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Day #460: Little Nemo and the Biggest Raindrops You've Ever Seen

"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated April 26, 1925:


Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (OCTOBER 04, 2021):


Ok. I've sure that everyone has heard "April showers bring May flowers" … but this is just ridiculous. - 1/14

Truthfully, I don't really know what to make of this strip… The massive raindrops are certainly not "nightmarish," but they also aren't playful either… it doesn't seem like anyone is enjoying their soaking. - 2/14

So, what gives? What might Nemo have been going on with Nemo to prompt this dream? Was it simply raining outside? Something else? - 3/14

I'm not sure what we can read about Nemo's subconscious through this strip, but I feel like their could be something… here is a non-exhaustive list of suggestions that I found while perusing the web: - 4/14

The first tier begins with Pill and Figures talking about feeling young in Spring. Grounded in the now-cliched symbolism of Spring being a time of rebirth and renewal, this makes a lot of sense. - 5/14

Their feelings of youth are then tested as they get BOMBARDED by massive raindrops. At first, I thought these were water balloons the way that they exploded upon impact. - 6/14

Yesterday, @AlexxKay noticed that the group gradually shrunk as the strip progressed. I'm wondering if this is occurring here, as well? - 7/14

It's a little harder to tell because the background castle is obscured by the large rain, but we can look to the ever growing flowers in the foreground as potential evidence? - 8/14

Then again… they could just be growing at an exponential rate due to the massive raindrops and the nutrients they provide… if massive raindrops are a thing, why can't fast-growing flowers? - 9/14

Obviously, I think each readers interpretation may vary here depending on what stands out to them… I do wonder what the shrinking offers the strip, though? It's subtly could be easily missed and the narrative doesn't hinge on their size. - 10/14

Then again, part of the fun of this strip might be the "visual sleight of hand" that McCay uses… while you're busy thinking about the massive raindrops, you're not noticing the group shrink. - 11/14

In this case, the raindrops and the flowers aren't massive at all; they're just normal size and it is the group and their changing size that we should be focused on… maybe we should even be asking how it's happening? - 12/14

This is a deceivingly complex strip and I'm eager to chat about it with you all! - 13/14

This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #460. What's yours? - 14/14

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