Messick, Dale

▪ 2006

Dalia Messick 

      American comic-strip artist (b. April 11, 1906, South Bend, Ind.—d. April 5, 2005, Penngrove, Calif.), created one of the top-rated comic strips of all time, Brenda Starr, Reporter, which featured a fiery-haired heroine modeled after actress Rita Hayworth; the strip debuted on June 30, 1940, on the Sunday page of the Chicago Tribune, and by 1945 it had begun appearing as a daily. In the male-dominated comic-strip industry, Messick adopted the androgenous name of Dale so that her work would be judged on its merit rather than discarded because of her sex. While encountering thrilling adventures, the glamorous Brenda paraded high fashion, presented impeccably coiffed hair, and captivated readers of both sexes. Messick, who drew some 15,000 Brenda Starr strips before retiring in 1985, later sketched a single-panel strip, Granny Glamour, until age 92.

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