"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated February 27, 1910:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JANUARY 24, 2021):
This is a very text heavy strip, but we also cover a significant amount of narrative ground in a very short period of time. - 1/20
No only do our previously found friends join the ship, get clothed and debriefed on their journey, but they also find Dr. Pill and the Dancing Missionary and entreat them to return with them to the palace immediately. - 2/20
Considering how slowly progressing the narrative has been over the last few weeks (not a criticism; just an observation), this is a bit jarring. - 3/20
That said, it is quite well done considering the constraints of the single newspaper page provided that McCay not only gets us to where we need to be effectively, but also incorporates some interesting formal play, as well. - 4/20
The final tier is really is visually stunning as the monolithic tower of ice housing the offices of "Pill & Mish Ice Dealers" comics into focus. - 5/20
It would seem as though DP and DM would be picture perfect colonizers; they show up in the North, claim that they own the ice, offer work to the indigenous peoples (are they being paid?) , and take advantage of them in the process. - 6/20
Though archaeological discoveries have cast doubt on the centuries old theory that the pyramids were built by slaves, I couldn't help but think about Ancient Egypt and the building of their monolithic structures here. - 7/20
It's rather unsettling to see one panel of DP and DM sitting with their feet up playing cards and another of the tall tower being scaled by Inuit peoples piling ice to create it. - 8/20
Regardless of whether it is paid labour or not, it just doesn't sit well… there are any number of challenges that could be cast on these actions; inexcusable at worst and ignorant at best. - 9/20
To leave this point, I'll just end with a brief discussion of the top tier. - 10/20
I really like the formal design of separating panels 1 & 3 with the circular panel in between. It effectively progresses the narrative through spatio-temporal juxtaposition of the panels picking the boys up and their being fully clothed. - 11/20
It functions as a marker for the passage of time that blunts the awkward closure that would otherwise be required from panels 1 to 3. - 12/20
I wonder… is this the first time Impie has been clothed in anything besides his traditional Jungle Island attire? - 13/20
The clothing could be read as marking him as "Other"; while the Professor wears a Pickelhaube and Flip wears a Captain's hat, it would appear that Impie wears a Fez. - 14/20
Both the Pickelhaube and the Captain's hat have connections to Americana, but the Fez is (at least to my knowledge; I could be wrong) a historically African head covering. - 15/20
It almost reads as though Impie's Fez is McCay's was of replacing his more commonplace visual coding as "Other" (the Jungle attire) to solve the problem of the cold, Northern temperatures. - 16/20
Finally, it'll be interesting to see how long this alliance between the Princess and Flip actually lasts. Does she mean it when she says all is forgiven? I'm curious to see their relationship moving forward. - 17/20
This isn't the first time that they appeared to be on the way towards mending fences, before things reverted back to a more hostile situation, but it's possible that things really will change from here on out. - 18/20
Of course, it's equally possible that nothing at all changes. - 19/20
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #229. What's yours? - 20/20
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