"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated June 03, 1906:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JUNE 30, 2020):
For a straightforward strip, there is a lot to unpack here. Let's start form the top… Introducing our newest recurring character, Dr. Pill! - 1/25
We'll get to know Dr. Pill quite well over the coming strips, but here he has the most incredible job of informing the reader about the Princess' predicament… if Nemo doesn't arrive soon, she'll fade away! - 2/25
The reason for this isn't disclosed, but it certainly conjures about a million questions… is the Princess sustained by playtime? Does she need companionship to survive? How has she lived this long; did a previous companion die/leave? - 3/25
Another possibility is that Nemo and the Princess have a bond of sorts… If Nemo is the Princess' "real" counterpart, then maybe her existence is dependent on his relationship with her? - 4/25
This would explain why Nemo is the chosen playmate; there is a deeper connection there that only he can fulfill. This, of course, depends on your reading of the top tier. Either the Princess needs a playmate to survive, or she needs Nemo to survive. - 5/25
I prefer the latter primarily because it implies that there is a tethering of reality to the surreality… the Princess (surreality) is only as alive as is made possible by *specifically* Nemo (reality). - 6/25
This would also explain why Flip could NEVER be an appropriate playmate for the Princess. An anchor to reality is not just desirable, it is a requirement! Whether this idea of dependence can be extrapolated to the entirety of Slumberland, I'm not sure… - 7/25
The middle two tiers are interesting for the pictorial inversion that is created, though it doesn't land perfectly. - 8/25
Panels (labeled) 1-3 create a wonderful visual palindrome effect; Nemo is large, Flip is small --> Both are large --> Nemo is small, Flip is large. As a pictorial palindrome: LARGE SMALL LARGE LARGE SMALL LARGE - 9/25
It seems a missed opportunity that this strip wasn't better compositionally arranged so as to emphasize this palindrome effect! Sure, it works as it, but I think it would've been more effective the palindrome had landed on the final panel of the cluster. - 10/25
I recognize the difficulty with that though; obviously, the penultimate panel needed to be presented as is in order to make the dramatic juxtaposition between Giant Flip and little Nemo/Candy work. - 11/25
I also really enjoy the fact that the "trick" here is pulled not just on Flip, but also on the reader! McCay sets this up perfectly the previous week with the first of the Big Nemo strips… - 12/25
In the end, why did they make Nemo big? I think now (more than ever) it was to make him brave… The fact that they shrink him back down to size means that his transformation was never about making the Giants believe he was also a Giant (as may've been previously assumed). - 13/25
Obviously, Flip thinks that he too must be large to pass the fourth gate. Why he isn't immediately suspicious when Mysto makes Nemo small again is beyond me… though it doesn't really matter because the finger pointing is the real impact moment of the strip. - 14/25
That a massive Flip leaning into the tiny crevice pointing his finger square at Nemo swearing to "get even" with him mirrors perfectly the gestural pose of his father in the waking world threatening him is just brilliant picto-gestural communication. - 15/25
It's positioned so that both Flip and his father are "above him", both are larger than him, both are posed identically, and both make Nemo fearful. - 16/25
In my reading, this all combines to be the trigger that wakes him from his sleep and prevents him from making it to the fading Princess. - 17/25
To backtrack slightly, I also want to draw attention to the Giant's comments in panel (labeled) 1, particularly the mention of the "God of Dawn". - 18/25
Sure, we've known that Flip's uncle, Dawn, was a powerful being, but I don't think he's yet been deified before this moment. What are the implications of this? - 19/25
If "Dawn" is a god, then… Morpheus must certainly be a god… and the Princess… and Dr. Pill… and… Flip (maybe a demi-god)? It's entirely possible that Slumberland is the home of an entire pantheon of dream deities. - 20/25
This means that Nemo's presence among them even further blurs the line between reality and surreality… - 21/25
In Greek myth, the only way for a mortal to set foot on Olympus was by invitation or abduction… Isn't Nemo's journey sort of both? Sure, he gives narrative consent (in early strips), but he's also a comic strip character at the will of authorial (and reader) abduction. - 22/25
I think this connects nicely to some of our previous conversations about demons and demonic characters in an interesting way. - 23/25
All in all, a fascinating entry into the #LittleNemo canon! - 24/25
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #34. What's yours? - 25/25