Matt Wuerker was not the only comic-related Pulitzer winner yesterday. Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich, former writer of the comic strip Brenda Starr, won the big prize for commentary. She wrote for the strip from 1985 until the feature retired on January 2, 2011.
With topics ranging from the giant Marilyn Monroe sculpture on Michigan Avenue to a former high school English teacher whose dementia left him struggling to use words, Schmich’s stories resonated with readers and won over the Pulitzer jury, which cited her “wide range of down-to-earth columns that reflect the character and capture the culture of her famed city.”
Congratulations to Mary.