"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated June 29, 1913:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JULY 11, 2021):
This strip is forcing me to take stock of the implications that Flip's recent shift in status actually creates for the comics. - 1/17
He's gone from jailbird to Commissioner to Duke in record time and he is becoming more firmly integrated into the higher status position that was previously held by the Princess, Nemo, and Pill. - 2/17
Not that long ago, Pill would've been actively trying to exclude Flip from this wedding… and here he is having received an invitation to it! Sadly though, this leaves Impie on the outs! - 3/17
Flip's new status forces the reader to be conscious of this divide because though he is no longer being outcasted in the same way as Impie, the comic *still* holds him to task (in a way) for his actions. - 4/17
It remains Flip who is responsible for stopping Impie's escape with the bride and groom. Sure, this is something a Police Chief would need to do, but it was also expected of Flip before he became a high ranking officer, as well. - 5/17
In the past, when Flip went after Impie it was often because he either a) ruined some plan of his, or b) was threatening Flip's tenuous position with the group through his mischief. - 6/17
In that way, though Flip was often chasing Impie to "punish" him for one thing or another they still maintained a position of "Other" together (even if there was a very, very icky potential property association involved, as well). - 7/17
Now, though Flip continues to be "othered" visually, he has found a new position within the narrative that includes him within the core group in a way that previously saw him excluded. - 8/17
With Impie left as the sole character outside that position of higher status, he's become a punching bag of sorts… forced into increasing mischief that no longer serves Flip's purpose, but still reflects poorly on him. - 9/17
Now, when Impie misbehaves, Flip isn't "punishing" him out of frustration or fear that he threatens his aspirations of social similarity with his friends, but because his new status position requires it of him in a different way. - 10/17
There is an increasing level of brutality in the way that Flip handles Impie and (while that might have something to do with their status as giants in Lilliput) it has become increasingly noticeable of late. - 11/17
The strip prepares the reader for Impie's interference right from the start with that interesting silent panel where Impie is (presumably) stealing the fishing rod from the sleeping fisher. - 12/17
While I wasn't sure what was going on initially, it took me only a moment to recall the first panel and put together the case of the levitating bridal party. - 13/17
I'm not a fan of Impie being the perpetrating of this kidnapping… We've seen this occur elsewhere in the series lifetime and is almost exclusively used as a tactic to reinforce racial difference through white fear (i.e. the brute/savage caricature). - 14/17
I'm not suggesting that this is a newly applied way of caricaturizing Impie (it isn't), but it's a seriously overt way of doing it… I wasn't expecting it. - 15/17
Not even the really interesting transition from panel 11 to 12 (Nemo wakes up thinking that his pillow is Impie) or Nemo and the Princess' being asked to be Best Man and Maid of Honour could salvage this strip for me. It rubs me the wrong way on a couple of levels. - 16/17
This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #390. What's yours? - 17/17