"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated February 07, 1909:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (NOVEMBER 22, 2020):
It's taken a long time to get an education themed strip in #LittleNemo! This might not be a great one, but, as an educator, it's one that I'll remember. - 1/21
It reveals the early 20th century predilection for corporal punishment and amps it up to 100… reminding me of the Pit of Despair scene in #ThePrincessBride when Count Rugen turns his killing machine up to 50… - 2/21
There is some serious repetition in this strip (demonstrating kids not really knowing when the joke has gone to far/when enough is enough, perhaps) which, though it functions fine, sort of makes the strip feel stale quickly for me. - 3/21
That said, there are some really interesting tidbits here. - 4/21
For starters, that title card is fire. We haven't seem stand-out title cards like that in quite some time and I am absolutely here for it. - 5/21
Not only does it look cool, but it gives the otherwise uninteresting spatial design that one irregularly shaped (longer than others) panel right on top of the page to foster spatio-visual interest. - 6/21
It works for me, especially as it's concerned with demonstrating the large number of students that are present in the theatre/lecture hall/auditorium for the Principals announcement. - 7/21
Again, we see McCay experimenting with some motion lines. He's scrapped the god awful circular oddities from two weeks ago and returned to a straightforward dashed line to indicate the spitballs trajectory. - 8/21
This fella, who Flip has coerced into service against the autocratic Principal, is visually similar to the Professor; a person of whom we're already familiar… - 9/21
Again, though he is unnamed, should we assume it's the same person? I'll admit, I did… and it seems that the #ComicStripLibrary also does (it identifies him as the Professor in the notes). - 10/21
I'm not sure what identifying him does for us beyond the recognition of his recurring character, but I'm interested in a (potential) answer. - 11/21
Now, I think that the penultimate panel demonstrates some solid bravery from Nemo (who offers to take the Professor's punishment even though he had nothing at all to do with the scheme)… - 12/21
…and some (uncharacteristic?) maturity from Flip, who admits his guilt and primary role in the scheme in an attempt to help the Professor. - 13/21
If nothing else, the strip gives us solid character moments from both of these regulars and demonstrates (meaningful) character growth. - 14/21
In #DisasterDrawn, comics scholar Hilary Chute (2016) says, "despite the idea of the charming sleeping boy at its center, Little Nemo…is not a character-driven strip" (84). - 15/21
And though it is hard to argue with Chute, I think what this project is revealing is that the characters and their development are much more front and center than the strip has been given credit for over the years. - 16/21
Recalling Nemo's intense fear that punctuated so many episodes in the earliest strips and comparing them to this version of Nemo signals a dramatic change. - 17/21
Similarly, the Flip we first met is not this Flip (even if his mischievous ways are still present, but re-directed). - 18/21
Again, I'm not challenging the notion that #LittleNemo is driven by concerns largely unrelated to character; it is (formalistic, most predominantly). - 19/21
But, I do feel as though McCay's characters have received short shrift over the years and, one of the things that I've been most surprised by with this chronological reading is their growth over the years. - 20/21
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #174. What's yours? - 21/21