'Brenda Starr' To End Newspaper Run
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The late nights and looming deadlines are coming to an end for globetrotting reporter Brenda Starr.
The redheaded reporter, created by Dale Messick, is putting the notebook away for good, effective in January. Her first appearance came in a Chicago Tribune comic book insert in June 1940,
Tribune columnist Mary Schmich, who writes the comic strip, and artist June Brigman both say they have decided to end their work on the seven-day-a-week strip, with the final episode to be published Jan. 2.
At its height in the 1950s, Brenda Starr appeared in 250 newspapers across the country and abroad. It still runs online and in about three dozen newspapers, including the Tribune and the Boston Herald, according to Tribune columnist Phil Rosenthal.
The comic strip was created by Dale Messick, who drew the comic strip for the next 43 years and depicted Starr jumping from planes, being hijacked at sea, and even going over Niagara Falls on a barrel, according to published reports. Messick even named her own daughter Starr, according to the Washington Post.
The comic strip was also adapted into a 1989 movie starring Brooke Shields, and a 1976 TV movie starring Jill St. John.
But now, Tribune Media Services, which owns Brenda Starr, said Thursday it will end the feature's newspaper syndication. But Brenda won't be gone for good.
The first volume of a collection of the comic's daily and Sunday strips is due out in June.
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