'Amy'.
Harry Mace was an American comic artist, best known for creating the syndicated gag cartoon series 'Junior Grade' (1957-1960) and 'Amy' (1961-1991), which both feature child protagonists.
Early life and career
Harry Mace was born in 1922 in Shawneetown, Illinois. He grew up in St. Louis and first worked in electrical engineering. During World War II, he was a member of the Fourth Signal Battalion, serving in the Ninth Army in England, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. While in Germany, he met an American Red Cross girl, whom he married in 1946. The pair settled in Redding, Connecticut, where they remained for the rest of their lives. Mace enrolled at Columbia School of Art in 1946 and began his career as a freelance cartoonist for magazines such as Post, Look, Ladies Home Journal, This Week, Redbook and Sports Illustrated. Meanwhile, his wife Katherine Mace wrote several books for juveniles, such as 'A Tail is a Tail', 'Mr. Wiggington Joins the Circus' and 'Chief Doodley's Busy Day', some illustrated by her husband.
Junior Grade
In 1957, Harry Mace joined the Register & Tribune Syndicate, where he created the newspaper comic 'Junior Grade' (1957-1960). The series debuted on 14 October 1957 and revolved around a group of small children. By 1960 it was canceled.
Amy
A new attempt to make a gag-a-day comic about little kids was launched by the Register & Tribune Syndicate on 25 September 1961, when 'Amy' made her debut. Originally, Mace wanted to call the girl Phoebe, but someone in his syndicate disliked the name since it reminded him of an ex girlfriend. The 'Amy' feature revolved around a sassy, somewhat obnoxious little blonde girl with a pony tail. Yet given her innocent age, many could forgive her behavior. In many ways, Amy was a female copy of Hank Ketcham's 'Dennis the Menace' and, likewise, also caught on. To help him with the workload, Mace had to hire an assistant, Jack Tippit.
Unfortunately, Mace didn't live long enough to enjoy Amy's success. He became ill and at the end of 1963 he passed away in his hometown Redding at the young age of 41. Tippit continued 'Amy' for three more decades, sometimes under the different title 'Our Girl Army'. In 1991, the final episode appeared in print.
'Junior Grade'.