"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated December 26, 1926:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JANUARY 25, 2022):
As with most New Years strips throughout #LittleNemo's existence, this one sees the gang saying goodbye to one year while welcome a new one. - 1/17
The tropes all remain the same: 1926, old and withered, is left behind as the infantile 1927 is welcomed in the penultimate panel. - 2/17
The twist here is that "Bad Weather" (a character who we understand because his name is written across his back; his design and style ripped straight from McCay's experiences with editorial cartoons) tries to come with the gang! - 3/17
As Flip had previously complained, 1926 was filled with bad weather, so when he sees the reprobate, he and Slivvers immediately get to bouncing him from the party. - 4/17
Another interesting element that McCay uses here (which feels new to me) is the idea of the threshold; moving between spaces to signify the shift from one year to the next. - 5/17
McCay always has some fancy way to signal this shift, but this one seems particularly interesting to me because of the important communicative power of space in comics, it feels as though McCay was using this intentionally. - 6/17
Now, the most interesting part of this strip isn't the New Years element… it's panel 7. - 7/17
In it, Father Time (whom we've seen carry a sickle before as symbolic of the death of the year) tells Flip that he too will someday see the door shut on him (metaphorically speaking). - 8/17
Flip responds that he will never die; he refuses and will instead keep on living. - 9/17
This seems to be conclusive proof that McCay knew the end was near. With only two strips left to come in 1927, I think this was his way of warning his readers (and maybe even his beloved characters) that he wasn't going to be able to revive them a second time. - 10/17
In this sense, Flip is both right and wrong. - 11/17
He's wrong because in less than a month, this strip will never be published again under McCay's pen, effectively killing him and his friends. - 12/17
But, on the other hand, Flip has lived on… we're still talking about him in 2022, right? - 13/17
There is such a meaningful conversation to be had here about legacy and the impact of presence/experience… could this have been McCay's hope for his work? - 14/17
We have to remember that he was publishing in an ephemeral medium… sure his characters had seen widespread acclaim (a musical, toys, dolls, etc.), but could he ever have imagined that his beloved creations would live into the 21st-century? - 15/17
This single panel seems so incredibly meaningful… it's importance can't be understated. - 16/17
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #547. What's yours? - 17/17
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