"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated September 09, 1906:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JULY 14, 2020):
This strip welcomes back two of our favourite friends; the Candy Kid and Dr. Pill! - 1/20
There is a lot happening in this strip, but one of the things that jumps out at me is Nemo's celebrity. - 2/20
The very first thing we see in this strip are two Slumberlandians greeting him by name. Nemo, who clearly doesn't know the names of these fellows, just responds vaguely. - 3/20
Panel 5 sees one of the Candy Girls declaring her excitement about seeing him and panel 6 features those at the back of the line whispering about Nemo and their hopes that he doesn't wake up. - 4/20
It's obvious (and has been for a while) that Nemo's celebrity status is very high in Slumberland but it feels heightened here. This could easily be explained by the fact that the Carnival they are on their way to is dedicated to him, of course. - 5/20
I really like the formal divide between Nemo and the Princess in this strip. Panels 2 and 4 belong to Nemo while panels 3 and 5 belong to the Princess. - 6/20
Nemo's panels feature Nemo following the Princess' orders (getting dressed) and the Candy Boys assuaging his fears about Flip crashing the party. - 7/20
I recognize that maybe Nemo is a bit worried about the retribution that Flip might enact on him as a result of how the last strip ended, but it seems an odd reversal in attitude towards him here. - 8/20
The Princess, on the other hand, features command-giving (not taking). She is clearly in charge and her character takes on a really interesting feel here as she speaks with Dr. Pill. - 9/20
It would seem as though Dr. Pill continues to be a pitiable character; Though he wants to be around and make himself useful, the Princess has other plans. - 10/20
I do think that her declaration that "Nemo hates medicine more than anything on earth!" is stretching the truth a little bit, we've clearly seen how ineffective his treatments are so maybe this is the Princess' way to sparing Dr. Pill's feelings? - 11/20
Rather than telling him that he is not effective in his role, she would rather devise the excuse that Nemo hates the medicine? This makes the Princess quick and cunning, smart and able to devise a solution to a problem with ease. - 12/20
This really stands out here and she takes centre stage in my reading of this strip. It's hard not to see this one as really emphasizing her character: she is strong, decisive, and a good leader. - 13/20
I absolutely love panel 6. It would seem as though "perspective" is a thing that McCay wants to play around with the in next few strips; we'll see more panels that are designed like this one all with their own little visual differences. - 14/20
The tops of the heads in the crowd serve to establish the horizon line (I think), with the vanishing point to the left of the page. I'm by no means an artist (or art theorist), so I don't know how difficult this actually is in practice, but I love the effect it creates. - 15/20
There's a simultaneous sense of danger and progression here; moving through the street, with dangerous tigers on either side, really emphasizes how life-threatening it would be for any unwelcome guests to crash this party… - 16/20
The banners above the street also act to warn away anyone who might be a nuisance and heighten the stakes for the reading of this moment. - 17/20
That Nemo awakens to a striped "kittie" on his bed is a wonderful way to, again, blur the boundaries between the dreaming and waking world. - 18/20
Nemo's declaration of fear here is probably more related to the rows of tigers in Slumberland as opposed to the little kitten in the waking world, but his desire to go back to sleep also probably signals that he's overcoming that fear. - 19/20
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #48. What's yours? - 20/20