"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated November 30, 1913:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (AUGUST 05, 2021):
Though there are some really interesting tidbits scattered through this strip, it's mostly repetitive and uninteresting. - 1/15
The colour palette is quite limited, it is highly predictable, and the scene is depicted at such a closeup that very few details are noticeable. - 2/15
From the very first panel, I knew that Impie was going to shove Flip in the water… he is standing *directly behind him* the entire time. - 3/15
McCay probably could've amped up the suspense here a little bit if Impie had made his way over to being behind Flip by the end of the first tier, but, as it stands, there is no surprise when he shoves him in. - 4/15
Tossing the guide Antediluvian into the water was a bit more of a surprise, but (since he was bent over anyway) I suppose there was no passing up that opportunity. - 5/15
I LOVE that Impie leaves Nemo, Doctor Pill, and the Princess alone entirely and dives in all on his own. It seems as though Impie had no intention whatsoever to toss them into the fountain; his target was, most likely, Flip. - 6/15
This signals to me that Impie's mischief might be less about causing chaos and more about misguided playfulness or demonstration of friendship. He recognizes that Flip (though violent towards him) is his closest playmate and so engages him above the other options. - 7/15
For this reason, it is just brilliant that Pill slips into the water himself. He is going on and on about how embarrassing Flip and Impie are, only to slip and drag Nemo into the fountain with him! - 8/15
The Princess is absolutely distraught at the thought of waiting ten years for Nemo to re-age (if we were ever wondering about proof of his non-aging)! Furthermore, we learn that Pill is 60-years old and Flip is 23! - 9/15
Flip's age always seems to fluctuate throughout the series, so trying to nail down (or even worry about) his age is ultimately a fruitless endeavour, I think. That said, it's worth noting that there is a significant age difference (at this point, at least) between him and Nemo. - 10/15
Finally, I'll mention that the baby characters are all easily distinguishable by the visual characteristics that define their persons. The absurdity of seeing a green-faced baby smoking a cigar, or wearing a monocle and top hat adds much to the humour of the strip. - 11/15
That humour is cut a little short by the pronouncement of an old age fountain close by. I feel as though McCay might have prolonged the suspense and created a strip for the following week that dealt with reaching the old age fountain. - 12/15
This is nitpicky, and not really productive, but it speaks to the supporting of the humour created by the baby characters rather than nixing it before it's really provided a chance to land… we could've been sweating for some time trying to figure out how our friends would return to normal! - 13/15
I'd be surprised if our friends haven't returned to normal prior to our seeing them again… it's too bad because I feel as though one strip of baby characters would have been hilarious! - 14/15
This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #410. What's yours? - 15/15