"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated September 12, 1909:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (DECEMBER 31, 2020):
This strip is obviously most notable because it returns Impy to us (as well as to Nemo and Flip), who has been missing for almost a year (last seen in strip #163 from Nov. 11, 1908)! - 1/16
While Nemo and Flip are quite happy to see their friend returned to them, the Professor (who has never met Impy before) displays fear: "No! No! I'm afraid of that thing!" (panel 5). - 2/16
Why is he afraid? I think there might be a couple readings here… first, maybe he's heard of the cannibalistic variety of Jungle Imp and doesn't know Impy is not one of them? - 3/16
Another suggestion for his fright could be that they've yet to see another human since coming to Jungleville so it's a fear of what you don't know? The monkeys have begun to treat them kindly, but will this new human? - 4/16
Finally, and most likely in my opinion, he may be afraid of him because he doesn't recognize Impy to be human. The Professor's language is awfully dehumanizing: "What is that?" and "Take it away!". - 5/16
Whether this is a demonstration of the Professor's ignorance about Jungle Imp's or whether it is outright racism on his part, I read this reaction as another reflection of the racial tensions of the time. - 3/16
I'd contend that whatever narrative purpose McCay intended for the Professor's reaction, his readers would be familiar with Black Americans and the dehumanizing language put into the Professor's mouth (at the very least) has the potential to fuel the racism already present in 1909. - 4/16
Now, from a narrative perspective I'm excited to see Impy return, but from a critical perspective, we have to wonder about whether his absence from the strip is not for the better. - 5/16
Impy is, as we've previously discussed, a grossly caricaturized representation of Black Americans. Is his presence in the strip doing more harm than good? One could certainly argue yes, particularly when the majority of McCay's readership would have been white children. - 6/16
Impy's character (caricaturized as he is) doesn't reveal any truths about Black Americans, but rather displays ugly distortions by presenting a character who can't speak English with exaggerated "blackface" features. - 7/16
His long absence makes this fact much more poignant and clear upon his return. This wasn't a character for black children to relate to and it certainly wasn't the character to teach white children about Black Americans. Does this mean his absence is for the better? - 8/16
36 years from now, a group of students would make this point directly to Executive Editor of Fawcett Comics, Jack Lieberson, and argue for the removal of another caricaturized character (this time from the popular Captain Marvel): Steamboat (Cremins, p. 101). - 9/16 [INSERT IMAGE]
In his wonderful "Captain Marvel and the Art of Nostalgia", Brian Cremins identifies Steamboat, a regular cast member of the strip until 1945, as a "Coon" caricature (p. 100) whose stories reflect the "petty hatred, unexamined hostility, and dangerous ignorance" of the time (p. 102). - 10/16
This was a truth that a group of black students, members of the Youthbuilders program, brought to Lieberson in letters and discussion… and he listened. Steamboat would be removed that same year (1945), demonstrating "how discussion, informed by research and debate, might bring about positive change" (p. 122). - 11/16
While we are looking at #LittleNemo as a historical object, and cannot pretend to be making change for it's contemporary readers, I think that these discussions can still foster positive change in our world today. - 12/16
It's one thing for me to be excited that Impy has returned to the strip, but there is more that needs to be considered beyond my own position and the Youthbuilders example demonstrates that, I think, quite extraordinarily. - 13/16
In his book, Cremins asks: "If Billy's story is about the unlimited potential of the imagination, why should readers settle for a character so ugly and limited as Steamboat?" (p. 102). - 11/16
I'm inclined to ask the exact same question about #LittleNemo. Cremins describes this as a "failure of imagination" (p. 102), and I wonder if we can't charge McCay with that same failure here? - 12/16
Rather than creatively explore, Impy (and others) mirror the flaws of America within Slumberland. As we continuously enter, day in and day out, McCay's magical, and otherwise wondrous, Slumberland, I believe that we must never stop challenging these notions. - 13/16
Something I had to ask myself today: Why become excited and happy at the return of a character that could have done immense damage to young Black Americans or the perception of them by young White Americans? - 14/16
Obviously, this is simply *my* perspective on the strip, and I've largely ignored the actual strip because my reaction to it was so heavily predicated on Impy's return, but I'm eager to hear what the rest of you think about it. Please do share your thoughts! - 15/16
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #205. What's yours? - 16/16