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Day #456: Little Nemo and the April Fools Party Crashers

"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated March 29, 1925:


Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (SEPTEMBER 29, 2021):


I'll admit that I'm a little disappointed by this strip. As an April Fools Day offering, I sort of expected more practical joking… - 1/13

But there is no joke here… just a mistake that leads to destruction. - 2/13

To Flip's credit, his invention does work… the rubber suits hold in the gas (helium?) well and they float up without much trouble! - 3/13

The only part that *doesn't* work well, is the release valve… not sure why Flip didn't think about some sort of stopper to prevent the gas being let out too quickly (especially considering this is a pretty life-endangering invention)… - 4/13

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm alone in this… but I didn't get a single laugh from this strip. I didn't find it funny at all… Did anyone else, maybe someone a little less uptight than me, have a laugh? - 5/13

Returning quickly to the top tier, I'm interested in the Princess' get-up? At least… I assume it's the Princess. - 6/13

Her characteristic brown hair is missing (either stuffed inside the hat she's wearing or dyed a strange colour?)… At first glance, I thought it was the Candy Kid! But that wouldn't make much sense, I don't think… - 7/13

Also, note that her costume changes between panel 2 and 3… it's a small detail, but pretty glaringly noticeable. She keeps the three buttons and loses the frill throughout the rest of the strip. - 8/13

She's also pretty ticked off at Flip for doing this right before the party… maybe she's just upset she wasn't invited? - 9/13

Her exclusion from the fun here isn't overly surprising, but it does speak to gender roles in the historical period… why should she be kept out of the fun? I mean… Flip did want to be *her* playmate at one point, right? - 10/13

Speaking of exclusion, Impie is also left out of the strip until the final panel. While it sucks he's left out of the "fun", it's a pretty big deal that he is at the party at the time of the crash because it means that he was included and invited to attend! - 11/13

All in all, it's a pretty lackluster offering on a "holiday" that seems rife with potential for visual and comic gags. What do you all think? - 12/13

This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #456. What's yours? - 13/13

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