On History: Joe Worker & The Story of Labor

As it's Labor Day here in the U.S., I thought I might share this gem called Joe Worker and The Story of Labor. I haven't been able to track down much about it other than it was commissioned by the National Labor Service. The comic is creditted to Nat Schachner (a sci-fi short story author, who was evidently a favorite of Isaac Asimov) and Jack Alderman (who had previously worked at the Chesler Studio and the Eisner/Iger shop among others).

The NLS was founded in 1945 "to assist the organized labor movement in an educational campaign against racial and religious intolerance..." The comic was originally serialized in union newspapers, allegedly reaching 12 million readers by mid-1945. Besides the comic, the NLS also produced posters, pamphlets, and short films. The strip was later re-packaged as a pamphlet comic, colored and sent out at the request of individual unions. "Several hundred thousand" had already been requested by August 1946. I've reproduced the comic book version below...

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