Dale Messick

Before Fredric Wertham and The Seduction of the Innocent (SOTI), before the Kefauver Hearings, and before the infamous Comics Code the comic book racks at local drug stores and newsstands boasted a plethora of delights highlighted by the good girl adventures of the comic book version of Brenda Starr. These four-color wonders displayed all the finer things loved by comic book buyers: good girls, bondage, a little torture, and other delectable things, which adults thought would corrupt the morals of young and impressionable readers. Now, for the first time in over 50-years, comics fans can read and own these rare comics from another era, digitally restored to perfection and presented in an archival hardcover.Featuring artwork by the legendary Jerry Iger Studio and Brenda Starr Creator Gale Messick, this volume presents the remaining four Brenda Starr Pre-Code books, issues #9-12, and the very mod and 1960's version of Brenda drawn and scripted by Dale Messick. In addition to presenting Brenda Starr stories, this reprint also boasts all of the scintillating back-up features.

Before Fredric Wertham and The Seduction of the Innocent (SOTI), before the Kefauver Hearings, and before the infamous Comics Code, the comic book racks at local drug stores and newsstands boasted a plethora of delights highlighted by the good girl adventures of the comic book version of Brenda Starr. These four-color wonders displayed all the finer things loved by comic books buyers: good girls, bondage, a little torture, and other exciting things, which adults thought would corrupt the morals of young and impressionable readers (Brenda Starr cover art was even used as an example in SOTI). Now for the first time in over fifty years comics fans can read and own these rare comics from another era, digitally restored to perfection and presented in an archival hardcover.In addition to presenting all of the Brenda Starr stories, this reprint also boasts all of the scintillating back-up features found in these books as well. WARNING! These stories are not for the faint of heart!Thie volume collects the first eight issues of the Superior Comics Brenda Starr Pre-Code comics with art by Jack Kamen and Matt Baker, complete with a historic essay and documentary material.

Hermes Press adds yet another important title to its line-up of classic comic book and comic strip reprints with Brenda Starr, Reporter by Dale Messick: The Collected Daily and Sunday Strips.Created by Dale Messick, the first woman to create, draw, and write a syndicated newspaper strip, Brenda Starr successfully mixed romance, fashion, and adventure into one of the longest running features in newspaper history. Even though the strip will officially end its syndicated run on January 2, 2011, the feature will continue through Hermes Press’ reprints of the strip’s early years.The first volume of this series will reprint, for the first time, the first two Sunday storylines in full color. Hermes Press is digitally restoring these Sundays so that they look better than when they were first released. Also featured in this volume will be the first “Man of Mystery” story featuring Brenda’s love interest, Basil St. John. Brenda Starr, Reporter started as a Sunday-only strip, but by October 22, 1945 a daily version of the feature also appeared. The first daily sequence will also be featured in the first volume of Hermes Press’ reprint.