"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated June 24, 1906:
Transcript of Tweet by @LittleNemo1905 (JULY 3, 2020):
A formally simplistic strip, we are inching ever so close to our goal and it is becoming unbearable to keep falling short!! - 1/15
The Princess is again robed in a long elegant dress, this time though, it is a bit more subdued in both size and colour. - 2/15
Her gestural position clearly communicates sadness or frustration as she sits with her face buried in her hands… pretty clearly letting us know right from the start that this isn't the strip where she and Nemo meet… yet again. - 3/15
We also (again) learn the reason for it from a Slumberlandian in tier 1; Dr. Pill fell and brought Nemo down with him. - 4/15
Poor Dr. Pill just can't seem to catch a break! He fell in the water last week, now he slips on the glass floor, both times waking Nemo up in the process (the exact opposite of what he's been charged to do!). - 5/15
There is clearly pathos created for Dr. Pill here; he wants to be acknowledged as successful for Nemo's arrival to the throne room, but continues to stumble and do more harm than good. - 6/15
I hate to say that I get pleasure out of the quick reversal of fortunes presented for him, but I do! In panel (labelled) 2, it's said he will win medals for bringing Nemo and in the penultimate panel, he must be reported for slipping and waking him up. - 7/15
He truly is pitiful, but he is also somewhat endearing… - 8/15
Dr. Pill aside, we do make some serious progress towards Nemo and the Princess' long awaited meeting in this strip. - 9/15
Not only does Nemo finally enter the palace, but he is garbed in the finest clothes (fit for entrance into the throne room), is escorted to the throne room, and almost reaches the litter meant to carry him to his destination! - 10/15
It's a lot of narrative ground covered in one strip when many of the ones that came before demonstrate only one leg of the journey (in the case of the Fourth Gate, two strips for one leg)… - 11/15
For me, this has the effect of a story that is "ramping up" or "revving it's engine"… the temporal pick-up here really starts to prepare me for what I know is coming (very, very soon…)! - 12/15
I'm also partial to the gestural flourish at the end! Nemo's body, dragged down as he is by Dr. Pill, presents a similar position to the one we see in the final panel as his father drags him from bed. - 13/15
I've been noticing for a while the way that "reality" bleeds into the "surreality" of the dreamworld, and this is another great example that serves to really punctuate the moment. - 14/15
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #37. What's yours? - 15/15
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