"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated July 11, 1926:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (DECEMBER 10, 2021):
This strip was… strange. But… also really delightful. - 1/15
McCay has really not spent much time allowing us the opportunity to get to know Pill and Figures very well. I mean, we've seen a bit over the years, but not much. - 2/15
So, this was actually a really nice few moments allowing Pill and Figures to shine. Two friends, sitting and enjoying some music and dancing, is pretty cool. - 3/15
We (well, I) generally put a lot of blame on Pill and Figures… I am not overly fond of their characters and have often wondered *why* their continued involvement in the series (beyond the added adult perspective and plot points/plans to be ruined by Flip and co.)? - 4/15
This strip really humanizes them in a way… it made me a little less cold towards them by giving them a moment all for them. - 5/15
It even introduces to us that Pill has a brother (who we meet for the first time in panel 11) and that his mother is still around, as well! - 6/15
Given his advanced age (and that of his brother) I suppose that, had I given any thought at all to Pill's mother, I'd have assumed she had already passed. Clearly, that is not so. - 7/15
I like this because it is a very subtle reminder that things don't work the way we might expect them to in Slumberland. Age is a thing of flux (Flip is proof of that), death doesn't work the same way (we've spoken about this before), so we can't assume that aging and natural death works the same way. - 8/15
Again, it's subtle, but it's a pretty cool worldbuilding moment. - 9/15
Of course, I'm also *choosing* to read it that way… I'm sure that, even logically speaking, it's possible for an elderly mother to be around when her son is on the brink of elderly, as well. - 10/15
I just don't like the logical reading nearly as much. But that's just me. - 11/15
Now, I also enjoyed this strip for the subversion of expectations it utilizes. - 12/15
When the kicking happens and they unconsciously get involved in a fight with the boys, I literally laughed out loud because I loved that the tables had turned somewhat in this strip. - 13/15
Flip's reaction at the end is wonderful! It's nice to see the gang get into a playful scuffle that doesn't turn into an all-out brawl because someone takes it too far! - 14/15
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #523. What's yours? - 15/15