Okay, help me with a conundrum. Basically, I was wondering about weaving in a mini plot including HG Wells and young Mary Poppins, time-travelling into the Lithium series. They could visit a bunch of scenes from STFW and Grace etc as well, a sort of post-Lithium homage to all things STFW-universe.
BUT then I thought … what if HG Wells never did time travel, and Mary Poppins never did travel by umbrella … they were just on drugs?!
I know the time-travel-plot option is more scifi, and works better weaving through all my little comics (they could visit Jilly and Ern of Kinfolk, Marcus and Sophie the Skybloom dudes … visit the whole lot in a whirlwind tour where they just say ‘Hi’ then piss off to the next era). BUT it is also funny to think that Mary Poppins was actually using opiates in the late 1800s, which HG Wells got her on to when she worked in his house? And so he never did make the time machine work …
(thanks to those who signposted the 3D model of the time machine btw)
… it was always just a bad trip where he saw flashing lights and Morlocks and Eloi! Because I think it’s more believable; that this privileged Victorian-era man tried to make a Time Machine …
… but it just didn’t work.
… and so, being a well-to-do Victorian gentleman, he got hold of some refined opiates from the silk route contacts of Greater London (cor blimey), and drowned his sorrows in one almighty bender. Right? And then introduced the young and impressionable Mary Poppins to the drug, which explains all the madness in hit film Mary Poppins:
… drugs.
Now I realise this ruins both innocent childrens’ films, but we’re all grownups here, and it is kinda funny.
But I’m 50/50 about the idea. So help me by voting – let me know in the comments below.
“I’m telling you. It’s a time machine!”
“You can’t fit in that little thing.”
“Perhaps you’re right. Anyone wanna get high?”
“Guess what I’m hiding under my coat.”
“I was raised amongst brainless narcissists, constantly under the threat of death by mutated cannibalistic monsters covered in green paint who can appear out of the ground at any moment, and I’m worried you’re going to eat me.”
“No, my penis.”
“Now, children. You tidy up this miserably colourless playroom, while I go and get high in the park with my rough mates.”
“Jimminy Christmas, Mary Poppins-sah! These opiates are off the hook!”
“I can HEAR this blue! Listen! Zhhhnggggg”
… anyway yeah, vote below. Stick with time-travel mini tour of STFW, or ruin beloved kids films with drug-based new lore?
Imagination is everything.
If time travel were possible, it would have been possible a long time ago.
But I don’t believe in the use of drugs either, I think it’s unnecessary bullshit. I once read a couple of comics in which a boy and a girl played astronauts in their room with a few chairs and a table, and even there they had to rely only on their imaginations.
It’s a little scary that after 10 years of making comics about love and acceptance, you want to write about such twists and turns. 🙂
Hehe, I think I’ve read that comic you mention 🙂
But nah, there’s always been darkness in my comics. Read OHB 7 again; Mike nearly kills himself with self-destruction, drinking everything and taking every pill in the medical cabinet, it’s an essential part of his path to acceptance, he has to break through his own pretense. Or Lithium #4. How could I write about love and acceptance if not first about hate and fakeness? Carry on, I say 🙂
An opiate bender, seems more appropriate, given the century to be honest.
With that said, that bender could’ve given them, some sort of spiritualistic high and they then, astral projected themselves through out space and time.
There, but not there. Just being a fly on the wall.
I don’t think there were drugs involved in the case Mary Poppins, in fact I don’t believe there even was Mary Poppins to begin with. She sounds way too much like a child’s imaginary friend.
The Time Machine however was a bad trip. No question. Drugs. Plural.
Oh right, forgot to vote! Time travel is always fun, and STFW is fantastic enough for it to fit right in. BUT if you’re gonna use Mary Poppins, you’ll have to throw in some drugs too because that chick ain’t real in any universe.
Hehe
Time Travel! Time Travel!
I’ll vote time travel though the machine in the book-movie could not move spatially, only temporary. Perhaps, Mary Poppins magical umbrella gave the machine some physical movement? And seeing a Victorian era romp on the seat of the machine as it moved through hypertimespace would be delightful.
Magic mushrooms are everywhere and if your are familiar with Terrence McKenna theory that ‘shrooms are a space fairing species spreading via asteroids or whatever vehicle presents itself to expand its species and the consciousness of lifeforms it encounters. The terraforming hitchhikers of the galaxy. Mary Poppins may have encountered some that helped magical her umbrella, spreading ‘shroom spores wherever she flys.
You can combine both thoughts. But magic mushrooms opens many more avenues from planetary terraforming, the ‘stoned ape’ theory acting like the Monolith in 2001 and, perhaps, even advanced calculations for timespace jaunts that make their lusty adventures possible.
Some future humans get a fleeting glance of a strange device with a couple copulation with great enthusiasm before the love machine disappears. It’s ripe for some Dr. Who and Hitchhiker’s Guide innuendo too. Some wild color art as well.
A Rompabout
Just a playful thought.
I am sure you will do it wonders!
I think the drugs angle is a bit too dark and full of despair, not something that your other comics could ever be accused of..
Maybe read Lithium 4, or OHB 7 again. What is light if not shining through darkness?
You be you and go with your gut. I would never have the gall (effrontery actually) to tell a gifted artist and author what to create.
Nah it’s fine I don’t mind people voting, I did ask 🙂
I feel you are ultimately the person best suited to make this decision – it is your vision and you need to be true to yourself above all others. That being said, I fully understand the desire to test ideas and gain insights before fully committing to a path. I enjoy writing and have a few trusted allies with whom I share ideas and often come away from those conversations with a wholly new perspective. So, with that in mind I’ll offer a few thoughts, do with them what you will…
1. While I have no qualms about reimagining childhood stories, I’m not sure I see the appeal to the idea that HG Wells and Mary Poppins were on drugs. The idea makes me laugh, yes, but it seems more worthy of an SNL skit than a larger storyline.
2. Similarly, having Mr. Wells and Ms. Poppins appearing in the various timelines of Lithium and STFW feels a little thin also, unless they have some greater purpose for their presence. Maybe through their time travels they saw what the universe would become if certain people succeeded and others failed and so they ‘meddled’ a bit to ensure a better outcome? (Asimov’s “End of Eternity” concept.)
3. If I could screw with the premise a bit I’d suggest you reverse the timeline: Mr. Wells and Ms. Poppins did not travel through time from the 19th century to visit a distant future but rather they are from the future and decided to go back to the 19th century for an extended stay (fed up with all the Morlocks and Eloi), and dropped by Lithium along the way. (Mary’s umbrella cleverly conceals a ??th century anti-gravity field generator; HG’s time machine is a rental from Sixt that he has no intention of returning; they are on the run from the Morlocks due to gambling debts so they put 10 pounds in the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank and let it collect interest for a millennia; etc.)
SNL skit – yeah you’re right.
Love the idea of reversing the timeline! Yeah I’d written in the infinity carpet bag and anti-grav umbrella, but the time reversal … hmmm …
STFW is SciFi (and boobies) so why not a little time traveling for inspiration? I don’t like the idea of drug escapes in this, your frank, open, and caring universe (it’s rather lusty too btw) … but as Jack Nordstrem wrote: You are the creative owner and you do what suits you … but you did ask, didn’t you?
They could of course use the machine to go back to the film set, meet Dick and Julie, have a chat and a cuppa:)
I’m confident you’ll make the right choice.
Mary Poppins just smacks of a wild opiate trip, and HG was almost certainly smoking something when he went on his ‘trip’, so yep, it has to be the drug based story, for me…with the twist that they are getting wide on opium in his conservatory when she kicks a dodgy valve, that actually makes the machine work, so they think they’re tripping, when they’re actually on an actual ‘time trip’, and get away with doing all sorts of shit they wouldn’t normally consider doing if they were sober.
Ah yeah great shout having him frustrated and she ‘magics’ (kicks) it into action, and they don’t even realise they’re actually travelling haha! That’s a great shout tbh
Ah dang I said great shout twice, what the heck. I should’ve just simplified with (great shout)² although it might get echoey in here
the sexual misfortunes of Mary Poppins. It sounds great fun.
Interesting idea – the opiate angle. You may want to check out ‘Lost Girls’ by Alan Moore & Melinda Gebie from 20 odd years ago.
A one-off of “The sexual adventures of Mary Poppins” through your universe would be hilarious and dead sexy!
Yeah, maybe do both?
A Spaceman in King Arthurs court (1979) time travel fun.
After reading a few of his stories like “War Of The Worlds” and “First Men In The Moon”, I kinda got the impression the good Mr. Wells may have been a fan of the sweet leaf and/or magic mushrooms as “creativity enhancers”
Wouldn’t surprise me, different bits of society haven’t always been so protestant in their attitudes to drugs. I mean what the heck was ‘snuff’ all about?!
What if the drug fueled adventure WAS the time travel through the STFW? They could be high off their ass and start seeing things from the different universes, explaining them to each other, and then they both start to see it and then they see into that version of the STFW? Then they can start seeing another universe thanks to something in there (could be a great way to get your Spock painting to be the linchpin/anchor to it all and the one thing they can look at to send them to another universe of yours. Oooo! These ideas are FLOWING today!!!!) and then they start describing it to the other and having a sense of going a different direction to another Sexy Verse. I think that would be amazing to see!
You’re playing along similar tangents, as I was… Just with more… You know, words XD
My bad! I didn’t fully read any comments as I was a fountain of a thought when I started typing and it was VERY early in the morning for me. But yes; I agree with Shades! 😉 XD
Oh, no need to apologize! I am just agreeing with your trails of thoughts 😀
And know the feeling all to well, once the Dam breaks ;D
So you know that fan theory that Mary Poppins and that Pennywise clown are basically the same kind of emotional alien/demon/vampire but they feed on different aspects of children’s emotions? Add that with the Mary Poppins drug lore, you might end up with something wild. And then, time travel! (I’m voting for “ruin beloved kids films with drug-based new lore.”)
Hehe love it
Go with the time machine, nothing like a few more laughs
my vote is definately for the sci-fi route but with more boobies and sexy action with each visit, maybe even involve Charlie and Jack (I do love those two and Ix).
Definetely the Drugs
definitely*
I’m uncertain if H.G. Wells ever used literary performance-enhancing-altering drugs, but if Pamela Travers did that would be the scoop of all time. As for the translation of “Mary Poppins” to film we only have to look to “Fanatasia” to realize that some folks may not need them at all. They luckily got the genes for the product in the first place.
What’s to stop you from melding both approaches into one?
My thinking is, don’t mess with the classics. Look at what Hollywood did to other such classic movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Andromeda Strain, Fantastic Voyage, just to name a few. Hollywood did remakes of those (and others) and completely ruined them! So, leave them alone; don’t mess with the classics. But if you’re absolutely, positively “I’m gonna do this whole time travel comic come hell or high water” scenario thing then go use that blue police box. Not only will it take you through time, but also through space to other places on earth and even to other planets, not to mention other dimensions. Oh, and did you know it’s even bigger on the inside than on the outside? There you go. A win-win! As for that whole Mary Poppins and some drug induced haze, just don’t. OK? Don’t. I will not read it if you do.
Those are just my thoughts. Thanks for listening.
Other then time travel is not possible and that drug induced ideas happen. Time travel is possible would be no more than traveling through time only to start from point A to point A. So the only difference would be the time you left to the time you arrive would be the same. So you would think that you got that feeling of day ja Vue. By time you reach your 42nd attempt you would most likely give up. As far a drug induced ideas goes it’s not drug created it’s drug released if you believe the gagel of poets. As far as M.P. goes it was magic. As magic goes there are no limits to it you just need to be tuned into it. If you believe in God then magic cannot exist.
Fantasy is fantasy and life is reality and writing a combination of both so there again it’s mmagic.
“If you believe in God then magic cannot exist.”
… really?
What if God’s a bit magic? I mean yeah probably not unicorns and seeing the future and certain foibles of fantasy, but if we believe in an unlimited creator, then surely there’s lots of space for more mystery than we’d normally handle right?
Time travel is fun and all that but drugs leaves even more room to manouevre, whats more time travel has been overdone. The option is booze, there aren’t enough drunks in fiction anymore. I recalled The Brown Bottle in Viz recently, it’s about a super hero who downs a bottle of Newcastle Brown whilst changing into his costume and thus is pissed by the time he’s fought his way out of the telephone booth, as you can imagine not much goes right after that. It would come as no surprise to discover that Wells was off his tits though…
Haha I’d never heard of the Brown Bottle though I read a few Viz as a kid! Amazing. Yeah some Newcastle Brown and a pocket full of snuff and we’re away!
OMG I’ve just been reading old copies of the Brown Bottle online hahahaha! Amazing yer bastahhhh fuckrrrsss gerroff me yah geht
I just love time travel so I’ll go with time travel, even if Mary Poppins on drugs would be both funny and awesome. But it was the 60s, everyone was on drugs then, especially if you worked at Disney and had to hand draw like a thousand frames a day.
I agree completely, DF! I recently had the misfortune of seeing the travesty called “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (2008)! Fortunately, I have not been exposed to whatever wrecks have been given the names “The Andromeda Strain” or “Fantastic Voyage”, and hope I never do! Although, I have heard rumours of a remake of “Forbidden Planet” that sounds promising, only time will tell, eh wot!
I like the idea that they take the drugs, get intimate and then accidentally fix the time machine with a misplaced elbow or boob and it propels them through time, naked and coupling without them realising. Dancers at the End of Time should definitely feature, I am sure Moorcock would not mind. In fact, he would probably insist. I think peyote would be a better fit as it lasts a long time (12+ hours) and the visions come while fully conscious and interacting with the surroundings. You know which now copyright-free character would have a supply, don’t you? Even majority kappa-opioid agonists like Salvia divinorum decouple the consciousness while the subject is engaged in the visions. The true opiates only give visions with quite high doses, sufficient to activate the kappa receptors as well as the mu and delta, when “nodding out”.
Ah yeah I love the idea of the accidental fixing of the machine while they’re busy and they don’t notice! Gotta happen.
Perhaps that faceted control knob just needs warming up to body temperature to get it functional.