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scans_dailyI wanted to post something for today and am embarrassed it took me so long to realise the perfect choice, one of the most genuinely groundbreaking, and visually arresting graphic format stories of all time
I mean, of course
Little Nemo in Slumberland.
Be warned LARGE images (gathered from hither and yon on the interwebs) under the cut....
Debuting in 1905 in the New York Herald, and the brainchild of the the legendary Winsor McCay, Little Nemo was like nothing before it, and little afterwards. Not even really a children's story, it details the strange, outlandish and surreal dreams (eg normal) of a little boy named Nemo, who visits the realms of Slumberland (or other strange, exotic locales) whenever he falls asleep, summoned to play with The Princess of Slumberland by her father, King Morpheus, and aided and hindered by a strange cast, including Flip (Son of the Sun, nephew of the Dawn) first Nemo's rival, then ally, then friend, and the Imp (I should note in advance that the Imp is a racial stereotype of a sort long since gone (I hope). Defenders of the strip note that he's a lot LESS offensive than most, since his appearance is derogatory, but he's not picked on, or looked down on, and Nemo and Flip are just as likely to make fools of themselves as Impie, but I leave others to make their own personal judgements on that one.)
Always a page long, McCay experimented with the confines of his medium in ways that would set the standard for decades to follow.
Here are a few samples of the rich, lucious lines and colours that McCay used
And here is an example of the linework. Even without the colours it's a remarkable piece of work.
Nemo became Public domain in the USA in 2005, and so was too late to appear in Gaiman's Sandman, though I'm sure that a story featuring him in that run would have be awesome beyond words. (A collection of text short stories set in The Dreaming DOES feature a young man who has a very similar series of adventures, meeting 7 most unusual beings in the process, it's rather good...)
There was a, not bad, but nothing special, animated movie made of Little Nemo a good few years ago now, but there was also, ashis_spiffynesss pointed out below, a test pitch by the legendary Studio Ghibli to put together a animated feature, which alas never got further than this beautiful test.
Enjoy...
And there's the extremely memorable "Walking Bed" image which has even seen an homage in... well, it's me doing the posting,what do YOU think....
Oh, and I might also point you at this fascinating collection of covers which are from an even earlier era, but which aren't exactly comic books, but are great graphic covers
I mean, of course
Little Nemo in Slumberland.
Be warned LARGE images (gathered from hither and yon on the interwebs) under the cut....
Debuting in 1905 in the New York Herald, and the brainchild of the the legendary Winsor McCay, Little Nemo was like nothing before it, and little afterwards. Not even really a children's story, it details the strange, outlandish and surreal dreams (eg normal) of a little boy named Nemo, who visits the realms of Slumberland (or other strange, exotic locales) whenever he falls asleep, summoned to play with The Princess of Slumberland by her father, King Morpheus, and aided and hindered by a strange cast, including Flip (Son of the Sun, nephew of the Dawn) first Nemo's rival, then ally, then friend, and the Imp (I should note in advance that the Imp is a racial stereotype of a sort long since gone (I hope). Defenders of the strip note that he's a lot LESS offensive than most, since his appearance is derogatory, but he's not picked on, or looked down on, and Nemo and Flip are just as likely to make fools of themselves as Impie, but I leave others to make their own personal judgements on that one.)
Always a page long, McCay experimented with the confines of his medium in ways that would set the standard for decades to follow.
Here are a few samples of the rich, lucious lines and colours that McCay used
And here is an example of the linework. Even without the colours it's a remarkable piece of work.
Nemo became Public domain in the USA in 2005, and so was too late to appear in Gaiman's Sandman, though I'm sure that a story featuring him in that run would have be awesome beyond words. (A collection of text short stories set in The Dreaming DOES feature a young man who has a very similar series of adventures, meeting 7 most unusual beings in the process, it's rather good...)
There was a, not bad, but nothing special, animated movie made of Little Nemo a good few years ago now, but there was also, as
his_spiffynesss pointed out below, a test pitch by the legendary Studio Ghibli to put together a animated feature, which alas never got further than this beautiful test.Enjoy...
And there's the extremely memorable "Walking Bed" image which has even seen an homage in... well, it's me doing the posting,what do YOU think....
Oh, and I might also point you at this fascinating collection of covers which are from an even earlier era, but which aren't exactly comic books, but are great graphic covers
