 McCay left Hearst upon the expiration of his contract in May 1924 , bitter over not having received a promised $ 5 @,@ 000 bonus . He returned to the Herald Tribune , and brought back Little Nemo beginning that August . The new strip displayed the virtuoso technique of the old , but the panels were laid out in an unvarying grid . Nemo took a more passive role in the stories , and there was no continuity . The strip came to an end in December 1926 , as it was not popular with readers . Hearst executives had been trying to convince McCay to return to the American , and succeeded in 1927 . While McCay was gone , his place had been filled by Mel <unk> , who was let go after McCay 's return . Due to the lack of the 1920s Nemo 's success , the Herald Tribune signed over all copyrights to the strip to McCay for one dollar . 
