 In his comics and animation McCay used stock ethnic stereotypes common in his era . A conscious attempt to offend is not apparent . He depicted blacks as savages , or wishing they could be white . Most prominent were a pair of characters in Little Nemo : the ill @-@ tempered Irishman Flip and the rarely speaking grass @-@ skirted African Little Imp . In the animated Little Nemo , the Anglo @-@ Saxon Nemo is shown drawn in a dignified Art Nouveau style , and controls by magic the more grotesquely caricatured Flip and Imp . Women were few in McCay 's work , and were depicted as superficial , jealous , and argumentative ; the Princess in Little Nemo never partook in the camaraderie the males shared . 
