Dale Messick, the artist behind the long running adventure and mystery based comic strip Brenda Starr, has passed away at the age of 98. She had suffered a stroke in 1998 and her health has been deteriorating ever since.
Messick leaves behind a proud legacy of becoming a successful female cartoonist amongst a primarily male dominated industry. Brenda Starr has been running in newspapers since 1940. From the history page of comicspage.com, “Brenda’s popularity exceeded well beyond the bounds of the comic strip. She has frequently been featured on fashion magazine covers. Her marriage in 1976 to Basil St. John was an event that made national news and well-wishers included Ann Landers, Miss Manners and then President and Mrs. Gerald Ford.”
In 1989 Brenda Starr was adapted to film in which Brooke Shields played the dynamic reporter.
Here is the AP story as reported in the Monterey Herald.