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Life & Arts

McCay's 'Nemo' a comic classic

My 8 Bits

Jason Poland 

From 1905 to 1911, Winsor McCay's comic strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland, ran weekly in the New York Herald and from 1911 to 1913 in William Randolph Hearst's New York American newspapers. In that golden age of newspaper comics, the entire page was at the cartoonist's disposal, and McCay's masterful illustrations pushed the printers to the limit with colorful and intricate details of the gorgeous and sometimes horrific trapping of Nemo's subconscious. 

In the comic, young pajama-clad Nemo is summoned to Slumberland by King Morpheus to be a playmate for his daughter, the Princess, but before the end of every strip, some magnificent mishap occurs. Disasters included the collapse of a mushroom forest or a run-in with Flip, the mischief-maker whose hat says "wake up" and who would bar him entrance to the bliss of the dream kingdom. Nemo would return to his bed in the waking world, much to the disappointment of his mother who could never understand why he always had such a restless slumber.

While not entirely appreciated by the public at the time -- the newspaper-reading public preferred the more slapstick comedy of daily comics like Katzenjammer Kids, Happy Holligan, Buster Brown and Krazy Kat to McCay's artful work -- the repercussive effects of McCay's groundbreaking comic style on the public's imagination is unquestionable. His prolific comic birthed springs by creator and readers alike: a three-act operetta by Victor Herbert in 1908; an animated short by McCay in 1911; the first comic strip to enter the collection of the Louvre, Night of the Living Houses, also by McCay; a Japanese full-length animated film in 1989 by Masami Hata, Masanori Hata and William T. Hurtz with screenplay by Chris Columbus; and a Nintendo video game by Capcom inspired by the film in 1990. In 2005, McCay's work became property of public domain and now a complete collection of his comic is available in a single volume, Little Nemo 1905-1914, from Taschen publishers.

In Little Nemo: The Dream Master, the Nintendo Entertainment System adaptation of McCay's classic Sunday comic, we follow Nemo into Slumberland on his quest to be a playmate for the Princess and defeat the Nightmare King. The NES classic proves to be just as frustrating as Nemo's thwarted attempts to enter the dream kingdom in the comic strip. Poor play control and irritating enemies turn Nemo's dreams into a real nightmare. But since we're navigating his subconscious, maybe we can understand why he dreams up such frustrating imagery with a little interpretation. 

Candy and Freud

Nemo uses pieces of candy to stun his enemies and to borrow the special powers of animal helpers. In dreams, candy is a symbol of indulgence, sensuality and forbidden pleasures. Nemo is being repressed some way in the waking life, possibly by his mother. I'm not just parroting Freud. Between each level, an animated intermission plays out that mimics the last panel of every McCay comic: Nemo is up in his bed, and his mother rages from off-screen at seeing him awake. She never once says, "Morning sunshine!" or "What's the story, morning glory?" or anything sweet, so Nemo has to gobble sweetness in his sleep. She probably feeds Nemo cough syrup so she doesn't have to deal with the little brat.

Frogs and dirty pajamas

One of the first animal helpers Nemo encounters is the frog. When fed candy, the frog will grow tired and Nemo can leap into his skin and hop twice as high and belly-flop his enemies. Frogs are a sign of a change within oneself. Much of the game is spent donning animal disguises; Nemo's need to change to finish his quest is apparent. He's practically helpless in only his pajamas, which he should change out of anyway -- they're probably urine-soaked from frequent bed-wetting.

Mind games

Before Nemo can move onto the next stage, or dream, he must find keys to open the door at the end. These keys are hidden throughout the dream, and Nemo must change into the right animal skins to find them all. Finding keys in a dream signifies finding a solution. Here, Nemo is rewarded for change; the keys give him the ability to move from one stage to the next. Eventually he reaches the final stages, where he no longer needs keys to move on -- the solution was within him all along.

If you have the patience to work through Little Nemo's troubled dreams and defeat the Nightmare King, then you can help him work through his repressed issues. Otherwise, this cough syrup-fed lad will grow into Big Nemo, the man-child Wal-Mart greeter in adult diapers.

Even if you don't pick up Nemo's NES adventure, be sure to at least check out McCay's original Little Nemo comic strip at your local bookstore or library. It'll make you long for the days when the Sunday comics were more than something to line your birdcage with.

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