"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated July 07, 1907:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (AUGUST 26, 2020):
This strip, in my opinion, is most notable for the final panel. - 1/14
Nemo sits up in bed, with his father beside him, and laments that Flip has been stolen! This marks the first time that we witness Nemo talking to his parents about his nighttime adventures. - 2/14
That his father doesn't know who Flip is seems curious to me… Has Nemo *never* mentioned his nighttime adventures to his parents before? That seems odd… wouldn't he tell them about the dreams as a source for his constant waking? - 3/14
Considering his parents are frequently berating him for his frustrating nocturnal habits (either to go back to sleep or occasionally to get up), telling them about his dreams seems a given. - 4/14
That said, this panel insinuates the opposite. There might be some other reasoning (maybe he just hasn't mentioned Flip?), but it's a meaningful moment that builds Nemo as a waking world character, I think. - 5/14
The cliff-hanger left at the end of this strip will be resolved in the next strip (#92) which I also think fits nicely with the final panel. - 6/14
Nemo's father tells him that he needs to "get up" meaning that Nemo hasn't awoken in the middle of the night, but rather because morning has arrived. - 7/14
This leaves Flip's fate uncertain; a suspenseful ending that requires both Nemo and the reader to wait a week to find out what happens next! - 8/14
That we continue from exactly this point next week (the final panel will also show Nemo having trouble sleeping as opposed to waking in the morning) temporally signals that while this strip occurs at the end of his dreaming, next weeks will occur right at the beginning. - 9/14
The dreaming shenanigans centre around Flip being kidnapped by the jungle imps and driven off into the forest. Of course, it's in large part because the Slumberlandians forgot about him until they'd pushed offshore. - 10/14
That said, they are frantic about getting him back when they realize he was taken. While Nemo and the Princess just assume he got on board, the rest of the crew watches on and comments about the need to get him back! - 11/14
I'm not sure if this is meant to show how important he's become to the core group, or if they are just afraid of the Sun's wrath should he be left behind. Either way, they all agree that they must get him back. - 12/14
Now, the Chief, for his part, turns are tries to chase the auto after the carjacking… we know it's futile because only two strips ago we were informed about the auto's incredible speed… but he tried anyway. - 13/14
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #91. What's yours? - 14/14