"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated June 06, 1909:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (DECEMBER 10, 2020):
This strip is simple, but… wow… does it pack a "wallop"… get it? - 1/15
This strip is another featuring a low panel count and long horizontal panel structure. The primary focus is, again, filling emptiness with the palace grounds, but this time (rather then being built by Giants) it comes up from the ground. - 2/15
It would seem as though the Dancing Missionary actually calls the palace forth in panel 1… why it responds so quickly when Flip is still present is uncertain to me though. - 3/15
Flip gets himself into a situation where, as the palace rises, he must continuously shimmy down the column… hence why, in every panel, he seems to have made little to no progress towards the ground! - 4/15
This works quite well for me and I found myself laughing out loud at Flip as I read through the strip! - 5/15
Now, part of the humour might have been his reaction to Nemo *finally* getting stern with him! He seems so incredibly taken aback by it! - 6/15
He says "what ails you Nemo?" in panel 3 and "I'm getting down as fast as I can" in panel 4; almost as if he's in a hurry to do what his friend wants in an effort to return his mild mannered temperament! - 7/15
Of course, he can't resist but declare that he'll get even with him for making him listen to him… which leads Nemo to threaten him with a beating… - 8/15
Flips final question, a restatement again asking what is wrong with Nemo, is one that we should all have… where did this bravado come from all of a sudden? Has he ever challenged Flip as directly as he does here? - 9/15
I read this as a boy who is learning/developing the skill to keep his "id" in check… As we've discussed before, one possibility to explain the boys dynamic is that Flip (id) is a part of Nemo's (ego) mind. - 10/15
What if this strip is a young boy, who is growing, developing, aging, and maturing, beginning to realize the damage that his "id"/desires can cause if they aren't kept in check? - 11/15
Maybe he's starting to actually recognize that the reason he's being kept from Slumberland and seeing the Princess (which I think we can agree he wants at this point) is Flip… or by extension, his id. - 12/15
This is something that all young peoples must learn; you can't just go around doing or saying whatever you want all the time… it has to be tempered and reasonable. - 13/15
Is Nemo learning this lesson in the waking world causing him to take it out on Flip in the dreamscape? It's only one possibility, but it's one that I find interesting. - 14/15
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #191. What's yours? - 15/15