"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated June 09, 1907:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (AUGUST 22, 2020):
While there still seems to be deeply troubling remnants of racism from the previous week's strip, this one focuses much more on animal humour and the trouble Flip causes. - 1/24
It really is a bit of a welcome change from last week. I'm not saying this strip is inoffensive (because it isn't), but I think it's safe to say it's an improvement over the one that proceeded it. - 2/24
First, we should address (at least what I see as) the strips largest concern, which is the continuation of blackface from the last strip. That said, it's not as cut and dry as last week; the colouring of the trio's bodies in the CSL version is maddeningly inconsistent. - 3/24
The difference between panel 1's Nemo, panel 5's Nemo, and panel 6's Nemo is vastly different and, with no story explanation for how the colour would have been removed, it makes it difficult to establish what is going on. - 4/24 [INSERT IMAGES]
Adding to this is the fact that the Taschen version very clearly colours the trio's bodies white throughout and I'm left wondering whether the blackface was intentional in this strip or not. - 5/24 [INSERT IMAGES]
I wondered if *maybe* this was a conscious decision by Braun/Taschen to remove the blackface, but didn't see the point when last week's strip is very clear in it's colouring. - 6/24
So, for now, I'm not really sure what McCay intended here (though I might lean towards the Taschen reproduction as closest…), but this is another good example of how the materiality impacts an interpretation/reading. - 7/24
Neither reading is wrong assuming that it corresponds to the right text. For example, it wouldn't really be possible to read blackface minstrelsy in this strip from the Taschen edition, but if one was reading the CSL it would be a necessary point of discussion. - 8/24
We've talked briefly about material concerns, but this is a good opportunity to demonstrate how the process of reproduction and different editions may impact reader perception, as well. - 9/24
Now, the narrative of the strip once again leans towards a more traditional #LittleNemo plot; Flip takes things too far and causes a commotion. - 10/24
Flip will hear no dissention from the Princess or Nemo (who both at different times try to end the race) and is so determined to make his elephant faster that he even burns it with his cigar (C'mon, Flip; not cool). - 11/24
Ultimately these elephants that the Chief claimed were "tame as tame can be", end up rushing into the water to spray their riders. - 12/24
*If* blackface was intended as a part of the strip then this soaking (which also serves as the real-world stimuli that wakes Nemo in the final panel) could be read as what removes it from the trio… more to think about. - 13/24
It's interesting that the elephants work perfectly in synch throughout the entire strip… - 14/24
To me, this could mean that a) they're so close that when one is threatened, they all feel threatened or b) that the race, spurred by Flip, is something that none of them want to be apart of. - 15/24
I'm not sure, myself. The latter somewhat suggests that Flip burning his elephant serves no narrative purpose (since they were already headed to the water anyway)… I think I prefer my first reading, but I'm not sold on either. - 16/24
One thing that stuck out to me was the word used to spur the elephants into action: "Geek". - 17/24
I did a dive into the etymology of the word and ultimately came up with this (https://www.britannica.com/story/where-do-the-terms-nerd-and-geek-come-from). - 18/24 [INSERT IMAGE]
In the imp language, one might infer that the word simply means "go", which has no connection to it's early 20th century usage at all. - 19/24
That said, we all know McCay's fondness for all things circus/carnival, so it really doesn't track that he wasn't intimately familiar with that word in the socio-historic context. - 20/24
So, then the question becomes why he chose "geek"? I looked back and this word *was* included in strip #85 (May 26, 1907) during the conversation between the Chief and the imps, but I can't put together how it would belong in both contexts. - 21/24
Maybe it was simply a word McCay liked, irrespective of it's meaning, and so he built it into his strip… I don't know. Other thoughts here would be greatly appreciated. - 22/24
I'll end by noting that the title paratext in the top tier returns to bridging the gutter, thereby signalling it's superimposition over the panel content as opposed to it's identification *as* panel content. - 23/24
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #87. What's yours? - 24/24