BRENDA STARR, GIRL REPORTER
By Dale Messick

Notes

Titles

One of Whitman's earlier "Authorized Editions", "Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter" is based on long-running,  soap-opera-ish comic of the same name.

Being totally unfamiliar with the premise of the comic -- like "Mary Worth" and "Mark Trail", it's one of those boring comics that people skip over on their way to "The Far Side" -- I found this book surprisingly enjoyable. The absurd premise (a mad scientist creates a kingdom underground and populates it with people controlled by his "obedience gas") and the profuse illustrations of Brenda, the incredibly slutty-looking "girl reporter" (she looks like a two-dollar hooker in mid-orgasm and tends to land in situations where -- oopsie! -- her legs get all splayed out in her short war-time dress) combine for a fun read. I was astonished to learn that "Dale Messick" was a woman. I don't know whether the text was actually written by Dale Messick herself, or by someone else at Whitman.

Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter -- illustrated by Dale Messick. 1943, Whitman.

 

 

 

Source:

*Advertisement on wrapper of Sally Scott of the WAVES by Roy J. Snell. Illustrated by Hedwig Jo Meixner. Whitman Publishing Co. Racine, Wisconsin. 1943.

Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter

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