A Drawing a Day February 15

February 15 - Torchy Brown

Creator-owned.

To celebrate Black History Month, I'm participating in #28black and drawing one black superhero or villain per day.

Today we show respect to a trailblazer.

Jackie Ormes (August 1, 1911 – December 26, 1985) is the first African-American woman cartoonist and creator of the "Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem" comic strip in 1937 and the "Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger" a single-panel cartoon.

In 1950, Ormes re-invented her Torchy character in a new comic strip, "Torchy in Heartbeats." This Torchy was a beautiful, independent woman who finds adventure while seeking true love.

Ormes contracted with the Terri Lee doll company in 1947 to produce a play doll based on her little girl cartoon character. The Patty-Jo doll was on the shelves in time for Christmas and was the first American black doll to have an extensive upscale wardrobe.

Her heroines, like the iconic Torchy Brown, Candy, and Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger, all ignored the heinous, albeit expected, stereotypical look and actions of a black woman in media (fat, slow, dumb, not graceful etc). Ormes's characters are strong and independent women who are socially and politically aware, who strive for their goals against all odds, defy social norms, and pick themselves up by the bootstraps and move on to the next adventure, instead of languishing in their downfalls.

You may find more information on this web site
http://jackieormes.com/


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Do Any Women Draw Comics?

First Black Woman Cartoonist

Black History Month

Jackie Ormes (August 1, 1911 – December 26, 1985) 

Jackie Ormes is the first black woman cartoonist who created the Torchy Brown comic strip and the Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger single panel strip.

The Pittsburgh Courier, a weeklyAfrican-American newspaper published on her comic strip, Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem from 1937 to 1938. Torchy Brown was a humorous depiction of a Mississippi teen female who found fame and fortune singing and dancing in the Cotton Club. Ormes became the first black woman to produce a syndicated comic strip. Torch Brown bore a strong resemblance to her creator.

She created Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger, a single-panel cartoon in August 1942, which ran for 11 years. It featured a big sister-little sister combo, with the precocious, insightful and socially/politically-aware child as the only speaker and ta beautiful adult woman as a sometime pin-up figure and fashion mannequin.

Ormes contracted with the Terri Lee Doll Company in 1947 to produce a doll based on her little girl cartoon character. The Patty-Jo doll was on the shelves in time for Christmas and was the first American black doll to have an extensive upscale wardrobe. As in the comic strip, the doll represented a real child, in contrast to the majority of dolls that were mammy dolls. Patty-Jo dolls are now highly sought collectors' items.

In 1950, the Courier began an eight-page color comics insert, where Ormes re-invented her Torchy character in a new comic strip, Torchy in Heartbeats. This Torchy was a beautiful, independent woman who finds adventure while seeking true love. Ormes displayed her talent for fashion design as well as her vision of a beautiful black female body in the accompanying Torchy Togs paper doll cut outs.

http://www.jackieormes.com/

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