Mr Block is a cartoon character created in 1912 by Ernest Riebe, a german immigrant and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (http://iww.org/). Riebe lived in Minneapolis and from there established the Block Supply Company. The Block Supply Company marketed Mr Block postcards and such. Riebe published 24 Mr Block cartoons in a collection that is considered to be a forerunner to the (more modern) underground comic book.