Little Nemo Return to Slumberland #4

   There must be someone out there who doesn't love the classic Little Nemo in Slumberland Sunday comic by the great Winsor McCay - but I've never met such a creature.

   Obviously the folks at IDW are fans, so they've brought us a modern-day version that is a remarkable homage to the original.

   It must be at least intimidating to attempt to craft a sequel to that classic work - but I don't see any signs of the strain here.

   This mini-series, Little Nemo Return to Slumberland, is astonishingly faithful, while bringing its own charm and storytelling flourishes to the mix.

   It doesn't hurt that the creative team is perfectly matched to the series. It's written by Eric Shanower, a gifted storyteller with an amazing facility with classic creations like this. (You have read his Oz adaptations, haven't you?)

    The astonishing art is by Gabriel Rodriguez, with colors by Nelson Daniel. It's a wonderful journey of the imagination - bright and colorful and creative to a fault. It's not slavish in imitating McCay's style, but it evokes those glory days while carving out its own, glorious niche.

    Simply a wonderful series - hopefully just the first of many mini-series to carry on McCay's marvelous creation, sparking the imaginations of legions of future artists and writers, all of whom will dream of doing work like this.

Grade: A

----------------------

Little Nemo in Slumberland #2

   I'm a huge fan of Winsor McCay, whose amazing comic strip, Little Nemo, long ago set the high water mark for comic strip art.

   The Sunday-only strip ran (more or less) from 1905 to 1925, and the fact that it's still remembered is a testament to his amazing, vivid, museum-quality artwork.

   So creating a comic book bringing that strip back for modern readers has to be a daunting task. Surely most artists would either quail in the face of having to craft such precise, detailed and inventive art - in fact, I suspect most would run away screaming.

   But give credit to artist Gabriel Rodriguez, working with color artist Nelson Daniel, because they succeed! The art they create here is nothing less than amazing.

   On display is an amazing array of imaginative characters, mad architecture, dreamlike plants and a vast world of dreamlike creations.

   I can't say it's as good as McCay - but it's remarkably close.

   Writer Eric Shanower does a subtle update for the material, adapting several of the original strips into a lovely tale about James "Nemo" Sullivan's dreamlike journey to Slumberland, where he meets royalty, an imp, a giant inch-worm and much more!

   If you're a fan of the original strip - or you just enjoy terrific art - then you owe it to yourself to buy this series. It's exceptional!

Grade: A

---------------------------