Ormes's first comic strip, "Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem", first appeared in the "Pittsburgh Courier" on May 1, 1937. Her work was not syndicated in the usual sense, but, since the "Courier" had fourteen city editions, she was indeed read from coast to coast. The strip, starring Torchy Brown, was a humorous depiction of a Mississippi teen who found fame and fortune singing and dancing in the Cotton Club. Torchy's journey from Mississippi to New York City mirrored the journey of many African-Americans who ventured northward during the Great Migration. It was through "Torchy Brown" that Ormes became the first African-American woman to produce a nationally appearing comic strip. The strip ran until April 30, 1938. The reason for the strip's abrupt end is uncertain, but it is presumed to have been due to an end of her contract.