Editing Little Nemo (section)

==Concept==
A weekly fantasy adventure, ''Little Nemo in Slumberland'' featured the young Nemo ("No one" in Latin) who dreamed himself into wondrous predicaments{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=97}} from which he awoke in bed in the last panel.{{sfn|Harvey|1994|p=21}}

The first episode{{efn|{{Commons file|Little Nemo 1905-10-15.jpg|this strip (October 15, 1905)}}}} begins with a command from King Morpheus of Slumberland to a minion to collect Nemo.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=97, 113}} Nemo was to be the playmate of Slumberland's Princess, but it took months of adventures before Nemo finally arrived. A green, cigar-chewing clown named Flip was determined to disturb Nemo's sleep with a top hat emblazoned with the words "Wake Up".{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=97}} Nemo and Flip eventually become companions and are joined by an African Imp whom Flip finds in the Candy Islands. The group travels far and wide, from shanty towns to [[Mars]], to [[Jack Frost]]'s palace, to the bizarre architecture and distorted [[Distorting mirror|funhouse-mirror]] illusions of Befuddle Hall.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|pp=113, 118}}

[[File:Little Nemo 1907-12-01 panels 3 and 4.jpg|thumb|center|500px|alt=|Flip, Nemo and Impie [[breaking the fourth wall]] by breaking apart the panel's outlines and eating the letters of the title.]]
The strip shows McCay's understanding of dream psychology, particularly of dream fears—falling, drowning, impalement. This dream world has its own moral code, perhaps difficult to understand.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=107}} Breaking it has terrible consequences as when Nemo ignores instructions not to touch Queen Crystalette who inhabits a cave of glass. Overcome with his infatuation, he causes her and her followers to shatter and awakens with "the groans of the dying guardsmen still ringing in his ears".{{efn|{{Commons file|Little Nemo 1905-11-19.jpg|this strip (November 11, 1905)}}}}{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=113}}

[[File:Little Nemo 1907-09-29.jpg|thumb|alt=|Nemo and the Little Imp explore the city as giants, September 9, 1907.]]
Although the strip began October 15, 1905, with King Morpheus, ruler of Slumberland, making his first attempt to bring Little Nemo to his realm. Nemo did not get into Slumberland until March 4, 1906. Due to Flip's interfering, Nemo did not get to see the Princess until July 8. His dream quest is always interrupted, either by his falling out of bed, Nemo suddenly waking up, or by his parents forcing him to wake up.

On July 12, 1908, McCay made a major change of direction: Flip visits Nemo and tells him that he has had his uncle destroy Slumberland (it had been dissolved before, into day, but this time it appeared to be permanent). After this, Nemo's dreams take place in his home town, though Flip—and a curious-looking boy named the Professor—accompany him. These adventures range from the down-to-earth to [[Dream of the Rarebit Fiend|Rarebit-fiend]] type fantasy; one very commonplace dream had the Professor pelting people with snowballs. The famous "walking bed" story was in this period. Slumberland continued to make sporadic appearances until it returned for good on December 26, 1909.

Story-arcs included Befuddle Hall, a voyage to Mars (with a well-realized Martian civilization), and a trip around the world (including a tour of New York City).