"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated March 08, 1908:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (SEPTEMBER 30, 2020):
Personally, I think this strip is a really great contrast to the last strip. Though both evoke a certain affect, I found this one a lot more fun and playful that the last which was disorienting and uncomfortable… - 1/15
There's a sense of comfortability here, primarily because the narrative scenario is so clearly that of a Carnival Funhouse! Even if Befuddle Hall has caused our trio a bit of anxiety recently, there really isn't anything here any worse than a traditional funhouse… - 2/15
…meaning that the reader is a bit more comfortable here as a result. That said, the amount of air that would need to blow from those vents to knock them down in panel 6 would be substantial… - 3/15
The definition found on @Wikipedia for "Funhouse" is surprisingly great and describes this scenario well, I think: - 4/15 [INSERT IMAGE]
Sure, it's less an obstacle course (it's actually a pretty basic hallway), but the setting does "distort conventional perceptions" about what a hallway should or shouldn't be doing, which "startles" the trio through the "unstable and unpredictable physical circumstances". - 5/15
It all adds up to something that really can be described as an "atmosphere of wacky whimsicality" and I think that's why I like it so much; I don't get the sense the trio is in "danger" at all (a fear that has been, up until now, a near constant undercurrent…). - 6/15
That said, I've had my own experiences with funhouses that are similar to this and so I think it's entirely possible that I'm projecting my own feelings of enjoyment and amusement onto the strip. - 7/15
There are certainly examples of Funhouses that are nefarious and dangerous (IT, Us, just to name a few recent pop culture examples), and many Haunted Houses twist the Funhouse concept to terrify and scare, but this moment doesn't feel in anyway like that. - 8/15
We get some more grumblings between Nemo and Flip (which we've talked about before and I don't think there is really anything new added here). - 9/15
That the air blows off pieces/parts of the boys' police attire is interesting, but not as interesting as it blowing off Flip's facial hair… Clearly, that "Hair Tonic" didn't work quite as well as we originally thought if it was that easy to remove. - 10/15
In the end, this strip very dramatically boots us from Befuddle Hall, forcing the boys (and us, the reader) to exit the Hall in unceremonious fashion. I love panels 9-11; watching the ceiling tile swing down through moment-to-moment transitions is pure joy. - 11/15
Interestingly, the tile not only tosses them from Befuddle Hall, but actually tosses them out of Slumberland. We don't see them land outside, but rather are witness to Nemo falling out of bed (again) and landing in the waking world, instead. - 12/15
This sort of abrupt and violent exit isn't all that new for us; Nemo has been falling out of bed for years at this point, but this one is particularly fascinating because it is Slumberland (as character) that forces him to wake-up through it's actions. - 13/15
For the longest time, the whole point of the strip was to keep Nemo sleeping… I wonder what that is telling us? Is Befuddle Hall working at odds with Slumberland (which might explain it's contradictory design)? I don't know. Thoughts are welcome! - 14/15
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #126. What’s yours? - 15/15