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Day #53: Little Nemo and the Cannonball Parachute

"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated October 14, 1906:


Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JULY 19, 2020):


This strip is a hoot just on premise alone! Not only are Nemo and the Princess fired from a cannon, but the cannonball that they're inside eventually slows enough to turn into a parachute?! Physics and Geography in Slumberland are quite the thing, apparently! - 1/12

Besides the pure fun of this strip, there isn't much *new* to discuss… Nemo is, again, fearful and the Princess excited; another strip that juxtaposes their relationship nicely. - 2/12

That said, I think that we see in this strip Nemo face his fear a little bit. In panel 3 he says, "I don't like this one little tiny bit, not one tiny weeny bit", but by panel 7 he declares "Oh! Isn't this great?" - 3/12

Though Nemo is still scared, he seems to be pushing passed the fear and… enjoying himself?! - 4/12

I attribute this to the Princess' influence completely. She is a strong and brazen character who knows what she likes and exudes enthusiasm! Fictional (made of dreams) or not, she is a seemingly good influence on Nemo! - 5/12

Rather than being awoken in horror as they descend together, Nemo is actually enjoying this dream so much that his father has to wake him up this time (in panel 8). - 6/12

The noticeable shift here from terror to enjoyment is really fun and incredibly well executed! - 7/12

I will mention the interesting temporal dissonance of panel 3, which I also really love! - 8/12

Reading left to right (as we do), the Slumberlandians are commenting about the already fired cannon. Now, presumably, they wouldn't be able to make these comments while the cannonball was still positioned as it is… - 9/12

…logic (and physics) would dictate that the ball is long gone/much farther away before they could make the words necessary to comment about it. - 10/12

But, it plays so incredibly well with Nemo looking out the window! That expression of total shock scrawled across his face! - 11/12

This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #12. What's yours? - 12/12

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