, passing by a caution sign and slipping on some grease on the floor. “How do you do, fellow loafers?”

“Oof!” he says, as he drops his D.S.A. card into the humming miller which slices it up as Cade and Bella look on.

In the fifth panel Mr. Block has collected himself and addresses the workers, who look at him skeptically. “As I was saying, who can remind me of the direct action we’ve planned? I’ve misplaced the flyer or pamphlet for the event.”

In the sixth panel Cade whispers in Bella’s ear, “Our social map shows Block is a confirmed snitch.”

Bella adresses Mr. Block. “If you’ve got troubles at work, Block, let’s talk it over—after shift.”

In the seventh panel Block sits at a diner table with a cup of coffee. A black tabby cat approaches down the aisle. “Those wobs sure are cagey,” says Block. “They’ll only meet me outside of work.”

In the eighth panel Mr. Block has taken out his phone. “The boss will be so proud of me if I disrupt the I.W.W.--I’ll go under cover and post on their socials. ‘Any wobblie who won’t pursue a contract with the boss is a conservative.’ Let ‘em chew on that.”

The tabby cat tenses in preparation to jump.

In the ninth panel the tabby has jumped into the diner booth across from block, and has transformed into a full-size cat person in a black leather jacket. “It’s Pacey Pratt—” says Mr. Block, “the sabo cat!”

“Long time no see, Block ol’ buddy,” says Pacey.

In the tenth panel Mr. Block rushes out of the diner into the street shouting “Boss! Boss!”

“Wait ‘till the boss hears that Pacey Pratt is here in our neighborhood,” says Mr. Block. “Those wobblies must be up to sabotage!”

In the eleventh panel The Boss is leaving the shop for the night when over his shoulder he hears Mr. Block shouting “Boss!”

In the twelvth panel Mr. Block runs headlong into The Boss with a slam that takes him off his feet.

In the final panel The Boss rubs his head with his face smashed into a perfect square. “I’ve depended on him a hundred years,” says The Boss, “But that Block is a real headache.”

Pacey Pratt stands in the forground and addresses the reader directly. “Remember, fellow workers—always meet at a secure location, because the walls have ears, and the ears may be attached to block-head snitches.

The End. A postscript reads “All apologies to E. Riebe.”

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