"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated December 03, 1911:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (APRIL 25, 2021):
This strip is populated by beautifully drawn McCaydian animals! While we've seen many of these before (lions, bears, elephants, etc.) there are also some that I don't ever recall seeing in McCay's work! - 1/20
Animals like the leopard and the panther I'm sure are completely new, others (like the tiger and the alligator) may have been features previously, but I just can't recall. - 2/20
I really like the way that McCay uses the animals to great affect within then strip, as well. - 3/20
Notice that, beginning in tier two at panel 4, the animals slowly begin coming up to the dining table that Nemo, the Princess, and Doctor Pill are ordering their food at. - 4/20
With each successive panel, the density of animals becomes much more pronounced… it gets to the points in panel 7, where the group is barely visible past the animals! - 5/20
This is brilliant because then, in the next panel, when they all begin to turn tail (I couldn't resist) and run from something off panel, the effect of re-revealing our characters beneath signals a loss (the loss of animal friends). - 6/20
It also emphasizes and provides a really clear and obvious moment to accentuate DP's fury… By contrast, the Princess' reaction is not anger it's curiosity. - 7/20
For this reason, I find panel 11 really interesting… the Princess is the one who used to be upset or put out by Flip's shenanigans, but now she is fairly accepting and is more interested in how he broke into the jungle then anything else… - 8/20
DP on the other hand is standing (his face just *slightly* redder than normal) and booming at Flip about enjoying some privacy without him. - 9/20
I do think his outburst is more about his boiling hatred for Flip as opposed to wanting to spend time alone with Nemo and the Princess, but it was a very intriguing character moment for me. - 10/20
DP seems like the sort of character that likes to be (or rather likes to think that he is) in charge… he wants control of every situation and feels as though his newest scheme (every week) is the best yet. - 11/20
This strip begins by the Princess speaking about DP's intelligence… is this is in response to his newest plan to keep Flip from joining them, or just a general attempt to make him feel better after weeks of failure? - 12/20
Regardless, the plan fails and Flip crashes the party on a Giraffe before Nemo wakes up and the strip ends. - 13/20
The fact that we don't get to see Flip's exploits breaking into the supposed dangerous jungle is fascinating, because we've been following similar plots of Flip's all along. - 14/20
As a reader of the strip, this means that McCay wants us associated with the Princess, Nemo, and DP in this strip; not Flip. - 15/20
Since only the royal family are safe within the jungle, McCay placing his readers with the Princess position us as unique and special; we are permitted entry into the jungle that others are not. - 16/20
If we had followed Flip, then McCay would have implicated his readers in breaking into a forbidden space and being no more troublesome than that trickster, Flip! - 17/20
It also signals a unique privilege; a reminder that, no matter how much this strip has focused on Flip lately, this is Nemo's story and we (the reader) share in Nemo's special privileges as the Princess' playmate. - 18/20
This strip makes me wonder if we'll see a shift back towards Nemo-centric strips in the coming weeks. This seems like a potential turning point to reorient the perspective back that way… we'll have to wait and see! - 19/20
This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #316. What's yours? - 20/20
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