Asa Elmer "Ace" Reid, Jr., (March 10, 1925 – November 10, 1991) was the American creator of the cartoon Cowpokes and a Western humorist.
Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Electra, Texas, where he grew up ranching and cowboying.
During World War II, he served as a machinist's mate in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific aboard the USS Lanier .
Cowpokes was born on board the Lanier; "The Sorry Salt" was a cartoon he drew for the ship's newspaper.
Ace’s first cartoon appeared in West Texas Livestock Weekly that same year.