Ernest Paul "Ernie" Bushmiller, Jr. was a cartoonist best known for his comic strip Nancy, which premiered in 1938. It is one of the most popular, widely syndicated, and longest running comic strips. As Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden noted in their 2017 book, How to Read Nancy: “Ernie Bushmiller had the hand of an architect, the mind of a silent film comedian, and the soul of an accountant. His formulaic approach to humor beautifully revealed the essence of what a perfect gag is all about–balance, symmetry, economy.”