Writer Harry ‘Hbomberguy’ Brewis and artist Skutch tell the story of Ned Ludd. In “The First Union,” they relate the historical story of the Luddites, one of earliest trade unions of the industrial era, and their (literally) legendary leader Ned Ludd.

“‘Those guys,’” said Brewis, “were relatively educated people for their time who, correctly, saw the end of their way of life coming, and the new life the people creating it had in store for their workers. The writings of the Luddites are often unexpectedly hopeful about the future — maybe we can build a world where this technology means more to most people than a lifetime of poverty wages in a factory that wants to kill you.

“It’s weirdly comforting to me to see how little powerful people’s playbook has changed over the centuries,” wrote Skutch, whose art graces the pages of “The First Union.” “Their only tools are lies and violence.”