"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated December 18, 1910:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (MARCH 10, 2021):
Well this is one fun holiday strip! IT manages to pack a lot into it, too, which is quite impressive! - 1/16
First, check out those really cool artistic, holiday-themed corner designs on the panels! - 2/16
McCay has decorated each panel with what looks like holly (or something of the like) as a celebration of Christmas! - 3/16
It isn't often that we see this type of pictorial invasion of the spatial layout; it's a non-diegetic flair that I really appreciated. - 4/16
We "deck our halls with boughs of holly", so why shouldn't McCay decorate his house, as well! - 5/16
Now the decision to stop, pick up a Christmas tree, and decorate it could (theoretically) have been the basis of the entire strip, McCay once again builds Santa into the mix! - 6/16
I find it interesting that even after all their interactions together, no one seems to acknowledge that they know each other! I wonder why? - 7/16
It's certainly possible that this could simply be attributed to Santa's haste in getting all of his presents delivered (he bolts without even retrieving the ones leaking form his sack)! - 8/16
The collision that rips the toy bag, and knocks the tree over, occurs because the Captain has come down to see the tree and left his post. - 9/16
I like that the whole narrative of the strip comes together in a really tight way; each of the events leads up nicely to the one that follows! - 10/16
This culminates with a brilliant moment of seriality, when Nemo and Flip decide to redistribute the toys into children's chimney's the same way they dropped the fish on the fishermen! - 11/16
See that strip here for reference (strip #265 - November 06, 1910): - 12/16
I really love that the history and past experiences of the #LittleNemo strips are becoming a more pertinent factor in the narrative of the series. - 13/16
McCay has long moved on from the simple one off "wake up" gags of the earliest days, but rarely (though not never) have we seen moments where seemingly insignificant gags of past strips have had such a narrative impact. - 14/16
All in all, this is one of the best holiday strips (which, as you all know, I usually hate) that I can recall and demonstrates some of the best qualities of McCay's work! - 15/16
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #271. What's yours? - 16/16
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