"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated June 13, 1925:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (OCTOBER 11, 2021):
This strip sends the group off in three various directions only for them to converge on each other by the end. - 1/20
The boys go off to swim, Pill and Figures have left to go fishing, and the Princess is planning to go for a nice drive with King Morpheus. - 2/20
When the boys hastily jump into the lake, without determining who or what is around first, they end up overturning Pill and Figures' boat. This leads to the boys rescuing the seniors out of fear that they will drown. - 3/20
The Princess and the King see the rescue (not the cause) and determine to give the boys a medal of valor! How kind this is! - 4/20
Pill and Figures aren't too happy though. They throw their hands up in the air (as if to signal they give up), but ask for their medals to be recycled or less spectacular metal because they don't believe the boys deserve a real one. - 5/20
But, and I'm splitting hairs here, they *did* save their lives… the men look like drowned rats when they are lifted out of the water by Slivers and Flip, so maybe the boys did save them. - 6/20
I think it's just great that Flip saves Pill. He's often been treated poorly by Pill, but he still saved him nonetheless. Whether Pill can put his ego aside is a different story… - 7/20
Now, in panel 9, Figures looks quite appreciative… I think he kisses Slivvers here? Both the way he's drawn and the look on Slivvers' face suggest this, I think. - 8/20
I suppose we could consider this a silent, non-linguistic "thank you" from Figures, but we don't get that from Pill. Pretty disappointing. - 9/20
Also pretty disappointing (understatement) is the way Flip describes Impie in panel 2. The simile comparing Impie to a dog might not be as overtly linked to caricature and historical, anti-black racism, but it does make a painful comparison. - 10/20
Finally, I want to make note of the new character that has joined us today. Did anyone catch him? - 11/20
In the very top left of the page, right in the title card, is… the Sandman. - 12/20
This isn't the first time that the Sandman has appeared in #LittleNemo, but it is the first time he's appeared in the title card. Also, the two seem very different (visually): - 13/20
In the title card, the Sandman wears a strange, Slumberlandian-style hat and glares at Nemo across the page with a grin. Nemo, on the other hand, looks back at him with a look of surprise… what should we make of this? - 14/20
Has Nemo become aware of a something that he was previously unaware of? Is the Sandman the answer for how Nemo gets to Slumberland in the first place? - 15/20
Maybe he can only visit Slumberland on Saturday evenings because that is the night that the Sandman arrives to sprinkle him with sand… maybe without the Sandman, Nemo just sleeps and dreams normal dreams? - 16/20
McCay's decision to include him here creates opportunity for some wild speculation… but little more. It's hard to even call them "inferences" because there is nothing beyond the fact that he is there to use as material for inferencing. - 17/20
Won't stop me from thinking about this a bit more deeply… McCay obviously chose to include the Sandman consciously, so there was a reason for his inclusion… I wonder if we'll find out more later… - 18/20
I hope you all share your thoughts about this, as well! - 19/20
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #467. What's yours? - 20/20
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