"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated December 17, 1911:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (APRIL 17, 2021):
If nothing else, this strip really solidifies Doctor Pill's position as the primary antagonist of the strip now… - 1/16
Seriously, Flip was READY to forgive and forget. Panel 4 couldn't be clearer: "I'll forgive you for the things you have done to me" - 2/16
Now, I suppose, it would've been nice for Flip to toss in an apology for what he'd inflicted on Pill during their feud, but it was a start. For a moment, Pill was the bigger man and began the process of reconciliation. - 3/16
Let's talk about being the "bigger man" for a moment… sure, Flip's age is constantly in flux, but no matter how you shake it, Pill is older than he is… so stooping to Flip's level of childish pranks is interesting. - 4/16
This moment could have marked a possible change for Pill; realizing that he should be the mature one and end the feud for the betterment of the Princess and Nemo, AND himself and Flip. - 5/16
The Princess and Nemo are even quite proud of Pill for the gesture. In panel 3, the Princess says, "That is very kind of you Doctor!" and Nemo declares, "Now we'll surely have a Merry Christmas…" - 6/16
So, when he ushers the Princess and Nemo out of the room as the chair goes all bucking bronco on Flip, it is a moment of failure… one that didn't surprise me, but did disappoint me. - 7/16
So, when Flip turns the table on Pill and has the chair grapple with him instead, it is a moment of very satisfying victory. The disappointment of the middle part of the strip really sets up this gratifying feeling here. - 8/16
Now, I mentioned earlier that Pill has established himself unquestionably as the antagonist here and that is in large part because of how the Princess responds to the situation. - 9/16
In panel 10, she actual says, "Poor Flip! I wish he were here." We've pretty much come full circle from the days where she wanted nothing to do with him… now the only one keeping the pair apart from Flip is Pill! - 10/16
So, from a character and overall narrative perspective, this strip is pretty informative. - 11/16
Some other little things of note. - 12/16
We still have blue-faced Slumberlandians in this strip… I wonder is this is a new permanent feature? - 13/16
Amongst the plethora of toys that Flip knocks over is a playset "Noah's Ark". This allusion not only recalls the biblical story, but also the Herald strip that focused on it, as well: - 14/16
Finally, the last panel of the strip is sort of cool because it is filled with presents Nemo has been given for Christmas. I can't recall another Christmas strip drawn like that, so it as a neat, new wake up panel. - 15/16
This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #318. What's yours? - 16/16
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