The funny papers are a window into American culture. They make us laugh by poking fun at who we are and what we aspire to; we’ll take a look at what the comic strips and comics reveal about American life.
Welcome to America Comes Alive!, a site I created to share little-known stories of America’s past.
These stories are about Americans—people just like you—who have made a difference and changed the course of history. Look around the site and find what inspires you.
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Brenda Starr, Reporter
If you read the funnies growing up and were female, it was impossible to resist Brenda Starr. She was beautiful, wore stylish clothing, had a fascinating job as an investigative reporter, and was visited by a mysterious boyfriend who appeared now and then. For living vicariously, readers couldn’t do much better than that.
Brenda Starr was an important role model when she appeared in 1940. Drawn by Dale (Dalia) Messick (1906-2005), the strip began when men were enlisting to serve in World War II. An independent working female proved to be right for the time.
Messick’s Start
Dalia Messick was born in South Bend, Indiana in 1906; her father was a commercial artist who encouraged her to attend art school in Chicago, which
she did briefly. She soon was hired by a greeting card company, before moving to New York where she was also able to find work as a card illustrator.
Messick aspired to have a comic strip and worked evenings to assemble a portfolio. She had eight possible strips to pitch by the time she began contacting newspapers. Among them were Streamline Babies, which was about two independent women moving to New York; another was about a woman pirate (this idea was probably because of the success of Terry and the Pirates by Milton Caniff, first published in 1934). But the one strip idea that finally got a reluctant go-ahead was Brenda Starr, Reporter. CONTINUE READING…
Beetle Bailey, Still Going Strong
img class=”alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2760″ style=”border: 4px solid black; margin: 4px;” title=”October 2011 076″ src=”http://americacomesalive.com/i/October-2011-076-150×112.jpg” alt=”" width=”150″ height=”112″ />The longevity and continuing appeal of Beetle Bailey was apparent this fall (2011) in Manhattan where Bloomingdale’s flagship store devoted Third Avenue windows and floor space to a multi-piece clothing line, designed by Darren Romanelli, featuring two military icons from the comic strips: Beetle Bailey and Popeye.
Olive Oyl: Popeye was an Afterthought
Popeye is one of the most famous cartoon characters from the 1930s but unknown to most people is the fact that Olive Oyl, who eventually becomes his ‘sweet patootie,’ preceded him in the funny papers by a good ten years.
