The name Black Joke Press is dedicated to the firefighters of Engine Co. 33 of the New York City Fire Department known as the Black Joke.

Fire fighters serving during the civil war, a time of choas and violent upheavel, these men were known to be hard core, risk taking volunteer firemen, ready, at all times, for a fight, or what they called, "a muss." They were known particularly for their brutal involvement in the draft riots in which several of the men in the company had been drafted, which seemed absurd to them considering they were expected to, not only protect the citizens of New York, but to now leave their posts and the bond of brotherhood they had formed in company 33, to fight a war that, in their opinion, they were already fighting for.

Enraged, knowing full well that the rich were able to avoid the draft by paying a lump sum of 300 dollars, the men of company 33, although hired to put out any fires that broke out in the city, marched down West 58th street one morning (around 10 am) and burned down the draft office.

Black Joke Press does not celebrate violence. It celebrates the courage of company 33 who fought for what they believed in. To this publishing house, they represent the underdog, the unfortunate, the working class, the desperate, the MISUNDERSTOOD, and the writer or "artist" who struggles to express the suffering and hypocrisies of his time.