Tom Sims (May 26, 1896 - December 15, 1972) was a comic writer best known as the writer of the Thimble Theatre (aka Popeye) comic strip in varying capacities from 1938 to 1959. A son of a ship's captain and thus no stranger to the sailor's way of life, Sims was hired onto the strip following E. C. Segar's second (and final) hospitalization in August 1938, becoming the comic's permanent writer following Segar's death in October. Until December 1939, Doc Winner (who had previously filled in for Segar as both writer and artist between January and May 1938) served as Sims' artist; as of December 4 that year, however, Winner was replaced by Bela Zaboly, who would continue to collaborate with Sims on the daily Thimble Theatre until December 1954 (after which Sims relinquished writing duties to Ralph Stein) and on the Sunday strip until August 1959, following which both men were succeeded by Bud Sagendorf.
While drawn and written in a style largely similar to Segar's, Sims' Thimble Theatre output nonetheless introduced several prominent secondary characters, among them Davy Jones, Gramaw Peg, Aunt Jones, Lummox and Dr. Bugge.
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