5/1/2023 0 Comments Comic collector harlemShe began working for The Chicago Defender, a leading Black weekly newspaper. The strip ran until April 30, 1938, almost a year to the date, before suddenly stopping for unknown reasons.Ī couple of years later, Ormes made a move to Chicago. Torchy Brown’s migration from the South to New York City was similar to many Black Americans’ journeys during this time period, as they left home for a less oppressive environment. (Her pen name was not Jackie Ormes at this time.) The funny comic’s titular protagonist was a Mississippi teen who found fame singing and dancing at the Cotton Club. The paper had editions in several cities, so her work began to catch the eyes of readers around America. On May 1, 1937, Ormes’ first comic strip, Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem, made its Pittsburgh Courier debut. Ormes loved covering different social subjects, but drawing was her ultimate passion. Her time with the Courier included stints as a proofreader, editor, and freelance writer. She graduated in 1930 and by this time Ormes was covering boxing matches for the Pittsburgh Courier, a widely popular Black newspaper. Her early sketches of students and teachers were the foundation of her later cartoon works. She began writing and drawing during high school, eventually becoming the arts editor for the Monongahela High School yearbook in 1929. Ormes, born Zelda Mavin Jackson, grew up in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her rise to comic fame is a story that comic lovers should know. ![]() ![]() These women stand on the shoulders of Jackie Ormes, the first Black woman cartoonist and creator to have her own comic strip. ![]() The rise of webcomics and independent publishing has also opened doors for many women comic creatives to distribute art with lower barriers of entry. Women like Nilah Magruder, Eve Ewing, Stephanie Williams, and Roxane Gay are taking over the Marvel universe and bringing fresh takes on an array of Black comic characters like Ironheart and Monica Rambeau. The world of comics continues to expand and become more diverse.
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