"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated November 06, 1910:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (MARCH 2, 2021):
There isn't much to this strip, but, that's ok, because I found the gag to be pretty funny. - 1/15
As Nemo chastises Flip for hauling he fish he caught last strip aboard the airship, they spot a fishing boat near Coney Island and decide to donate to them the fish they'd caught. - 2/15
The ensuing gag transpires across tier 2 and 3 of the strip and features each individual fisher sitting on the boat get pelted by a falling fish. - 3/15
The gag functions like a camera panning across a row of characters (see image below) with each panel punctuating the collision of a fish with one of them. - 4/15 [INSERT IMAGE]
In each successful panel, the character who had previously been on the right side (now on the left) is hit. It creates a fun little staccato rhythmic effect for the reading experience… - 5/15
I can almost hear the smacks. - 6/15
McCay does a pretty good job indicating that this is the case by keeping the men's suits/clothing similar enough that we can read his intent (I particularly like panels 10 and 11). - 7/15
That said, he failed to draw the detailed checkers of the blue suited man in panel 6… initially, this made me second guess my reading of the staccato rhythm; I wasn't sure if he was the same fella. - 8/15
And maybe he isn't, but the pattern holds for the rest of the strip, so it would be strange to break pattern so early and then fall into it afterwards… I decided that it must have been an error or something. - 9/15
Of which that wouldn't be the only one… there is a lettering error in the very first panel (featuring a whiteout mark that I can't recall seeing in some time). - 10/15
The final tier of the strip is also quite fun. Panel 14, entirely silent, simply features the fish as they fall from the sky. - 11/15
I love this because they've been mostly complaining that the fish aren't biting… and of course they aren't! Flip's caught them all! - 12/15
Now, he's giving the men their wish (to catch fish) in the most unorthodox way imaginable. Dream logic is fun. - 13/15
As the strip closes, the gang sees Coney Island in the distance… tour arrival in New York City is only one week away! Let the Sightseeing Series continue! - 14/15
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #265. What's yours? - 15/15
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