Why go back to Slumberland? Because it’s a beautiful place to be.
Creative Staff:
Story: Eric Shanower
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
What They Say:
An all-new, all-ages series full of magic and whimsy from award-winning creators Eric Shanower (Adventures in Oz) and Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key)! Spinning out of Winsor McKay’s brilliant early 20th century strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland sees King Morpheus’ daughter, in the Royal Palace of Slumberland, select her next-playmate: Nemo! Only Nemo has no interest in being anyone’s playmate, dream or no dream!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Based on the popular property of Little Nemo in Slumberland, it’s no surprise to see publishers looking to hit the sweet spot for a certain segment of neglected fans, perhaps not so much in the monthlies format but rather in the graphic novel format eventually for bookstores. This series, which kicked off in August 2014, comes from Eric Shanower, who is spot on perfect to write something like this based on his resume at the time, and Garbiel Rodriguez, who captures the Winsor McKay look without looking like he’s trying to copy it outright. It’s not easy to adhere to a certain style sometimes, but he manages to pull it off well.
While I’m not familiar with McKay’s original work in that I never read any of it, I have seen the anime movie adaptation quite a few times over the years and certainly enjoy the charms of it as it does capture the look and feel of the original comics. What Shanower and Rodriguez do here is wonderful in a sense as it gets a little meta as we go back to Slumberland where King Morpheus has his advisors doing their best to figure out who the Princess’ new playmate should be. In the time since she played with Nemo all those years ago, she’s not found a playmate since then that she liked and the advisors are struggling with it a great deal. But a little luck enters the picture as Snitikus has found a new Nemo, a James Nemo Summerton. While it’s just a name, it’s all the Princess needs to hear and she settles on that one.
Not surprisingly, there are some visual similarities between the two Nemo’s, though this one doesn’t like to be called that because it’s his middle name that his dad came up with based on a cartoon that he loved. And Nemo really isn’t interested in all this dream stuff as the people from Slumberland that come to get him have a hard time convincing him he’ll have fun there – especially since he’s going to play with a girl. As they do their best each night to bring him all the way to Slumberland, things go wrong and Nemo keeps falling off. But it has some great little sequences to it – especially with Rodriguez’s layouts for the panels, which makes it a treat to see how they try to draw him in each night in his dreams and how he falls out of them. It doesn’t get very far, but the journey is an utter delight here, both in the dialogue and the detailed visuals of it all.
The book comes with a few extras, such as a couple of pages talking about the origins of the original work and what McKay had done as well as a look at Rodriguez’s artwork and the script pieces from Shanower on how to try and display it. Combining it together works well since we get a mixture of finishes with it and plenty of scripting pages. Add in the creator biographies and it’s a welcome little extra.
In Summary:
I’ll admit that while I’ve watched the movie several times, it’s not a property that speaks to me. But this book is just gorgeous. It’s simple in tone and style in the right all ages way, but it’s not drawn or scripts for simplicity. It’s a very lush and beautifully put together work that doesn’t speak down to its audience in the younger set and, in fact, likely gets them to rise up to the challenge or to enjoy having their parents read it to them. It’s also quite a welcome read for adults because it plays the balance of whimsy and story so well so that you can enjoy what it’s doing while totally admiring the design of it in both word and art. This is one of those series that, when complete and in a trade, should be a must-own for folks because it’ll provide a new entry into the world for kids that should know of Slumberland and its fun while also giving older fans something new that’s completely in line and wonderfully complementing what has come before. Very recommended.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: IDW Publishing via ComiXology
Release Date: August 20th, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
