Little Nemo by Winsor McCay was a lushly illustrated and extremely imaginative comic strip that ran from 1905-1914 that centers around a young boy who goes on adventures in his dreams every night. His fantastic dreams take him to Slumberland where the king has ordered that he be brought to the castle to be a playmate to the princess. The journey takes months and along the way a huge cast of characters joins him including his close companion Flip the clown. Together they journey through the strange fantasy world full of imaginary creatures and wild settings. Each strip usually ended with Nemo waking up back in bed.
The strip was very different from other comic strips at the time and struggled a bit for an audience but has since been an influence on many artists. Famed children’s book author Maurice Sendak said, “An elaborate and audacious fantasy, Little Nemo is, in effect, a giant children’s book, though no more limited to children than Alice in Wonderland, the Grimm tales, or any of the best books for children. Nemo’s dreams, like Alice’s, have the unquestionable ring of veracity. In McCay’s Slumberland, as in Wonderland, irrational taboos, forbidden places, and terrifying creatures confront Little Nemo at every turn. But Nemo, unlike Alice, is afraid. He has none of her nimble wit and maddening pugnaciousness. He is dubious, suspicious, very much a miniature Buster Keaton ogling a hostile universe.”
Nemo has found itself adapted into a theater production, three films, an Opera, and even a video game. The strip has been collected into a few different books and they’re wonderful to see McCay’s draftsmanship and imagination on a large printed page.
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