Skip to main content

Link to Smithsonian homepage

Smithsonian Music

Main menu

  • Calendar
  • Listen
  • Learn
    • Ask Smithsonian
    • Collections Spotlights
    • Music Stories
  • Watch
  • Blog

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Brenda Starr

Object Details

Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Brenda Starr comic strip shows Brenda engaging in deception in order to investigate her story, while using her colleague Kelly as her agent.
Dalia "Dale" Messick (1906-2005), a female comic artist, changed her name from Dalia in order to be recognized for her work, and to fit societal norms. The strip about an adventurous female reporter was debuted in 1940. Its popularity came with industry criticism, particularly from women journalists who reacted to the artist's embellishments of the profession. Nonetheless Messick produced the strip until 1980 and then began developing other comic strips for local publications in California.
Brenda Starr (1940-2011) was a comic strip that portrayed the life of a contemporary female newspaper reporter. The title character was shown in adventurous stories at work and at home. She participated in persistent journalism and dramatic romances. After many years Brenda married her periodical love interest, Basil St. John. The story was eventually recreated as a television movie in 1976 and as a film in 1992.
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Museum of American History
graphic artist
Messick, Dale
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
date made
1951-05-07
Credit Line
Joseph Gura, Jr. (through Carl Sandberg IV)
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
ink (overall color)
Measurements
overall: 19.2 cm x 56.1 cm; 7 9/16 in x 22 3/32 in
Object Name
drawing

Featured In

  • Comic Art
  • Comic Art:References
Comic art by Dale Messick, Brenda Starr (Copyright Tribune Media Services)
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Link to Smithsonian homepage

  • About
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
Back to Top