April 8, 1911, Winsor McCay, “The Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald,” released Little Nemo, a groundbreaking work of animation based on his Sunday comic strip.
Just three months later, on July 23, 1911, McCay left the New York Herald to work for William Randolph Hearst. Little Nemo, renamed In the Land of Wonderful Dreams, reappeared on September 3 in Hearst’s New York American.
We are living in the final few years of printed newspapers. Hearst was a towering figure in the business, whose influence helped to make the American comic strip an important creative and commercial medium. Comic strips led, of course, to the creation of comic books.
Don’t delay in watching this 2-part American Experience documentary. The videos are supposed to expire on May 31.
