Flip (Little Nemo)

Flip (Little Nemo)

Flip is a character in the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. He is the son of the Sun and nephew of the Dawn, something of a ne'er-do-well, and more or less an outcast: the residents of Slumberland want nothing to do with him. In his earliest appearances, he spends his time in Slumberland vying with Nemo for the Princess' attentions, unafraid to play dirty. As the strip progresses, Flip evolves from Nemo's nemesis to his tolerated companion to his close friend, and becomes one of the strip's livelier (albeit still troublesome) characters.

Flip is depicted as a cigar-smoking, green-faced dwarf with a receding hairline, but it is unclear whether he is a small adult or a child. Nemo refers to Flip as a "boy," apparently without irony, on several occasions, but in episodes published in 1908 and 1913 Flip claims to be 23 years old. (On the other hand, Flip is an incurable liar and braggart, so it is wise to take anything he says with a grain of salt.) Flip's customary clownish attire gives him a rotund appearance, but in a state of undress − in bathing costume, for example, or wrapped in a towel at a spa − we see that he is not really stout at all.

Separately or together, Flip and The Imp would provide much of the strip's comic relief. Another recurring character was Doctor Pill, a quack with whom Flip was always arguing.