Brenda even helped sell stamps. Courtesy of Jackie Leger © Dale Messick.

A Cultural Icon
By 1942 America was steeped in war and with men of draft age joining the service, women took their place in the work force. During this drab and uncertain time, the need for female-based comic strips tripled and for one brief moment in time, women blonde bombers to girl commandos battled enemies and lived a high flying life of adventure and daring. By putting Brenda Starr parachuting from planes or nearly freezing at high altitudes in exotic places, she was changing the dreary life of the American working girl. And, what good is adventure without romance? World War II saw American men volunteering to fight Fascism overseas and movies, pulp fiction and comic books reflected the action-oriented theme of war. As early as 1937, an issue of Adventure Comics had illustrator Cecelia Paddock Munson signing The Monastery of the Blue God, a spy story with intrigue. A few years later, Tarpe Mills was drawing one of her best action strips Daredevil Barry Finn, later Miss Fury. Best of all, almost from the beginning, comic books were employing women.

Dale Messick was in the right place at the right time, as red-haired Brenda Starr emerged as an eager female reporter for the Flash, with its first "team" of colleagues to include Tom Taylor (crack cameraman in love with Brenda), Pesky Miller (copy boy), Daphe Dimples (boss's niece) and Muggs Walters (boss and editor of the Flash, later changed to Mr. Livwright). Brenda Starr had spunk and wanted to escape social tea journalism for the quest of exciting stories in out of the ordinary places.

Some feminists balk at Brenda falling for the Mystery Man. Courtesy of Jackie Leger © Dale Messick.

When the war ended, women were encouraged to return to the kitchen and family life. As the 1950s arrived, a new period of security brought with it wit, humor and a new generation of sassy, gum chewing teenagers, a far cry from the working girls preceding them. While Dale Messick produced several strips, only Brenda Starr reached international acclaim. Her themes of independence, daring and quirkiness always reflected the issues of her day and her own personality. She remains the last living witness to the Golden Era of Comics.

A Lasting Legacy
Today, Brenda Starr has been taken over by Ramona Fradon who had her first comic job at DC Comics working on male action heroes like Batman and Superman. She replaced Messick in 1980, upon her retirement. Women in comics need a forthright and enduring spirit and while Dale's comic strips were never made into animated films, two feature films based on Brenda Starr, one for ABC starring Jill St. John and another produced by New World starring Brooke Shields, were made.