 From a young age , McCay was a quick , prolific , and technically dextrous artist . He started his professional career making posters and performing for dime museums , and began illustrating newspapers and magazines in 1898 . He joined the New York Herald in 1903 , where he created popular comic strips such as Little Sammy Sneeze and Dream of the Rarebit Fiend . In 1905 , his signature strip Little Nemo in Slumberland debuted , a fantasy strip in an Art Nouveau style , about a young boy and his adventurous dreams . The strip demonstrated McCay 's strong graphic sense and mastery of color and linear perspective . McCay experimented with the formal elements of the comic strip page , arranging and sizing panels to increase impact and enhance the narrative . McCay also produced numerous detailed editorial cartoons and was a popular performer of chalk talks on the vaudeville circuit . 
