Dale Messick
Encyclopedia
Dalia Messick was an American comic strip
artist who used the pseudonym Dale Messick. She was the creator of Brenda Starr
, which at its peak during the 1950s ran in 250 newspapers.
She was born in South Bend, Indiana
, to a seamstress and commercial artist. She had an interest in writing and drawing since childhood. She studied briefly at the Ray Commercial Art School in Chicago
but left to begin a career as a professional artist.
. In 1933, she moved to New York City
where she found work with another greeting card company at a higher salary, $50 a week, sending nearly half of it back to her family in Indiana. She recalled, "I had $30 a week to live it up. You could walk down 42nd Street and have bacon and eggs and toast and coffee and hash brown potatoes and orange juice—the works—for 25 cents."
, Gladys Parker
and Edwina Dumm
had all achieved success in the field, but there was still a bias against women. Messick decided to change her first name to Dale so her work would be seen by editors. She created a variety of comic strips (Weegee, Mimi the Mermaid, Peg and Pudy, the Struglettes, Streamline Babies), but none were selected for publication.
from the 1930s and basing her appearance on Rita Hayworth
. Messick wanted to produce a strip with a female protagonist; she decided a career as a reporter would allow her character to travel and have adventures, adventures more glamorous than those actually experienced by most reporters. She later commented on this in a 1986 article in the San Francisco Chronicle
:
Her break came when she came to the attention of another woman, Mollie Slott
, who worked as a "girl Friday" (à la His Girl Friday
) for New York Daily News
publisher (and syndicate head) Joseph Medill Patterson
. Patterson, reputedly biased against women cartoonists, wouldn't sign her up for daily publication in the News, but he accepted Brenda Starr, Reporter for syndication as a Sunday comic
, and it made its debut on June 30, 1940. The strip was an immediate success, since the mix of adventure and romance was popular with both male and female readers.
, which she illustrated.
On April 24, 1955, she appeared on What's My Line?
After the panel correctly identified her as a comic strip artist, they were given a full description of her real name, professional name and job as "illustrator" of Brenda Starr.
Messick retired from producing Brenda Starr in 1980. Ramona Fradon
(artist) and Linda Sutter (writer) took over the strip from 1980 to 1995. June Brigman
(artist) and Mary Schmich
(writer) have done the strip from 1995 to the present. Messick wasn't impressed with her successors' versions of Starr, according to a 1998 quote in the Sonoma County Independent: "Now it doesn't look like Brenda at all. She looks more like she works at a bank. No glamour, no curves, no fashion — but it's still going pretty good."}}
Following her retirement from Brenda Starr, Messick moved to Oakmont, California, to be near her daughter and grandchildren. She continued to work and created a new strip, Granny Glamour, which ran in Oakmont Gardens Magazine, a local weekly magazine. It ended after she had a stroke in 1998 and couldn't draw any more.
s; Messick was the only living creator. She received the National Cartoonists Society
's Story Comic Book Award for 1975 and their Milton Caniff
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 for her work on Brenda Starr.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
artist who used the pseudonym Dale Messick. She was the creator of Brenda Starr
Brenda Starr (comic strip)
Brenda Starr, Reporter was a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous female reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate....
, which at its peak during the 1950s ran in 250 newspapers.
She was born in South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, to a seamstress and commercial artist. She had an interest in writing and drawing since childhood. She studied briefly at the Ray Commercial Art School in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
but left to begin a career as a professional artist.
Greeting cards
She began working for a Chicago greeting card company and was successful but quit when her boss lowered her pay during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. In 1933, she moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where she found work with another greeting card company at a higher salary, $50 a week, sending nearly half of it back to her family in Indiana. She recalled, "I had $30 a week to live it up. You could walk down 42nd Street and have bacon and eggs and toast and coffee and hash brown potatoes and orange juice—the works—for 25 cents."
Comic strips
She began assembling a portfolio of comic strip samples. Messick was not the first female comic strip creator; Nell BrinkleyNell Brinkley
Nell Brinkley was an American illustrator and comic artist who was sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Comics" during her nearly four-decade career working with New York newspapers and magazines...
, Gladys Parker
Gladys Parker
Gladys Parker was an American cartoonist for comic strips and a fashion designer in Hollywood. She is best known as the creator of the comic strip Mopsy which had a long run over three decades....
and Edwina Dumm
Edwina Dumm
Frances Edwina Dumm was a writer-artist who drew the comic strip Cap Stubbs and Tippie for six decades and is also notable as the nation’s first full-time female editorial cartoonist, She used her middle name for the signature on her comic strip, signed simply Edwina.One of the earliest female...
had all achieved success in the field, but there was still a bias against women. Messick decided to change her first name to Dale so her work would be seen by editors. She created a variety of comic strips (Weegee, Mimi the Mermaid, Peg and Pudy, the Struglettes, Streamline Babies), but none were selected for publication.
Brenda Starr
Messick created the character of Brenda Starr in 1940, naming it after a debutanteDebutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
from the 1930s and basing her appearance on Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
. Messick wanted to produce a strip with a female protagonist; she decided a career as a reporter would allow her character to travel and have adventures, adventures more glamorous than those actually experienced by most reporters. She later commented on this in a 1986 article in the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
:
Her break came when she came to the attention of another woman, Mollie Slott
Mollie Slott
Mollie Slott was an American journalist. She kept the Chicago Tribune - New York Daily News Syndicate running in its mid-century glory days....
, who worked as a "girl Friday" (à la His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, an adaptation by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur of the play The Front Page by Hecht and MacArthur...
) for New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
publisher (and syndicate head) Joseph Medill Patterson
Joseph Medill Patterson
Joseph Medill Patterson was an American journalist and publisher, grandson of publisher Joseph Medill, founder of the Chicago Tribune and a mayor of Chicago, Illinois.-Family:...
. Patterson, reputedly biased against women cartoonists, wouldn't sign her up for daily publication in the News, but he accepted Brenda Starr, Reporter for syndication as a Sunday comic
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
, and it made its debut on June 30, 1940. The strip was an immediate success, since the mix of adventure and romance was popular with both male and female readers.
Other strips
Messick went on to create a number of other comic strips, but none achieved the success of Brenda Starr. The only other strip which she worked on which is generally remembered was Perry MasonPerry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
, which she illustrated.
On April 24, 1955, she appeared on What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
After the panel correctly identified her as a comic strip artist, they were given a full description of her real name, professional name and job as "illustrator" of Brenda Starr.
Messick retired from producing Brenda Starr in 1980. Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon is an American comic book and comic strip artist, known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950, when it was even more unusual for women to illustrate superhero comics.-Career:Fradon entered cartooning...
(artist) and Linda Sutter (writer) took over the strip from 1980 to 1995. June Brigman
June Brigman
June Brigman is an American comic book artist and illustrator. She is best known for creating the pre-teen superhero characters Power Pack with writer Louise Simonson in 1984...
(artist) and Mary Schmich
Mary Schmich
Mary Theresa Schmich is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.Born in Savannah, Georgia, the oldest of eight children, Schmich grew up in Georgia, attended high school in Phoenix, Arizona, and earned a B.A...
(writer) have done the strip from 1995 to the present. Messick wasn't impressed with her successors' versions of Starr, according to a 1998 quote in the Sonoma County Independent: "Now it doesn't look like Brenda at all. She looks more like she works at a bank. No glamour, no curves, no fashion — but it's still going pretty good."}}
Following her retirement from Brenda Starr, Messick moved to Oakmont, California, to be near her daughter and grandchildren. She continued to work and created a new strip, Granny Glamour, which ran in Oakmont Gardens Magazine, a local weekly magazine. It ended after she had a stroke in 1998 and couldn't draw any more.
Awards
In 1995, Brenda Starr was one of 20 comic strips honored by a series of United States postage stampPostage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s; Messick was the only living creator. She received the National Cartoonists Society
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
's Story Comic Book Award for 1975 and their Milton Caniff
Milton Caniff
Milton Arthur Paul Caniff was an American cartoonist famous for the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips.-Biography:...
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 for her work on Brenda Starr.