Sime the Simp
Ed Mack was an American cartoonist and the longtime ghost artist on Bud Fisher's 'Mutt and Jeff' comic. He was born as Edward Frank Mack was born in Sibley, Illinois. Among his early strips was 'Adventures of Ziggy and Sim' for the Chicago Record-Herald in 1912-13. He moved from Chicago to New York and started comic strips like 'Hilda's Tender Heart' and 'Sime the Simp' for William Randolph Hearst in December 1913.
He was assigned by Hearst to draw the 'Mutt and Jeff' strip after its creator Bud Fisher left the Hearst newspapers following a dispute in 1913. In addition, Mack also did his own strip, 'Sime the Simp', in 1914. After a long court fight between 1913 and 1915, Fisher reclaimed the rights to his characters, and took the strip to John Wheeler's Bell Syndicate. This didn't end Mack's cooperation on the strip, because Fisher hired him as his assistant after winning the lawsuit. Mack remained with Hearst until October 1916, producing a panel called 'At the Movies' or 'Made in the Movies'.
He did most of the work on 'Mutt and Jeff' from the late 1910s throughout the 1920s, since Fisher was busy enjoying his social life. Mack passed away in 1935, leaving his work on 'Mutt and Jeff' to Al Smith, who continued it for the next fifty years.
Made in the Movies