Hit The Wall With A Dream

1st piece of puzzlement Hit the wall with a dream: Puzzlement.

Empiric: The return with new work is coming through a hiccup at the end of the last posted work; chose to go a different way than the normal way was chosen. Cause older work was found, just not the right one, and the pulled memory from the box led to a rehashing thinking that done better, just like the 1905 in the middle of October, a comic strip would catch the start of a run for the next 11 years. There was a revived attempt at the work after that, though nothing much came of it, a then Netflix gave a go at the title with a movie. But without the mind of Winsor McCay, Adventures in Slumberland was… but put that to the side for now, and here is the reason for the post today, an older La Tinta comic that triggered this thinking.

La Tinta

A new spin.

Bleep: Cookies found and now movies.

OHT Anchor: Don't forget, a dream journal can be helpful and found...

Blank: Not going to be found. Looking for a movie, grab the snacks.

Ant 9: Stop there.

Inkle: All the files for the sounds are safe.

Blank: Now, a tray of snacks and drinks

Bleep: Good ads are about over.

Watching Slumberland, then Little Nemo.

Blank: Hmm... Why such a jump in the difference?

Bleep: The first movie is a teen movie, and the second is a kids’ movie.

Blank: Why?

Bleep: Level nuances for each group.

Bleep: Okay, why?

Blank: Nope, BED!

2nd piece of puzzlement Hit the wall with a dream: Puzzlement.

Dusty: Look, every try wants to romanticize McCay's Little Nemo, but here's what REALLY happened - newspapers needed content to sell Sunday editions. Dreams weren't some artistic revelations; dreams were PROFITABLE. McCay delivered eye-candy that moved papers off newsstands. So, a commercial artist first, visionary second. This diligence made the work elevated.

Bard: McCay's genius lay in recognizing childhood wonder as universal currency. Each Little Nemo strip offered readers escape from industrial America's harsh realities through architectural impossibilities and candy-colored landscapes. The creator transformed newspaper real estate into portals where gravity bent to imagination's will.

Empiric: McCay introduced perspective experiments unprecedented in sequential art. Panel construction shifted from static rectangular boxes to dynamic architectural frameworks. Color printing technology of 1905 allowed four-color separation, enabling McCay's elaborate backgrounds. Distribution through newspaper syndication reached approximately 2 million readers weekly.

Bessie: Industrial America was grinding people down, so dreams became commodities. Smart business dressed up as innocent entertainment - nothing wrong with making art profitable, but calling commerce pure creativity feels disingenuous. The immense time and effort of the work were the opposite. Showcased on the La Tinta page at the top. The work was being squeezed out quickly, which made it fail. It was an immense amount of intricate artwork that took a lot of time to complete.

3rd piece of puzzlement Hit the wall with a dream: Puzzlement.

 Dusty: The real question nobody asks: WHY did Dream Comics disappear for seventy years? Publishers wanted reliable formulas, not experimental storytelling. The Comics Code Authority killed anything remotely surreal or psychologically complex. Censorship murdered imagination.

Bard: Dreams require introspection, but American comics moved toward external action during wartime decades. Superheroes fought tangible enemies while dreams explored internal landscapes. The medium needed time to mature before tackling psychological complexity again.

Empiric: Underground comix movement rejected mainstream dream narratives as bourgeois escapism. Robert Crumb and contemporaries focused on social critique rather than fantastical storytelling. Distribution through head shops limited audience reach compared to newspaper syndication or comic shop networks.

Bessie: Dreams got replaced by power fantasies because power fantasies sold better to teenage boys. Business decisions, not artistic ones. Publishers found reliable demographics in superhero fans, so experimental work got shelved until someone figured out how to monetize complexity. A reason for the underline string in the next work to be covered.

4th piece of puzzlement Hit the wall with a dream: Puzzlement.

Empiric: Neal Adams or Jack Kirby, where the two would tangle the ropes around godlike beings begin battled. Or parallels of the profound nature of dream. Where detailed renderings worked close to McCay. Or would the vivid world of the Sandman by Niel Gaiman… It would be… Were it was to go.

Dusty: Gaiman's Sandman succeeded because DC's Vertigo line finally gave creators freedom from superhero constraints. But let's be honest - this wasn't an artistic revolution; this was MARKET SEGMENTATION. Publishers discovered adult readers would pay premium prices for sophisticated content. Money drove innovation, not pure artistic vision.

Bard: Gaiman transformed dreams from escapist fantasy into psychological exploration. The Sandman examined mortality, responsibility, and storytelling's power to shape reality. Where McCay celebrated childhood wonder, The contrast is a confronted adult disillusionment while finding redemption through narrative itself.

Empiric: The Sandman ran 75 issues with multiple artists including Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, and Dave McKean. Direct market distribution allowed for serialized storytelling, impossible in newspaper format. Trade paperback collections generated sustained revenue streams beyond initial publication.

Bessie: Gaiman gave literary credibility to comics by borrowing heavily from mythology and folklore. Smart move - academic respectability opens new markets. The darkness appealed to readers who'd outgrown superhero optimism but still wanted visual storytelling. Sophisticated packaging for familiar mythological themes.

Dusty: McCay worked within newspaper constraints that forced innovation. Limited space meant every panel had to COUNT. Gaiman had unlimited pages and artistic collaborators - easier to experiment when resources aren't restricted. Comparing these works ignores the completely different production realities of the two works.

Bard: Both creators maximized available technology to serve the ropes told. McCay's architectural perspectives pushed color printing capabilities, while Gaiman's collaborations with artists like Dave McKean introduced mixed-media techniques. Innovation emerged from embracing rather than fighting technological limitations.

Empiric: McCay's panels averaged 6-8 per page in standard newspaper format. Modern comic page layouts allow 1-9 panels with variable sizing. Printing quality improvements enabled detailed linework and subtle color gradations impossible in 1905. Paper quality differences affect archival preservation and reproduction fidelity.

Bessie: Technology shaped both works more than artistic vision. McCay drew big because newspaper printing was crude. Gaiman wrote complex because better printing allowed detailed artwork. Neither creator transcended technical limitations - both adapted smartly to available resources. In adaptations of working to the limits given choice are made a stumbling that gives a moment to the artist to realize the misstep and change the course of the work to being more.

Dusty: Stop pretending either work "changed everything." McCay influenced animation through Disney connections, but newspaper comics continued using traditional layouts. Gaiman legitimized graphic novels for bookstore sales, but superhero comics remained dominant. Cultural impact gets exaggerated by academics seeking dissertation topics.

5th piece of puzzlement Hit the wall with a dream: Puzzlement.

Bard: Both works demonstrated comics' capacity for profound Ropes beyond simple entertainment. McCay proved that visual narrative could capture dreams' illogical beauty. Gaiman showed mature themes and could find expression through sequential art. Each expanded the medium's expressive possibilities.

Empiric: Little Nemo reprints include Taschen's complete collection and Sunday Press editions. The Sandman generated multiple spin-offs, a Netflix adaptation and sustained trade paperback sales exceeding 7 million copies worldwide. Museum exhibitions have featured both works at venues including the Smithsonian and Centre Pompidou.

Bessie: McCay created beautiful nostalgia that influenced animators and artists. Gaiman created sophisticated entertainment that influenced writers and publishers. Both served their audiences well, but revolutionary impact claims seem overstated. Good art influencing other good art - that's probably enough legacy for any creator.

Dusty: Here's the uncomfortable truth - comics didn't "evolve" from Little Nemo to The Sandman. Comics DIVERGED into multiple streams. Newspaper strips, superhero comics, underground comix, graphic novels - different audiences, different purposes. Evolution implies linear progress, but this was market fragmentation.

Bard: Evolution in sequential art means expanding expressive range rather than replacing earlier forms. McCay's visual innovations remain relevant, while Gaiman's narrative complexity opened new storytelling territories. Both approaches coexist because both serve different human needs for wonder and understanding.

Empiric: Sequential art development shows technological and distribution influence rather than purely artistic evolution. Newspaper syndication enabled mass reach but limited content. Direct market distribution allowed niche content but reduced audience size. Success metrics vary by distribution model and target demographics.

6th piece of puzzlement Hit the wall with a dream: Puzzlement.

Bessie: Artists just find new ways to package eternal human concerns. Dreams, death, wonder, meaning - McCay and Gaiman addressed identical themes using different tools. Calling this evolution flatters creators while ignoring business realities that shaped both works.

Dusty: Both works survive because academic institutions and collectors need historical narratives. Little Nemo gets preserved as "important early comics," while The Sandman gets taught as "graphic literature." Legacy often depends more on institutional support than actual artistic merit.

Bard: Great storytelling transcends its historical moment. McCay's architectural dreams still inspire wonder while Gaiman's mythological explorations continue resonating with readers seeking meaning. Both works prove comics can address fundamental human experiences across generational boundaries.

Empiric: Contemporary reprints maintain both works in circulation. Digital platforms enable global access while physical collections serve collector markets. Influence tracking shows a clear lineage from McCay's panel innovations through modern experimental comics. Quantifiable impact extends beyond initial publication periods.

Bessie: McCay drew pretty pictures that made people happy. Gaiman told complex stories that made people think. Both succeeded at their intended purposes. Legacy discussions often say more about current critical fashions than historical significance - but good entertainment usually finds ways to survive academic theorizing.

Empiric: What else can be said? Nothing really will bring the quibbling to a close for the scribbles today. And yes, next week the pause taking is done, and hopefully the work that was to be used last week will be posted by next week. So, to the readers this far, Thanks for the time and for reading.