"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated April 17, 1910:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JANUARY 31, 2021):
Well, we're leaving behind our massive friends on the moon and swapping them out for… the massive space birds that inhabit the other side of the moon. - 1/17
I like the bird idea much better than the giants, actually; it's fun, child-like, whimsical, and (at least for me) completely and utterly unique! - 2/17
I'm not sure where the idea came form or if it has any basis in any myth, fable, or story, but I got a good chuckle then the airship started sinking into this giant ball of birds. - 3/17
It's a simplistic strip; not much happens. Narratively, Nemo pretty much takes a back seat to Flip this week, which was interesting. - 4/17
Flip is more visually representative of a "Captain" than Nemo (who continues to wear solider-like attire) so maybe that's why he continues to give orders to the airships real Captain instead of Nemo? - 5/17
Panel 2 is interesting as both Flip (in his red Captain's coat) and the Captain (in his dark blue coat) are almost visual mirrors (though Flip is pointing and the Captain's hand is simply raised). - 6/17
It creates an interesting visual and narrative tension for me. Who is the "actual" Captain of this ship? The one who pilots it or the one who orders it where to go? -7/17
One could say that this question is answered by the end of the strip with Flip taking on *both* these roles! With the airship engine down, Flip commandeers a bird to get them moving thus both directing and steering the ship. - 8/17
I… guess Flip is the Captain now? - 9/17
I also really enjoy the little meta moments that have become more frequent within the strip. Nemo and Flip both reference "next week" or "next Sunday" in panel 7 drawing direct attention to the fiction that they are living in. - 10/17
Finally, though Impie doesn't speak in this strip, it's one of the first in a while where I felt his gestural and body language communication was highly involved; he doesn't seem passive here. - 11/17
In each panel that we see him in (except *maybe* for 2 and 5) he has some form of expression that adds to what's happening around him and he is worth "reading" for these reasons. - 12/17
Take panels 3 and 4 on tier two. In panel 3, he has gotten down the ground in order to see the birds better; his curiosity has been piqued and he is eager to see more of these space birds. - 13/17
In panel 4, he can't help himself any longer and he has to reach out from the ship to try and touch a feather. This is a completely normal impulse, I think; who doesn't want to pet the adorable/beautiful animals that they come across. - 14/17
I've been feeling that, since he returned, Impie, who began as a brilliantly gestural character communicating through body language rather than words, was being used less and less in the way he originally had been. This strip gives me hope that McCay will return to that soon. - 15/17
We've talked a lot about how Impie's character is problematic and, though his involvement through gesture doesn't change that problematic nature, it at least suggests that he is a valuable member of the group and not just there to be laughed at or called names. - 16/17
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #236. What's yours? - 17/17
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