"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated October 19, 1924:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (AUGUST 29, 2021):
There really is a lot going on in this strip! It's worth noting that it has a really interesting spatial organization that leads to a higher than normal panel density. - 1/14
I think it is by design, as it reinforces the hectic and chaotic nature of the narrative… the panels take over the page in a similar way to the chicle that (eventually) overtakes the entire penultimate panel. - 2/14
In much the same way as last week, McCay uses the first tier to slowly build the narrative of the strip. We actually see Flip compliment Impie's ability to blow bubbles here! - 3/14
When it pops though… he warns Impie against it again. Sadly, it's too little too late, as the small puppy that has been following our group around for the last few strips is blown (frightened?) into the chicle pool! - 4/14
It's this little chicle-covered canine and his frantic attempts to rid himself of the sticky substance that eventually create the strips main chaos. - 5/14
As a side note, we finally have a name for this pooch! "Blutch" was recognizable to me not from my experiences with these strips (I don't ever remember reading a strip that featured him before this project…), but from the Rand McNally children's book! - 6/14
In that book, his name is listed as "Fido". I'm glad that placeholder is gone… though I do wonder why the name was forgotten for the McNally publication (which is years off from now). - 7/14
Anyway, as Blutch runs away with Impie and Flip chasing him, they run back into the Candy Kid, the Princess, and Nemo (who have been absent for about 6 panels). - 8/14
This absence does signal the continuous return of Flip to the centre of the strip's spotlight (@AlexxKay mentioned that he noticed this in yesterday's strip, as well). - 9/14
It creates a really strange dissonance that was *less* noticeable during #InTheLandofWonderfulDreams. This strip is *named* after Nemo, which should highlight his position as protagonist… yet, McCay's habit of prioritizing Flip continues to be very evident. - 10/14
I'll note that the diptych created by panels 10 and 11 is pretty cool… Although it takes away from the moment in the penultimate panel when we see the massive size of the gum machinery. - 11/14
Because the diptych reveals across the two panels the machine's size, it is less impressive when we see it sprawled across the bottom tier. - 12/14
Ultimately, I think McCay would've been better served *not* using the diptych effect here. Not only would it have allowed for a more impressive reveal of the machines size, but we also would've been more surprised by the massive mess created by the gum! - 13/14
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #433. What's yours? - 14/14
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