Ham Fisher was, in the opinion of some critics, a below-average cartoonist with a knack for storytelling. He created Joe Palooka and promoted it into one of the most successful newspaper strips of its time. He firmly believed, from the beginning, that his sentimental adventure strip, about a clean-cut and innocent boxing champ, would bring him fame and fortune. He was correct. When Fisher took his own life at the age of 54, his estate was worth approximately $2,500,000.

Hammond Edward Fisher as born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. After graduating from high school, he worked as a reporter and cartoonist for the local newspaper. While his mother was supportive, his father "had complete contempt for my aesthetic ambitions." Undaunted, F...