"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated October 26, 1913:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JULY 28, 2021):
Well, this is an all-around fun comic strip! One of my favourites in recent memory. - 1/20
It isn't without flaws (we continue to deal with the strips inherent racism throughout), but it has some rather interesting elements to it, as well. - 2/20
First, I'm with Flip and the group here… no one wants to hear Doctor Pill give a lecture. Honestly, even the pre-speech that he gives in panel 8 is too much for me. - 3/20
That said, I wonder… is this the largest word balloon, filled with the longest utterance, that we've seen in all of #LittleNemo? I would bet that it is. - 4/20
Anyway, I don't blame Nemo, Impie, and Flip for wanting to bail… I wonder if the Princess had no choice but to stay with Pill? Otherwise, why wouldn't she go with them? - 5/20
I know that I talk about the Princess a lot, and her lack of adventuring is not an entirely new revelation (it's been evident before now), but she used to be much more involved. - 6/20
In the earliest days, she would adventure *with* Nemo and Flip… Pill was much less in the picture at that time though, and it makes me wonder if his presence is suppressing the Princess. - 7/20
His presence is oppressive; he is constantly nit picking her, telling her what to do, or how to do something. He is a constant reminder of her "royalty", which prevents her from being a "kid". - 8/20
We've gotten so far away from Nemo as her playmate… she barely ever "plays" anymore. She is a set piece here in this strip and that irks me to no end. - 9/20
Seeing her sitting pretty in panel 8 legitimately makes me sad because it made me realized how much she has changed over the course of this series… or, at the very least, how much my perception of her has changed. - 10/20
Anyway… rather than listening to Pill, the boys go off for some mischief carrying a sling and some rocks. - 11/20
These panels reflect how far Nemo has gone from his days as the protagonist. I mean… he is carrying rocks for Flip who wields the sling. Though he remains front and centre in the title card, the titles themselves now focus on Flip. - 12/20
I'm not sure why the fellas feels jumping on these mushrooms is a good plan… we've seen them fall apart constantly; almost every strip that features mushrooms also features them falling down. - 13/20
The fact that they are brave enough to hop around on them (in spite of Nemo's reluctance) is a testament to their courage. - 14/20
Now, of course, the whole thing ends in calamity when Flip lands on a Pachydermatalosis and the boys join him on it's back before it bolts! - 15/20
The mushrooms come down and Pill's speech is interrupted by a helpful Antediluvian who tries to warn them all to get out of the way! - 16/20
I was miffed that Pill's only concern was where Flip and Nemo were (ignoring Impie's well-being), but that's totally within character for him… - 17/20
To further the point, Impie is hanging onto the Pachydermatalosis for dear life, while Flip and Nemo are firmly planted near his head. Yet another visual othering that puts him in a less than ideal position. - 18/20
I did find it quite nice that Nemo wakes up with concern for the Princess. As he comes to, he is comforting her and telling her that everything will be alright. It's sort of cute. - 19/20
This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #406. What's yours? - 20/20