"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated January 28, 1912:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (MAY 3, 2021):
With this strip, McCay seems to be returning to some of the earlier tropes of this new series. The idea that Flip is a nuisance to be kept away from the Princess and Nemo is reinforced by the title and throughout the narrative. - 1/15
The Princess & Nemo are immediately told about Pill's plan to keep Flip away and neither of them do anything to stop it. Then, Nemo also blames Flip for waking him up in the final panel again. - 2/15
I'm not sure where the pair's empathy for Flip has disappeared to (it was most definitely evident for at least a short period of time), but it might just be that the gag is running thin? Maybe they too are frustrated by all of this. - 3/15
I do think that dragging out a single type of gag or a particular narrative thread is something that McCay did a bit too often… he either had a hard time recognizing when the joke was wearing on his reader or he just didn't care. - 4/15
Personally, I'd like us to move on to some other types of stories… That said, the narrative of this strip is pretty fun though so I'm not complaining. - 5/15
I really like the way that McCay really leans into the "man vs. man // man vs. animal" conflicts in this strip. - 6/15
Flip is, generally, a thinker AND a fighter. I mean… we saw him toss a building at Pill last strip, so it isn't like he's not willing to get his hands dirty. - 7/15
Seeing him get one-punched by this big athlete (Boxer? Wrestler?) is not a sight we're used to seeing when it comes to fisticuffs. - 8/15
Of course, what we *are* used to seeing is Flip refusing to stay down for too long. He always gets backup and turns the tables to his advantage. - 9/15
Here, he does just that! By bringing in a little muscle of his own, he's able to have his new friend beat down the athlete and find his way into the event! - 10/15
At first, I wondered where the hippo came from… but my guess is that the Carnival has a zoo, as well? Though he's obscured by the keeper's speech balloon in panel 4, there is a lion also in panel 5. - 11/15
Panel 5 also features an allusion to a 1912 film called "The White Hope". I found the phrase a bit strange so I threw it into google and viola: - 12/15
The film is about a "worthless good-for-nothing" who dozes off to sleep and dreams of becoming a fighter. Though an allusion that didn't immediately jump out at me, it seems clear that he was using the term as an insult towards the athlete. - 13/15
We are in the dreamscape, right? Is this athlete actually THE character from the movie? If that's the case, then having him be swatted away by the hippo literally dashes his dreams! - 14/15
This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #334. What's yours? - 15/15
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