Little Nemo

For me, comics have always been simple little blurbs that come in my Sunday edition of the Washington Post. Comic books are old, weathered, plastic-sheathed objects sitting on the shelves of overpriced antique stores. Saturday morning cartoons and animated posts on blogs and websites are flashy and entertaining. Never before have I taken the time or had the interest to analyze these various forms of media for any purpose other than the moment’s amusement.
 read more »

Since I was thinking about comics and narrators, I'm kind of curious how I could apply the same thoughts to the animations we've viewed. There are often multiple levels of story going on in the clips we viewed; McCay himself appearing and drawing the animation tends to deprive the animations of a level of sincerity usually present in stories. We've been shown that McCay himself is creating these animations, so it takes away some of the believability of the animations themselves.
 read more »

This is going back in time a little bit, but it is worth visiting. When Nemo returns to Slumberland after his arctic adventure, he finds the King in incredible pain, and he must have Dr. Pill. This storyline brings out a side of Nemo that has not been seen before.

Nemo's character and personality goes through many changes throughout the series. At first, he is curious and somewhat rebellious, as he does not listen to what he is told. He is also very scared and confused. Later, however, he becomes more excited to dream and journey through Slumberland. He becomes more adventurous.
 read more »

While reading Little Nemo, we don’t worry too much about Nemo’s life outside of Slumberland because nothing from his real life is ever offered; besides menial little details such as what Nemo ate for dinner or how late he is for church. Because of McCay's emphasis on the dreaming aspect of Nemo's life, the reader is completely focused on the story that Nemo provides and is not interested in much else.
 read more »

McKay's Little Nemo is possibly one of the most fantastical comics ever made. It has some of the most outrageous plot lines, completely unrealistic characters, and most of all the ability to do things that aren't possibly in the natural world. As I was reading the next section of Little Nemo, I came to a realization...and I assume most everybody else has realized this as well. But as I was reading I noticed that Nemo always experiences these unrealistic events, and he wakes up every time (except that one time). Have you ever had a dream where you have experienced something supernatural?
 read more »

The question of whether or not comics have narrators is particularly interesting to me. In some cases, of course, there's an obvious narrator in the completely traditional sense of a character who simply narrates the story. (Rorschach in "Watchmen," for instance, though he is more of an intermittent narrator.) In other cases, though, there's no such obvious choice. But isn't there still some sort of "voice" of the comic?
 read more »

Okay, so let me give you a brief history of my experience with “Little Nemo’s Adventures in Slumberland.” I remember seeing the 1990’s movie release of Winsor McCay’s comic strip as a child of about five or six. I thought the movie was great UNTIL… Little Nemo was at a ball with the Princess and a giant black blob swallowed her dad, King Morpheus. It scared, excuse my language, the absolute CRAP out of me. I had problems going to bed for several weeks after for fear that my bed would take me to Slumberland and a big black blob would eat me.
 read more »

I am quite shocked at the level of abusive and racist tones in Little Nemo. Though the overall tone is that of innocence and sweet dreams, my initial reaction to seeing the mother threaten to beat Nemo for eating bad food before going to bad was... how shall I say? Similar to Scar's reaction when Simba returns to Pride Rock. I took a double take and my jaw fell open. Now I don't find it entirely obscene so don't take me the wrong way. I find the comic adventurous and stunning. The artwork is dreamy, the plots fantastical or grim or romantic or sorrowful...
 read more »

There's no doubt that "Little Nemo" sets a high standard for comics--it's beautiful, it engages the reader, and it's survived this long without losing its charm. The convention created by McCay wherein Nemo has to wake up at the end of every comic does become a tired pretty quickly, but the lushly imagined Slumberland makes up for it. It's interesting, though, to look at Little Nemo in the context of the rest of the narratives we've been examining during this class.
 read more »

After reading the first 41 entries in Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland," I am stuck by two ideas, both pertaining to the development of comics as a new form of narrative.
 read more »