"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated August 31, 1924:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (AUGUST 22, 2021):
This strip continues the revival's trend of returning to the more whimsical delights that used to be found in the #LittleNemo comics, this time through majestic elephant rides and a lake of orange juice! - 1/16
It seems simplistic, but a lake of orange juice is actually a pretty fun idea… it fits so well into the weirdness of dreams… where does this dream stem from? What could possibly be going on in Nemo's life to make a lake of OJ fodder for his dreams? - 2/16
We've seen the group riding elephants many times before, so that's not really new… nor is Pill and figures constant disparaging comments about Flip and Impie. - 3/16
That said, it's worth remembering that this is only the fifth strip in 10 years, so the behaviour would likely be new to the young readers who're picking up #LittleNemo for the first time. - 4/16
The real crux of the strip begins in panel 3 when Flip pushes (?) Impie off of the elephant for taking up too much room (I think?). - 5/16
It isn't entirely clear as to why he shoves him (or even if he shoves him), but that’s how I read the moment. Any other thoughts? - 6/16
Now, the real question is why the elephant blasts Flip into the lake with a stream of OJ out of his trunk. When the elephant re-emerges after panel 4, he is looking back at Flip. In the next panel, he sprays him. - 7/16
In panel 6, Impie has a hold of the elephants tail… so my question is, does the elephant blast Flip because he tossed Impie overboard or does Impie cause the blast because he snags the elephants tail? - 8/16
I want to believe that the elephant is punishing Flip for his mistreatment of Impie. I like the counter-suggestion that it creates… - 9/16
As we know, Impie's racial caricature was a common one in the early 1900s meant to insinuate that Black Americans were more animalistic than civilized. We've discussed this at length in other strips. - 10/16
Any civilized person would decry the mistreatment of others and yet here we have Flip tossing Impie overboard and Pill and Figures being disparaging in the background. - 11/16
The elephant, if we read it as him blasting Flip by choice, is a hero; he refuses to let mistreatment go unpunished. In other some ways, this makes him more human than the humans. - 12/16
So, in effect, the racial caricature meant to dehumanize Impie actually suggests his humanity… if animals behave better than humans, it would be a more positive thing to be aligned with the animals, right? - 13/16
I know this is a far fetched, 21st century attempt at a re-read of this moment, but (I think) it works… I'm almost certain that it was not McCay's intention, but it was something that I thought in the moment. - 14/16
As always, I'm eager to hear others' thoughts/challenges to my reading. - 15/16
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #426. What's yours? - 16/16