The Complete Little Nemo by Winsor McCay

Perhaps it does in the revival strips, which I have only read a handful of. It's kind of sad that Nemo never gets a proper farewell, something the series deserved. However, without a full range of color, there's only so long the strip can last.

McCay rediscovers his creative spark and some of the final steps recapture a part of the original magic. This became a challenge for the artwork for his city tour, so he quickly abandons it for a series of solo Nemo dreams. This was obviously perceived by the newspapers, as Nemo became sent back from the front of the comics section, requiring McCay to go from a full color palette to just one color. They visit small cities like Wheeling, WV and Toledo, OH, and the strip becomes fairly boring. By the end of the run, there is barely anything dreamlike, the dialogue reads like a tour guide, and the cities all blend together. Once they escape Mars and return to Earth, Nemo embarks on an airship tour of the United States, which makes up most of the second half.Īt first, the detailed architectural sketches are breathtaking and McCay develops some interesting scenarios, but as the tour goes on, it's clear that McCay is just coasting. The first half primarily consists of Nemo's adventures on Mars, which contains many creative dream sequences, some of which hearken back to the early days of Nemo.

There are a lot of gems in this collection, but it's clear that McCay was losing his passion and running out of ideas. This collects the final two years of strips from McCay's main Nemo run.

The Complete Little Nemo by Winsor McCay