Brenda Starr

PENNGROVE, Calif. (AP) -- Dale Messick, whose long-running comic strip ``Brenda Starr, Reporter'' gave her entry into the male world of the funny pages, has died at age 98....

As World War II raged Brenda did her part, parachuting into action -- every red hair in place....

``I used to get letters from girl reporters saying that their lives were nowhere near as exciting as Brenda's,'' Messick told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1986. ``I told them that if I made Brenda's life like theirs, nobody would read it.''

Ouch.