McCay’s artistry was always superb, especially with architectural detail. But, for me, the strips are far less enjoyable as a mostly realistic travelogue than they were as fantasy. Nemo now knows too much about the world for a child his age. He has become self-aware that he “dreams” once every week and awakens on Sunday morning, and that in real life he and Flip are popular with “kids” in the various cities they visit. No doubt each episode is meant to hype circulation of the local newspaper in which Nemo appears. But the visits have all been essentially the same, with the (as always) terrible dialog listing places of local interest and endlessly bemoaning the need to move on to the next city. I wonder when, if at all, we will get back to the pure fantasy of Slumberland.
McCay’s artistry was always superb, especially with architectural detail. But, for me, the strips are far less enjoyable as a mostly realistic travelogue than they were as fantasy. Nemo now knows too much about the world for a child his age. He has become self-aware that he “dreams” once every week and awakens on Sunday morning, and that in real life he and Flip are popular with “kids” in the various cities they visit. No doubt each episode is meant to hype circulation of the local newspaper in which Nemo appears. But the visits have all been essentially the same, with the (as always) terrible dialog listing places of local interest and endlessly bemoaning the need to move on to the next city. I wonder when, if at all, we will get back to the pure fantasy of Slumberland.