"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated May 22, 1910:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (FEBRUARY 05, 2021):
First, it was Captain Skidd, the Sky Terrier (Jan. 23, 1910) and now it's Pirate Pete, the Sky Terror… McCay wasn't really all that inventive with Pirate names, was he? - 1/12
That's ok, though, because that Martian horse is absolutely gorgeous and terrifying… I mean, its colours alone are pretty stunning, but then its anatomy and scales… brilliant! - 2/12
This might sound silly, but I think that it sort of looks like what someone who knows what a horse is, but doesn't know what a seahorse is, would draw if confronted with that word. It's child-like and wonderful. - 3/12
Pirate Pete, on the other hand, I'm not sure about… I don't know what to make of his depiction… it almost looks as though McCay has presented us with a caricaturized Martian. Skin tone, exaggerated eyes and mouth… - 4/12
It's hard *not* to read him as an ethnic caricature… if the moral here was that his young, mostly white, reading audience should beware strangers who look different than they do lest they kidnap them, that's pretty awful. - 5/12
Nemo leaves the comfort of his friends and crew and is immediately snatched up by a suspiciously caricatured Martian… again, hard not to see this reading even if it wasn't intended. - 6/12
And whether Pirate Pete is a thinly veiled racial caricature or not, the Captain's treatment of Impie is not veiled at all… again, we have Impie being called names. - 7/12
Considering the way he treats Impie (who, let's face it, doesn't grab his beard intentionally; the poor kid is falling and it's RIGHT THERE), It is wonderful seeing this old man fall a bunch of times. Satisfying, doesn't quite describe it. - 8/12
Regardless though, Impie is, yet again, not really gesturally communicative, but more of a set piece to be belittled. I hate to see it… - 9/12
Then I have to ask… why is the Captain even there? His first comment, "I think we'd better go back home", seems to remind us of the role the Professor used to play. - 10/12
Ultimately, at least in my opinion, this is an example of another beautiful strip marred by historical racism and caricature. - 11/12
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #241. What's yours? - 12/1
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