"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated August 25, 1912:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JUNE 01, 2021):
I get real strong "Alice in Wonderland" vibes from this strip… I know it isn't an *identical* situation, but there are a lot of similarities with regards to playing cards coming to life and being less than pleasant. - 1/21
What is immediately interesting to me is that there is nothing that actually starts the madness today… the cards just begin growing from panel to panel without instigation. - 2/21
Were they tampered with previous to the start of the game? Did Doctor Pill (or Flip) enchant or otherwise mystify them to cause their growth in the event that one was losing? - 3/21
It's possible and, if I was a betting man, I'd put money down on Flip. The strip begins with the Princess telling us that Flip "cheats every chance he gets" so it isn't a far stretch to believe that some shenanigans were afoot before the strip began. - 4/21
All that said, it's circumstantial. Flip is vehemently opposed to being blamed yet again and even defends himself with a playing card across the top of Pill's head in panel 5! - 5/21
It is at this point that the cards actually turn on them though… I wonder if they would have simply kept getting bigger had Flip not, effectively, broken of the cards. Is theirattack a defense? - 6/21
Either way, Flip gets himself into a stick situation when he is surrounded by the cards and is the first to be "zinged" on the head with a spade as he runs! - 7/21
Also of interest is that in stark contrast to last couple strips, Nemo is entirely silent throughout the entire game and only speaks for the first time on panel 8. Again, we see him regress from an active agent to more of a bystander. - 8/21
I also wonder if Flip is right in declaring that "the whole deck is after us" or if they are still only after him. Is the joke here that Flip gets them caught up in the barrage of hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds because he runs by them? - 9/21
If that's the case, then a new reading presents itself. Sure, they could be after him because he broke the 10 of Clubs (interestingly there is one too many clubs flying in panel 5)… - 10/21
…, but it might also make sense that the cards are after Flip because Pill is to blame for the whole thing. In that read, clobbering him with the card would simply be his just desserts! - 11/21
I really do think either reading is plausible, and I love that McCay leaves it entirely up to the reader to decide. Both Flip and Pill have had their fair share of blame throughout the most recent adventures… - 12/21
But what if no one is to blame and it's just a coincidence? That is a plausible reading too, I think. So what do *you* think happened in this strip? - 13/21
Were the cards enlisted by Pill to go after Flip? Did Flip enchant the cards in an effort to cheat that backfired? Was it a happy coincidence? I really can't wait to hear your thoughts! - 14/21
I'd end the thread here, except for the fact that I need to mention Impie's total absence from this strip and wonder why that is… - 15/21
Is it possible that this is a place in which Impie is not allowed? The Jim Crow Era was in full swing in 1912, so it's entirely possible that it was segregation that prevented Impie from joining. - 16/21
If that is the simplest explanation, it reminds me is that for all of Slumberland's progressiveness, they continue to be bound by the racist attitudes of the US. - 17/21
This isn't something that I didn't realize before, but sometimes the wider social picture fades when we're focusing so squarely on the characters and situations at hand. - 17/21
It also reminds me that this strip, no matter how formally brilliant or special, will forever be haunted by Impie's inclusion. Both his absence and his presence are noted because they both, in their own way, act to reinforce terrible realities. - 18/21
When absent, one must reconcile the series with the racial attitudes of the early 20th century. When present, one must face the horrendous racial caricature's that fueled those racial attitudes. - 19/21
More and more, I'm noticing that Impie is an inescapable spectre in this strip. And, personally, I think he should be. We shouldn't be allowed to read these stories without critically reflecting on Impie and what both his presence and absence mean. - 20/21
This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #351. What's yours? - 21/21