COMMERCIAL ARTICLE 16
DALE MESSICK AND BRENDA STARR:
BREAKING BARRIERS AND HITTING DEADLINES

Written by Connie Zeigler
Guest essay by Debbie Millman

For nearly fifty years, Dale Messick wrote and drew Brenda Starr, Reporter, one of the most popular comic strips in the country! As the first syndicated female comic strip creator, Messick was a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of newspaper comics!

Her creation, the intrepid reporter Brenda Starr, began an adventure in 1940 that lasted for decades! Starr’s zany antics and dramatic love affairs took her around the world, to the highest levels of high society, and to the depths of the criminal underworld. Along with her colorful cohorts like Hank O’Hair and Daphne Dimples, Brenda Starr, Reporter delighted millions of readers and was syndicated in over 250 newspapers. She even made the jump from comics to movie serials to television and to a major motion picture!

We are joined this issue by educator, designer, author, and podcast superstar Debbie Millman. Debbie shares her own very personal story of how Brenda Starr, Reporter became a lifeline during a troubling period in her young life, and how it helped her solve a mystery nearly fifty years in the making.

This is the biggest issue of Commercial Article yet! At nearly 130 pages, and with over 180 images, this is the one to get! Commercial Article 16 is designed and printed in Indiana.