"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated September 15, 1907:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905; Guest Curated by @pfxbryan (SEPTEMBER 5, 2020):
I am Dr. Peter Cullen Bryan (@pfxbryan) and I will be Guest Curator for the next few strips, as Winsor McCay takes another dry run at kaiju fiction and I perform an American Studies reading of his efforts. - 1/13
This strip to me represents a shift in the narrative, as the Princess leaves Nemo behind for the time being, the strips get more frenetic and wilder without her stabilizing influence. - 2/13
Gone are the days of lounging by the Rose Water Ocean (all the way back in strip #46 on Aug. 26, 1906), or the guided safaris through the domains of Dreamland (strip #83 on May 12, 1907); Nemo and his friends are going off the rails for a bit. - 3/13
Here, there is a sense of freedom and lack of structure to Nemo’s travels, and that freedom is used to enter the “real world,” or at least some facsimile thereof. We are not given any clear explanation of the process in this strip, just a lot of running. - 4/13
After Flip is grabbed by one of the giants, Nemo and Impie run from the forest, through the fields, into the suburbs before arriving in the city (the time shifting from afternoon to dusk to night, judging by the coloring), Nemo promising to go and find help. - 5/13
I am reminded of John Gast’s "American Progress", which has the goddess Columbia carrying civilization into the frontier, bringing the light with her. Here though, the city grows darker as Nemo and Impie reach the downtown, a reversal of that trope. - 6/13 [INSERT IMAGE]
Winsor McCay, with his limited artistic training, might have encountered the painting, but the larger concept of safety in civilization (and specifically, the city) reflects a certain American sensibility. The giant-sized Nemo and Impie appear intentional. - 7/13
In this strip, Nemo is once more a child, looking for the nearest adult to help, and not stopping until he reaches a place that feels safe, coincidentally the city, which is a more structured and regimented space than King Morpheus’s palace. - 8/13
Considering McCay’s own journey from rural Michigan to Chicago and finally New York, perhaps this is a reflection of finding a true home in urban New York? Between this and the cityscapes of “Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend,” he feels at home here. - 9/13
Reality is further blurred in the fifth panel, as Nemo hears someone calling within the dream, and awakens him, because he was yelling for help to them. - 10/13
This is not the first case of the waking world bleeding in, as we saw all the way back in strip #14 (Jan. 14, 1906), where Nemo entering the courtyard of his family’s home before being launched through his window back into bed. - 11/13 [INSERT IMAGE]
It does offer further evidence that both the waking world and Dreamland can function in tandem and echo each other, and it will not be the last time we visit the real world (or a simulacra thereof). - 12/13
This is a reading of “Little Nemo in Slumberland” #101. What have I overlooked? - 13/13