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Day #307: And Flip Bobs Up Again

"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated October 01, 1911:


Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (APRIL 16, 2021):


Well, there really is a lot to like about this strip! It reminds me very much of the earliest days in the Slumberland palace with a little bit of Befuddle Hall sprinkled in for good measure! - 1/15

And I sort of mean that literally… because this isn't a new gag. We've seen a slippery glass floor before way back in 1906: - 2/15

The rooms are slightly different, though very similar in both colour and architecture (the colonnades), which gives a sense here of McCay visually recycling, sure, but also remixing. - 3/15

Now, that room (if they are the same; and they might not be) did not tilt around in 1906. Spaces that rearranged/moved on their own was the hallmark of the infamous Befuddle Hall series in 1908: - 4/15

I really enjoy seeing these elements become integrated here. The idea of blending and hybridizing these memorable moments of Nemo strips past is quite appealing to me and (since they worked so well back then) why not use them to hook new readers, as well? - 5/15

Another thing that I really like about this strip is the colour. There is some undeniably cool stuff happening with the blue and yellow as representative of light and dark here. - 6/15

At first, I really didn't like the blue wash of the backgrounds. I knew that the contrast against yellow was intended, but it wasn't working for me. - 7/15

That is, until I got to the final panel and realized what the intention actually was: the blue wash signifies a space without light. - 8/15

With this interpretation, I went back and re-read the moments that I had previously not been too fond of, and found them working really well. The contrast that I hadn't like initially stood out as highly effective now. - 9/15

Narratively, Flip continues to remain (seemingly) oblivious of the fact that the Princess (and maybe even Nemo) doesn't want him with them. - 10/15

He is relentless and his tenacity and refusal to lay down and accept having been beaten by the Ball Room's glass floor is, of course, the main gag of this strip. The room *literally* kicks him back to start and yet he finds a way to turn that to his advantage. - 11/15

The consistent focus of the "NY American" strips has been Flip's antics and it's making them feel very much like the "Flip Show" and less about "Little Nemo". Flip is the character I'm rooting for here; Nemo feels, at best, relegated to a supporting role. - 12/15

Panels 8 to the end, where Flip winds up and slides towards the group, are just great; a really fun way to end the strip and garner a big guffaw from me! - 13/15

Flip's final comment to Dr. Pill is reminiscent of their years long feud and I really loved it. I laughed out loud not only because he'd knocked them all over like bowling pins, but because his comment to DP was just hilarious! - 14/15

This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #307. What's yours? - 15/15

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