'Torchy Brown'.
Jackie Ormes, by most accounts, became the first nationally syndicated black woman cartoonist in 1937. Her 'Torchy Brown' series first appeared in the black-owned Pittsburgh Courier. Ormes' strips depicted blacks in a very different fashion than was the norm of her day. In 1940, the strip was discontinued, and Ormes dedicated herself to two single-panel cartoons, 'Candy' and 'PattyJo 'n' Ginger'. 'Torchy Brown' reappeared in 1950, titled 'Torchy Brown's Heartbeats'. Just like Dale Messick's 'Brenda Starr', Torchy Brown found herself in all kinds of adventures. Ormes also included paper dolls in her Sunday pages, called 'Torchy's Togs'. Unfortunately, her success was limited, because her cartoons were only printed in black-owned newspapers. Jackie Ormes is truly an unsung heroine of American cartooning.
In 1987, Ormes passed away at age 74. Two years after her death, Barbara Brandon became the first female African-American cartoonist to be truly nationally syndicated in US papers.
In 2012, Ormes was subject of Nancy Goldstein's biography 'Jackie Ormes: The First African American Cartoonist'.
'Torchy Brown'.