"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated June 18, 1908:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (OCTOBER 17, 2020):
I can't believe I'm about to say this… but I think McCay kind of stuck the landing with this strip… the series was a literal drag… but I sort of like this final strip. - 1/13
In fact, the ridiculously long build-up to this finish might have even been worth it… sort of. - 2/13
If you're just looking at the strip panel by panel, then it works really well because right up until the Princess' arrival in panel 7, a reader might assume that Flip's antics will once again spoil seeing the Princess for Mary… - 3/13
Panel 6 depicts Flip and Impy dangerously close to the lions pulling her litter… a reader is left to wonder how in the world they make it back up to the balcony before causing a commotion?! It's happened for weeks so why not now, too? - 4/13
Obviously, this is meant to be the gag; right up until the moment of resolution, we're expected to fear that it is yet another instance of the rug being pulled out from under us. - 5/13
Now, iconic solidarity makes that tough to pull off in reality though because we can clearly see the Princess arrive directly below the danger in panel 6 (at least In Taschen's massive newspaper sized print edition; mileage may vary in the digital). - 6/13
I'm not saying it wasn't a worthwhile attempt; far from it. We have to remember that the technology and methodology of comics were still very much in flux, so as far as I'm concerned, it was a pretty neat moment. - 7/13
Now, I gotta ask… what in the WORLD are those creatures in panel 1? I think they're wonderful, but I wish I knew more about them! These are one of the strangest inhabitants of Slumberland that I think we've seen thus far, aren't they? - 8/13
We've seen giants and the other oddities, but (almost?) all of them were modeled after the traditional human… these fellas (at least they seem to be all male) are torso-less… just head, arms, and legs. - 9/13
What gives? Who are they? And will they be in #NightmareFiends, @Totter87? The people WANT TO KNOW! - 10/13
Flip is certainly unkind to them, calling them ugly (in so many words) as they pass by. This makes me wonder back about the class structure of Slumberland and these creatures places in it. - 11/13
I'm hoping that we see these fellas again… I don't think their story can be over with just a one off panel in this godawful parade arc… I want more! Does anyone know if they show up again? - 12/13
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #142. What's yours? - 13/13