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Day #306: Can You Beat Flip

"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated September 24, 1911:


Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (APRIL 15, 2021):


Today we welcome a new marvellously wonderful creature into the menagerie of Slumberland: the fourteen-footed, Kicko! - 1/30

Kicko marks a really meaningful moment because it signals the return of McCay's signature imagination for the creation of dreamscape animals… something that seemed to have vanished near the end of #LittleNemoInSlumberland. - 2/30

At the NY American, McCay continues to swap out realism for the most ridiculous (in the best way) flights of fancy and it continues to land very well with this reader. - 3/30

Kicko, for his part, reminded me of the series way back in 1909 when the gang (accompanied by Doctor Pill and the Dancing Missionary) tried unsuccessfully to hunt Slumberland creatures. - 4/30

Remember the Ozzle Bupp? - 5/30

Kicko is a pretty interesting creature… he seems equine in his design (particularly in the head; see panel 7), but he also has humanoid qualities (legs, feet, and boots). - 6/30

Human/horse hybrids are, of course, nothing new (Centaurs of Greek myth, being the most recognizable), but Kicko is quite different… - 7/30 [insert image]

I find him very fascinating and I hope to see more new Slumberlandian creatures in the near future! - 8/30

Though we only see him within two panels, this strip also signals Dr. Pill's NY American debut! Welcome to the new strip, DP! - 9/30

It's really interesting to note that Flip and DP's usual disdain for one another seems to have been turned down in this strip. It certainly could just be by necessity to enact the plan against Flip… - 10/30

…, but I wonder if it is more likely a way to ease new readers into an understanding of these two characters' relationship? Could also be both, I suppose.- 11/30

I'll note that we've never really learned much about how Dr. Pill operates within the court of Slumberland, so hearing the Princess mention that Kicko is his personal guard animal against debt collectors is a big moment. - 12/30

I'll let someone with better developed financial literacy skills think this through, but I wonder why DP even needs loans if he is the King's personal physician? Wouldn't he have pretty much free reign? - 13/30

I've got a few formal notes, as well. - 14/30

First, I'll note that though I haven't been particularly impressed with the colouring job we've seen at the American (though @AlexxKay has swayed me slightly, I won't lie), this strip stood out as having been very well done. - 15/30

The vibrancy, contrast, and clarity that I've come to associate with the colouring of #LittleNemo are beginning to shine through here again. - 16/30

The shadow under Kicko as he somersault kicks Flip is great and the whirling disorientation of the fight cloud in panel 8 is masterful. I enjoyed it immensely and really felt the colour as an impactful part of the strip, today. - 17/30

I'm really liking McCay's exploration of Slumberlandian vehicles, of late. The detail that he adds to the motorcycle and Kicko's fourteen-pedalled bicycle are impressive here. - 18/30

Tier two is probably my favourite tier in the comic. - 19/30

Formally, I really love the embedded gestural motion occurring across the tier; it is very easy to see Kicko rear up and begin his somersault assault of Flip's behind. - 20/30

The motion is so smooth from panel to panel creating near seamless moment-to-moment closure as each boot makes contact. - 21/30[insert image]

Sadly, McCay doesn't continue it as smoothly into tier 3. From panel 6 to 7, Kicko has completed the entire somersault and is landing on his front feet again. - 22/30

While this doesn't really impact closure or reading the moment (it still makes perfect sense from an action-to-action standpoint), it does mess with what had been, up to this point, beautifully embedded gestural motion. - 23/30

That said, it is still quite fun and I'm not really complaining as much as pointing out what could have been. Obviously, given the material restraints of a comic strip, one can't always do everything one might want in a single strip. - 24/30

I'll just end by mentioning that Nemo seems to be advocating a little bit more on Flip's behalf in this strip… - 25/30

Sure, he and the Princess are still trying to escape without him, but he feels for Flip ("poor Flip", he says) and bets on his friend over Kicko ("You cannot hurt that kid!"). - 26/30

He also mentions, during their ride at the end, that he has "known Flip for a long time and never knew of him getting fooled." This would *suggest* at the very least that the two friends have history (even if that history is a reboot and not exactly what we experienced with them at the Herald). - 27/30

Instinctually, I want to continue this series on directly from where we left off at the Herald; I don't want to abandon the history through a "reboot", so I'm looking for excuses not to. - 28/30

I'm not sure if this is evidence in support of that exactly, but it could be. - 29/30

This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #306. What's yours? - 30/30

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