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Little Nemo's Big New Dreams
A Junior Library Guild Selection.
Winsor McCay's legendary comic strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland, has inspired today's foremost cartoonists to craft their own dreamlands. From the original broadsheet-sized edition, we have selected more than thirty glorious, unforgettable, or even silly dreams. Join Nemo on his journey out of 1905 and, dream by dream, explore the wild and wonderful world of today's most imaginative dreamers!
Winsor McCay's legendary comic strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland, has inspired today's foremost cartoonists to craft their own dreamlands. From the original broadsheet-sized edition, we have selected more than thirty glorious, unforgettable, or even silly dreams. Join Nemo on his journey out of 1905 and, dream by dream, explore the wild and wonderful world of today's most imaginative dreamers!
72 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2015
65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 22, 2017
Despite the Junior Library label, I would definitely recommend this for adults rather than children.
Even on the off chance that children had familiarity with Nemo beyond the animated version, the art styles and level of [meta]jokes are pretty mature. What's the chance of a kid understanding a cartoon about an architect having a nightmare about being trapped inside his thesis project, critiquing her own design and failing to communicate with deceased loved ones? There's even a throw-away Heidegger reference, for pete's sake.
Some artists mimicked the original style, others went their own ways. Some of the contributions were interesting to me. Many were not. I personally prefer some continuity rather a collection of one-page samples of various artists' work, but it is a good way to see who you want to find more by.
For fans, there is a much larger and presumably more expensive version of this, Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream
Even on the off chance that children had familiarity with Nemo beyond the animated version, the art styles and level of [meta]jokes are pretty mature. What's the chance of a kid understanding a cartoon about an architect having a nightmare about being trapped inside his thesis project, critiquing her own design and failing to communicate with deceased loved ones? There's even a throw-away Heidegger reference, for pete's sake.
Some artists mimicked the original style, others went their own ways. Some of the contributions were interesting to me. Many were not. I personally prefer some continuity rather a collection of one-page samples of various artists' work, but it is a good way to see who you want to find more by.
For fans, there is a much larger and presumably more expensive version of this, Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream
October 10, 2025
I am convinced Winsor McCay was a 'proto-surrealist' - amazing artist that needs to be rediscovered! So many of the scenes he drew are still vivid to this day; Little Nemo is a (sadly) forgotten character that was foundational in the world of comics. This anthology of contemporary artists/writers reacquaints newer generations with this legend of comics and cartooning.
December 23, 2015
Fun stories culled from the much larger -- literally! -- Dream Another Dream collection. We discussed this on our recent Locust Moon Press spotlight: http://comicsalternative.com/episode-....
August 24, 2017
I noticed Goodreads kept suggesting a Little Nemo book to me and I decided to look into it and though it's a different rendition than the one that was recommended the library had this one and it should give me an idea of what this is... I'm not quite sure why it was recommended.
What's it about?
Well this is not the fish from that Disney movie (when I first heard about it I honestly thought it was) but it's actually about a kid named Nemo who has weird dreams.
Pros:
The art for most of it is pretty fantastic. Excellent job drawing, artists!
It's very weird and as a fan of weird comics I liked how weird it often is.
Art Spiegelman's foreword was funny and had a good twist.
Cons:
The story is nothing interesting. The story is pretty much about Nemo having weird dreams which could have led to a good psychological drama type thing but no, it's just Nemo having weird dreams and people being d**ks about it.
The characters aren't interesting and have no real background or anything. You have people having weird dreams (usually Nemo though not always), people being d**ks to the people having weird dreams and random characters in the dreams.
This might be the most predictable book I've ever read. It's pretty much the same thing over and over. No matter what, someone's going to have a weird dream and wake up, that's it throughout the entire book on repeat.
There's no real action, humor or horror value. I normally expect a book to have at least one of those things but I don't think it even tries to, it just simply isn't there so it's not even that any of that stuff's poorly done, it's non existent in this book (with the exception of that foreword I mentioned in the pros section).
Overall:
This felt like a poorly made version of Sandman because my mind can't help but compare to 2 and this is pretty much Sandman without most of the things that make Sandman cool (I know some Little Nemo stuff is older than Sandman but guess which one I read first). I would say it's maybe something that would be fun for little kids but a lot of the subject matter is too mature for kids under 10(?) and 10 year old me would've thought this book is stupid. I wish I could see why this book has it's cult following but unless they just look at the pictures or something (no offense, people who like this book) I really can't see it.
2/5
What's it about?
Well this is not the fish from that Disney movie (when I first heard about it I honestly thought it was) but it's actually about a kid named Nemo who has weird dreams.
Pros:
The art for most of it is pretty fantastic. Excellent job drawing, artists!
It's very weird and as a fan of weird comics I liked how weird it often is.
Art Spiegelman's foreword was funny and had a good twist.
Cons:
The story is nothing interesting. The story is pretty much about Nemo having weird dreams which could have led to a good psychological drama type thing but no, it's just Nemo having weird dreams and people being d**ks about it.
The characters aren't interesting and have no real background or anything. You have people having weird dreams (usually Nemo though not always), people being d**ks to the people having weird dreams and random characters in the dreams.
This might be the most predictable book I've ever read. It's pretty much the same thing over and over. No matter what, someone's going to have a weird dream and wake up, that's it throughout the entire book on repeat.
There's no real action, humor or horror value. I normally expect a book to have at least one of those things but I don't think it even tries to, it just simply isn't there so it's not even that any of that stuff's poorly done, it's non existent in this book (with the exception of that foreword I mentioned in the pros section).
Overall:
This felt like a poorly made version of Sandman because my mind can't help but compare to 2 and this is pretty much Sandman without most of the things that make Sandman cool (I know some Little Nemo stuff is older than Sandman but guess which one I read first). I would say it's maybe something that would be fun for little kids but a lot of the subject matter is too mature for kids under 10(?) and 10 year old me would've thought this book is stupid. I wish I could see why this book has it's cult following but unless they just look at the pictures or something (no offense, people who like this book) I really can't see it.
2/5
January 2, 2017
This is a gorgeous and intriguing mix of comics from Locust Moon Press' $125(!), 8-pound(!!) Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream. A big thank-you to the publisher for making it more accessible to libraries and people of limited budget and shelf space. It's a testament to the strength of this collection that I'm seriously considering buying the full version for myself!
The variety of artistic styles and moods is enough to make this an enjoyable read, but as a librarian, the introduction to McCay's works by Art Spiegelman and editor Françoise Mouly sells it. It wouldn't be practical to buy something like Dream Another Dream for a small public library, but Big New Dreams is an excellent introduction to McCay's works despite being a tribute collection, and could segue into appreciation for comics/art history.
Like nostalgic tributes tend to be, this is a little sophisticated for the younger set, and there's one comic based on a nightmare and on the graphic side, but it has its place in the collection for sure. If your kid's just starting to learn to read, maybe put it on the top shelf. But I suggest with things like this, when they're a little older, rearrange things so it's in reach. It's worth it.
June 24, 2015
I have been a fan of Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland" 1900s-1910s newspaper art pages for decades, and this 69-page hardcover book is a wonderful modern tribute to add to them. The owners of the Locust Moon comics shop/art gallery/specialty press in Philadelphia have selected 32 of today's comic-book artists to each produce an imitation "Little Nemo" page. Some have meticulously duplicated McCay's distinctive art style, while others have copied his format in their own art styles; but all have been true to McCay's sweeping visual imagination. Because McCay designed "Little Nemo" to fill a large newspaper page, these similar tributes mostly fill a double-page spread, appearing as two pages. There is a foreword by the husband-wife Françoise Mouly (art editor of THE NEW YORKER) and Art Spiegelman (author/artist of the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel "Maus; A Survivor's Tale"). Mouly is also the Editorial Director of TOON Books, this book's publisher. There are samples of McCay's original "Little Nemo" pages, followed by Nemo's new Slumberland adventures by Charles Vess, Mark Buckingham, Yuko Shimizu, Paolo Rivera, Carla Speed McNeil, Zander Cannon, David Petersen, Bishakh Kumar Som, Marc Hempel, and more; most of whom are award winners and nominees. This book is a must-have for all McCay and "Little Nemo" fans, and for all those who appreciate cartoon-art emphasizing large-scale imaginative visual fantasy.
November 10, 2015
I can't not give this 5 stars. I LOVE Little Nemo In Slumberland and am amazed by how few people have heard of it. Granted, I probably would not have heard of this early 20th Century comic if it hadn't been for the History of Comics course I took at UCSD in the early 90s. It also introduced me to Krazy Kat and a number of others that I adored. The original series was beautifully drawn and written by Windsor McCay with weird, surreal storylines straight out of a dream, which makes sense - duh.
There are some lovely tributes in here that really capture the style of McCay as well as some oddly dark/creepy and stylized versions by artists putting their own spin on LNIS. If you don't know Nemo, there is a nice intro by Art Speigelman and his wife Francoise Mouly.
There are some lovely tributes in here that really capture the style of McCay as well as some oddly dark/creepy and stylized versions by artists putting their own spin on LNIS. If you don't know Nemo, there is a nice intro by Art Speigelman and his wife Francoise Mouly.
November 1, 2015
In honor of the Little Nemo comic strip that has influenced so many graphic illustrators, here is a book of their tributes. It is a compendium in the style of Flight (which is edited by Kibuishi), and is utterly charming.
December 30, 2016
This is so great: an anthology of artists reinterpreting McCay's Little Nemo for modern audiences. Now I have to read the oversized, original edition.
Run don't walk, to pick this up from your bookseller.
Highest recommendation.
Run don't walk, to pick this up from your bookseller.
Highest recommendation.
April 24, 2017
I loved this!! Such a fun, playful (at times) collection of fan work. Every comic was a delight to read, and they were all so different from each other I never felt bored. Some were incredibly close to McCay's style, some not, but all were beautiful and fantastic to read. Absolutely no complaints.
September 24, 2019
Really lovely homage to a groundbreaking comic.
February 21, 2020
This lovely homage to Windsor McCay’s classic work ‘Little Nemo in Slumberland’ is a wonderful book to flip through with an impressive list of comics legends offering their own take on the fantastical adventures of Little Nemo. Art Spiegelman offers an amazing foreword comic that literally displays his admiration for McCay’s precedent work. The following pages are filled with a who’s who of comic greats including; Charles Vess, Mark Buckingham, Cliff Chiang, Paola Rivera, Yuko Shimizu, Craig Thompson, David Peterson, and many more. Each artist gives a truly unique spin on McCay’s original work and themes, and they all feel like stepping into their dreams.
Now I need to read McCay’s original works for further adventures and inspiration.
Now I need to read McCay’s original works for further adventures and inspiration.
Read
August 14, 2019This book contains some of the remnants of a tribute book to the Little Nemo in Slumberland comic strip by Winsor McKay. Revered by animators and comic artists, McKay inexplicably doesn't have the popularity of less talented artists. This book is therefore a good addition to a HS library in that students can learn about Nemo while encountering the contemporary artists who channel/pay homage McKay here. Better, but more expensive would be the oversized collections of McKay's originals. But, hey, budgets gonna budget.
Read
February 5, 2016Towards the end, there are a few that don't seem aimed quite at a kid's perspective. I'd be curious to hear why they were included. And for crying out loud, where can a guy get an affordable collection of the original strips?
September 5, 2017
Ooooh, I loved this.
April 14, 2018
Gorgeous book.
February 12, 2024
Mostly this is a look into the unique styles of different comic artists/writers, which is certainly interesting as an idea. In this case though, when you try mixing that with a history lesson and a tribute to an old comic/animation legend, things get messy.
The intro to McCay had some interesting bits - primarily the analysis of his art style and the in-depth descriptions of certain comic strips of his. The rest felt much too sappy, or butt-kissy. The author spends most of her time fawning over McCay rather than explaining why he’s an important figure in history.
Now to the art - it felt like most of the artists hired to make strips inspired by McCay had never even heard of him. I assume they googled him, read a handful of his strips, and felt that that was good enough. Some probably didn’t even do that.
However, many of the strips were incredible. The most impressive ones, in my opinion, were by James Harvey and J. G. Jones, but there were certainly many others that I thought captured the spirit of McCays work while also being new and creative.
Others fell very flat, but that’s what you can expect from collections of works. You like some and you don’t like others.
Anyways, this was an enjoyable read and I loved the diversity of it. It just wasn’t all that special.
The intro to McCay had some interesting bits - primarily the analysis of his art style and the in-depth descriptions of certain comic strips of his. The rest felt much too sappy, or butt-kissy. The author spends most of her time fawning over McCay rather than explaining why he’s an important figure in history.
Now to the art - it felt like most of the artists hired to make strips inspired by McCay had never even heard of him. I assume they googled him, read a handful of his strips, and felt that that was good enough. Some probably didn’t even do that.
However, many of the strips were incredible. The most impressive ones, in my opinion, were by James Harvey and J. G. Jones, but there were certainly many others that I thought captured the spirit of McCays work while also being new and creative.
Others fell very flat, but that’s what you can expect from collections of works. You like some and you don’t like others.
Anyways, this was an enjoyable read and I loved the diversity of it. It just wasn’t all that special.
July 7, 2022
Looking into the past, this book celebrates the comic Little Nemo in Slumberland by McCreary. The lead in could have given a better handle on the reason to celebrate him and the creative work before diving into the comics themselves, but nonetheless, a look back to origins of comics that were widely published (like these on broadboards) are like looking into a time machine-- the innocence of a little boy sleeping (which always ended with him waking up or falling out of his bed or being woken up by someone else) but the innovative ways that they were illustrated or straightforward in their story.
The only frustration, which couldn't necessarily be rectified in the size of the book was that most of them need to be read not by holding the book the traditional way, but flipping the book longway. I know we all hate reading books that are outsized, but in this case, it would have been beneficial to publish it oversized. Curious but kind of cool.
The only frustration, which couldn't necessarily be rectified in the size of the book was that most of them need to be read not by holding the book the traditional way, but flipping the book longway. I know we all hate reading books that are outsized, but in this case, it would have been beneficial to publish it oversized. Curious but kind of cool.
September 9, 2024
This is the Gate of Ivory and Horn to meet Little Nemo, and the marvelous adventures he has, as seen through the eyes of those that admire and are inspired by his unique work at the early stages of comics, offered in stunning color.
The surrealism so comfortable in dreams, and childhood are given fresh life to a character, and author, regrettably, almost forgotten in time.
This book was created to introduce him 100 years after his debut. Modern comic/ graphic novel artists share their panels driven by the aesthetic of McCay's dynamic, and highly creative work.
If only I could find some of terse panels printed so that I can hang them on my wall. So beautiful a tribute to an early innovator of comic and animation storyteller.
The surrealism so comfortable in dreams, and childhood are given fresh life to a character, and author, regrettably, almost forgotten in time.
This book was created to introduce him 100 years after his debut. Modern comic/ graphic novel artists share their panels driven by the aesthetic of McCay's dynamic, and highly creative work.
If only I could find some of terse panels printed so that I can hang them on my wall. So beautiful a tribute to an early innovator of comic and animation storyteller.
December 18, 2018
I had really wanted to read the original Little Nemo in Dreamland comics and found this. A tribute to those orignals by Winsor McKay, this book is a compilation of various artists inspired by Nemo's adventures. Each are a full spread page in length. I liked some and wasn't in to many. Overall I did enjoy the book for just seeing how different artists approach a comic style for narrative. Some content would be over the heads of children so I would say this is more middle school as far as appropriate, but really more for an adult reader to "get" what some things are being discussed.
April 15, 2025
I came to this because I always hear cartoonists worshipping Little Nemo, but I'm not familiar with it. I didn't realize that, besides the (good) introductions, this wouldn't have original Little Nemo but rather work that was inspired by it. First, it was useful to me to even read the introduction and increase my exposure there. But second - some of the riffs on Little Nemo were really fun! I preferred the works that more directly played off Nemo themes (especially interconnectedness of the panels or unique perspectives), but in general these were pretty fun.
February 16, 2023
This is a collection of comics made by artists inspired by Windsor McCay's Little Nemo comics.
I didn't know any of this when I grabbed the book off the shelf to read. I didn't know who Windsor McCay was nor his work.
McCay's art is beautiful and I will have to look up more of his comics. The some of the comics in the book are better than others. It's interesting how the artists related to Little Nemo whether it was the drawing style, the color, the composition, and/or the type of story.
I didn't know any of this when I grabbed the book off the shelf to read. I didn't know who Windsor McCay was nor his work.
McCay's art is beautiful and I will have to look up more of his comics. The some of the comics in the book are better than others. It's interesting how the artists related to Little Nemo whether it was the drawing style, the color, the composition, and/or the type of story.
February 22, 2017
A collects of modern comic writers/artists tribute comics.
April 7, 2018
65/100
Really nice Little Nemo-inspired art. Because of the limited scope of a single page of Sunday newsprint, just like McCay had, there's not much opportunity to build to much narratively.
Really nice Little Nemo-inspired art. Because of the limited scope of a single page of Sunday newsprint, just like McCay had, there's not much opportunity to build to much narratively.
March 13, 2021
Lovely homage.
May 2, 2025
My favorite selections:
-Paolo Rivera
-James Harvey
-Carla Speed McNeil
-Paolo Rivera
-James Harvey
-Carla Speed McNeil
August 5, 2016
The art is an absolute beauty, but I couldn't help to think that some of the strips were a bit lacking in story. For a tribute, I expected parody and other imaginative takes on Nemo and McCay's ideas, I wasn't expecting some of the more darker takes like characters being violently killed through a vegetable slicer or Nemo getting run over by a train (a downer for an otherwise interesting strip). There were odd bits like a beautiful but confusing strip where Freud attempts to explain to Nemo (and the audience) his theories about Dreams. Unfortunately Freudian psychology is difficult enough to explain on its own, and the paragraph or two of text allotted to the one strip was a wasted effort, leaving me more confused than enlightened.
For a "sampling" of the much larger "Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream", I felt this volume to be a mixed bag. Obviously the publisher doesn't want to put all the best strips in this volume, but at the end I'm more interested in reading McCay's strip than bothering with the larger book.
For a "sampling" of the much larger "Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream", I felt this volume to be a mixed bag. Obviously the publisher doesn't want to put all the best strips in this volume, but at the end I'm more interested in reading McCay's strip than bothering with the larger book.
December 18, 2016
A pretty nice collection of homages to McCay's classic newspaper strip. I want to seek out the larger format complete homage collection that this book presents a selection from as well. A bit of a niggling critique of this selection is that it includes disappointingly little work by women, and I do hope the larger work shows a bit more balance in that regard.
December 22, 2015
Some great art, but plenty strips were too weird for me, and there were a few that were randomly dark and violent out of nowhere. Will probably only appeal to people already familiar with this property.
April 15, 2017
Big New Dreams represents a portion of the work found in the larger Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream. In that volume the art work is produced in the size that Winsor McCay (creator of Little Nemo) showcased his own comics work. Here 29 of those works are reproduced, although in smaller size.
This book is not only a wonderful introduction to the world of McKay, but also allows other contemporary artists a chance to play with the characters and concepts of the one hundred year old strip.
The forwards by Francoise Mouly and Art Spielgelman give you an introduction to McKay's work, so if you are not already a fan you won't be completely lost.
This book is not only a wonderful introduction to the world of McKay, but also allows other contemporary artists a chance to play with the characters and concepts of the one hundred year old strip.
The forwards by Francoise Mouly and Art Spielgelman give you an introduction to McKay's work, so if you are not already a fan you won't be completely lost.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews