Brenda Starr: Girl Reporter

by Dale Messick

Based on the famous newspaper strip. Brenda Starr takes a rush call on an assignment in Sun Valley, starting her on her most thrilling and dangerous adventure yet. The pleasure of the famous winter resort is overshadowed by the mysterious disappearance of all who enter.

Genres: Fiction, Journalism

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

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

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good friend of the family had given me this book a while back, and this was the second time I had read it. The copy she sent me was very old, with the copywrite from 1943. These older books I view as a quick read; something I read for fun. Because the pages are brown and brittle, it gave me the feel of something from that time period to set the mood and compliment the story itself. Some of today's generation might not like Brenda Starr for obvious reasons, but back in the day, she was many a young girl's idol and the desire of young men's hearts.

As described in the story, Brenda was a living Barbie Doll before there was such a thing. She was sort of like the dream girl that adorned many a WWII barrack wall and nose art of the planes as well. The B-24 bomber "Strawberry Bitch" is but one example. Brenda too was a red head and from the art work in the book, she had the most envious of a body. But that wasn't why I read this book a second time, for I have my own hot woman, and she's real. As I said, I read it for fun.

Brenda worked for a newspaper and was their star reporter. That in itself was very unusual back then. The way they went about getting stories was quite humorous in itself. Somebody calls up with a hot tip and there goes Brenda hopping a plane to fly around the country. Once there she cracks the case, but not before getting herself in all kinds of jams where she is often rescued by many a handsome admirer or the goofy office sidekick. Poor Brenda, she was such a delicate thing. No Sarah Connors here. But, that was what the readers wanted. Brenda adorned many a page of the popular newspaper comics. A real life female partisan or Russian female sniper would not have had the same following.

I won't go into the plot for it is most simple, though it did have a few minor twists. Read it and you too might be entertained.

And by the way, the author was really a woman!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What fun! I found this at a library sale and was instantly taken with the entertaining illustrations; so delightfully vintage (early 1940s) yet timeless in their larger-than-life charm. What I didn’t realize until I got the book home is that the book is “an original story based on the Famous Newspaper Strip ‘Brenda Starr’” by Dale Messick, including original illustrations for the story by Messick—this totally makes sense when you see the illustrations! Doing a bit of research online, I found that not only was Brenda Starr a hugely popular comic strip for many years (at its peak in the 1950s, it ran in 250 newspapers) but that Dale Messick was a pen-name for Dalia Messick, one of the first women comic strip creators!

From Wikipedia:

“Messick created the character of Brenda Starr in 1940, naming it after a debutante from the 1930s and basing her appearance on Rita Hayworth.[1] 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: “I used to get letters from girl reporters saying that their lives were nowhere near as exciting as Brenda's. I told them that if I made Brenda's life like theirs, nobody would read it.[4]” Her break came when she came to the attention of another woman, Mollie Slott,[1] 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,[1] 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.”

Pretty cool! Apparently Brenda Starr was popular enough to translate not only into a novel but also onto the Big Screen for some movie adventures, too.

Anyway, engaging history aside, the novel itself is a hoot. You’ve really got to go into it with the right attitude, though. Knowing it’s based on a comic strip makes all the difference. You know there are going to be some pretty cheesy parts, lots of over-the-top stuff, etc. but I thought that was all part of the charm. No, it’s not great literature. But, I had a jolly good time reading it! Sure, there are a few outdated gender role references, but mostly I loved the 1940s setting. Besides, Brenda is smart and spunky and admired not only for her beauty but for her brains. Yes, she spends a bit too much time falling down the snowy hillsides and being rescued from the snowdrifts by strong, handsome men—but in the Really Important Stuff, you know it’s going to be Brenda who saves the day!

The supporting cast of characters is total comic strip fare. I mean, the names alone tell you pretty much all you need to know. There’s Larry Nickels, the wealthy newspaper man who wants to woo Brenda with a prime story for his newspaper (and make her Mrs. Nickels in the process); Muggs Walters, Chief of the “Flash”, the newspaper at which Brenda currently works; Tom Taylor, Brenda’s co-reporter, also in love with Brenda but not quite as exciting as Larry; Pesky Miller, the “kid” on the “Flash” staff who is always ready with some comic relief—think a bit of Lois Lane and Clark Kent here, with some Jimmy Olson and Perry White, too. Add in Daphne Dimples, Mr. Walters’ lazy niece who is always trying to get her “Uncle Muggsy” to give her the star reporter position; Flurry Snow (I kid you not) who is Nickel’s secretary in their ski resort headquarters and is secretly in love with him; add in a crazy old professor and a sinister old ski lodge where people go in but don’t come out, and you’ve got yourself all the makings for a smile-your-way-through-it adventure :->

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was a little girl, laying on my grandparents bed, totally dreaming of being Brenda Starr. It was my phase of not able to get enough Nancy Drew and Brenda Starr.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved Brenda Starr since my childhood. I even have that ridiculous movie starring Brooke Shields. I found this copy at a used record store (that also sells books), and had to have it. At first I thought this was going to be a collection of short stories involving Starr, but it's all one story! It was a fun read despite the sexism. The second mystery added at the end was a bit bizarre and rushed after the whole book involving one plot. Of course I loved the illustrations, and Messick is a great writer. His descriptions are almost tangible. This is especially true when describing fashion which I appreciate very much!

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful novel along the lines of Nancy Drew

[Shirley Yant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had read it years ago. Had fun reading it again.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was deliciously ridiculous. It drew me in from the first page. I have read several Whitman authorized books from the era and find them great escapist reading.

[Michael P.]

I gave up after 49 pages, when the book FINALLY gets to the mystery, but I had lost interest.