"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated July 12, 1908:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (OCTOBER 19, 2020):
Today, we have a strip that kicks off a new narrative series of #LittleNemo strips that focuses primarily on the blending of the "waking world" and the "dream world". - 1/25
I think the last time that we saw something quite like this was *way* back in strip #7 (November 26, 1905) featuring the kaiju turkey devouring Nemo's family home… I could be wrong, but it's the one that sticks out to me. - 2/25
Whether you are one to delve headfirst into Freudian dream analysis or remain a bit removed from playing the interpretation of dreams game, it's undeniable that our waking experiences inform our nocturnal visions. - 3/25
This series really amps that up. I think they're certainly ripe for Freudian analysis (one might say Nemo has had a serious disappointment in his waking life to cause the dream featured in today's strip), but they also work to blend two halves of Nemo together for us. - 4/25
More often than not, we (as the reader) see Nemo immediately after he's fallen asleep (dreaming) and then only briefly once he wakes up (final panel; waking world). - 5/25
So, while the main focus in the narratives of the strip has always been his dreams, he has another half of himself that we don't really see… his waking side. - 6/25
While these strips don't *really* break that tradition (they are still dreams) they nonetheless offer some of the closest examples of what Nemo's home/waking life might actually look like and thus offer a glimpse into the life that Nemo leads when we aren't reading about him. - 7/25
For instance, panel 1 provides a nice look into Nemo's familial relationships as he wishes his mother and father goodnight. The kiss he offers his mother is very sweet. - 8/25
I find it really interesting when his mother says, "Go to Slumberland, Nemo"… I think this comment should be interrogated for a few reasons… - 9/25
Does she say this because: a) He's already dreaming and thus dream-mother knows of his travels?; b) He has told waking-mother about it so much that it has become a regular bedtime refrain?; or c) She created Slumberland in Nemo's mind with this cute goodnight? - 10/25
I'm *really* interested in the last one… what if his mother comes up with this cute goodnight for her baby boy when he's little and it sticks. The abstract idea of a "Slumberland" becomes the last thing he thinks about before he falls asleep and thus his mind creates it. - 11/25
In this sense, his mother could be considered the co-creator of Slumberland… the progenitor of the idea that seeded Nemo's unconscious and led to it's birth… I think it's a sweet and really cool notion. - 12/25
It's also interesting that they don't tuck him in, but rather he goes to bed on his own. I suppose Nemo is 8-years old by now and able to handle that responsibility himself, but I guess I always assumed his parents tucked him in. - 13/25
Again, not saying that this one moment truly demonstrates the nightly routine, but it offers us a glimpse. - 14/25
Discussions in this strip would also indicate that "dreaming" and "Slumberland" are separate… one can dream without going to Slumberland; the two are not synonymous. We know this because, well, this is a dream (I wonder if Nemo fell asleep on the couch…) - 15/25
I think this has always been pretty clear, and may even have been reinforced previously, but it stands out to me here quite strongly. - 16/25
I have to say that I'm really on board with the increased panel density of this strip. The parade series was filled with low density pages (very few creeped into double digit territory)… - 17/25
…so seeing a page so heavily defined (at least spatially) by it's many panels is something that really stands out to me. It may not have been so noticeable to McCay's contemporary readers (since it's been a week since they last read it), but I think it works very well. - 18/25
When Nemo runs into Flip, he immediately heads back to his parents to tell them that Flip has melted Slumberland … here, his father also makes a curious comment: "Is that Flip we see in the paper?" - 19/25
This is either a VERY self-aware meta-signal (which it could easily be) or an indication that the character of "Flip" (as invented by Nemo's mind to populate Slumberland) is based on a character in the in-universe funnies. A kooky idea, sure, but certainly an option. - 20/25
The strips primary narrative conceit comes when Nemo, so distraught that Flip has melted Slumberland, cries so heavily that he floods the house, the neighbourhood, and then causes a storm that wreaks havoc. - 21/25
Again, it's just wonderfully drawn. I've missed McCay's water, which (as I've mentioned previously) I just adore… It's hard not to notice how the strip's disaster is drawn so beautifully… - 22/25
In the end, Nemo wakes up to his mother's voice and tells her that he is alright despite the sobbing in his sleep that she overheard. While some of the latter parade series did this as well, I like the return to meaningful final panels. - 23/25
Ultimately, this strip kicks off a promising new series and has me very excited for what's to come… like a very special surprise perhaps?? - 24/25
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #144. What’s yours? - 25/25