Posted Sept. 17, 2010
Traces, the magazine of the Indiana Historical Society, has just sent out its summer issue, and among its contents is an article called "Dalia Messick: Creator of Brenda Starr" by Joan Meister. Dalia, or Dale Messick as she was known to readers of the comics, was one of the first successful female cartoonists in the United States. Born on Apr. 11, 1906, in South Bend, Indiana, she broke into syndication with Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter (later just Brenda Starr Reporter) in 1940. In forty-three years of drawing the strip, Messick never missed a deadline. Dale Messick died in 2005, a year and a week short of her century mark.
Brenda Starr continues as a daily and Sunday comic strip under the guidance of June Brigman and Mary Schmich. (To my knowledge, all the lead creators on Brenda Starr have been women, although Messick was assisted by a number of men, including Mike Grell, creator of Warlord for DC Comics.) If you want to see Messick's original art, you'll find a large collection of dailies at the Lilly Library at Indiana University.
Copyright 2010, 2011 Terence E. Hanley
Copyright 2010, 2011 Terence E. Hanley
No comments:
Post a Comment