Bad Grandad Tries to Time Travel

Bad Grandad tries to time travel, and the result is exactly as hazardous as you would expect from a comic character who treats common sense as an optional extra. His mission may begin with a mysterious machine, a dramatic countdown and a questionable pair of goggles, but it quickly becomes a tour through history powered by impatience, snacks and terrible decision-making.

Rather than offering a polished science-fiction adventure, the strip turns time travel into a playground for visual jokes. Bad Grandad can stumble into the wrong century, misunderstand an important historical event or return home carrying something that absolutely should not exist in the present.

That mix of cheeky storytelling and cartoon chaos fits Andy Fanton’s wider body of work. His comics often take a clear character idea and push it until the consequences become gloriously silly, making each panel easy to follow while rewarding readers who look closely at the background details.

The Machine Behind The Mayhem

A time machine in Bad Grandad’s hands is unlikely to be an elegant silver capsule. It feels more like a backyard invention assembled from household clutter, suspicious wires and an instruction manual that has been ignored. The machine itself becomes part of the joke because every button seems to promise a different kind of disaster.

The funniest possibility is that Bad Grandad never fully understands how the device works. He might intend to visit a famous moment in history and instead land five minutes before it, several centuries after it or in a version of the future where everyone has sensibly banned him from operating machinery.

That misunderstanding gives the strip its momentum. A simple trip through time becomes a chain reaction involving dinosaurs, medieval villages, Victorian inventions and bewildered modern bystanders. Each destination creates a new problem, while Bad Grandad’s confidence remains completely untouched.

A Very Australian Time Slip

An Australian version of this adventure invites plenty of local details. Bad Grandad could set the controls for Sydney and arrive beside the Opera House during a time when the harbour looked entirely different, or materialise in Melbourne just as a tram driver rings the bell and wonders why a medieval pensioner is blocking the tracks.

He might try to sell future technology at a weekend market in Brisbane, only to discover that shoppers are more interested in a bargain sausage sizzle. A detour to Perth could leave him stranded on the wrong side of the country with no understanding of the distances involved, while an emergency landing near Adelaide would create awkward questions about parking, permits and who owns the strange blue box.

Australian habits make useful comic fuel too. Bad Grandad could schedule a historical expedition around morning tea, complain about the price of a servo snack and insist that every era needs better shade. Even time travel would have to contend with bushfire warnings, daylight saving confusion and the practical reality that Australia’s seasons do not line up neatly with the northern hemisphere’s calendar.

Time-travel problem	Bad Grandad’s likely response	Comic result
The machine lands in medieval England	Claims he has arrived early for a family reunion	A dragon assumes he is a new servant
The controls show the wrong date	Blames the calendar	He accidentally attends the same birthday repeatedly
A dinosaur steals the power cable	Offers it a biscuit	The entire prehistoric neighbourhood follows him home
The return button disappears	Pretends this was the plan	His family must identify him from cave paintings

History Gets A Bad Makeover

The strip works because famous eras become less grand when viewed through Bad Grandad’s eyes. Ancient Rome may have roads, temples and imperial ambition, but he is more concerned with finding a comfortable chair. A medieval castle may be under siege, yet he wants to know whether anyone has put the kettle on.

This approach keeps the historical references accessible without turning the comic into a lesson. Readers recognise the setting quickly, then enjoy seeing it disrupted by an intruder who has no respect for the period’s rules. A knight may expect a noble quest, only to receive unsolicited advice about avoiding back pain.

The jokes can also run in both directions. Bad Grandad brings modern assumptions into the past, while historical figures react to items such as mobile phones, electric scooters or packaged supermarket food. Under Australian consumer law, a faulty time machine might even require a refund, although convincing a medieval shopkeeper to honour a receipt would be another adventure entirely.

Character Comedy In Every Era

Bad Grandad’s personality matters more than the mechanics of the time portal. He is the sort of character who can turn an exciting scientific breakthrough into an argument about queue etiquette. His stubbornness drives the plot, while his inventive excuses keep the dialogue lively.

A strong comic strip can communicate that personality in a single pose: a raised eyebrow, a clenched fist on the control lever or a proud stance beside a machine that is visibly smoking. Fanton’s cartooning tradition suits this kind of broad physical humour, where the silhouette and facial expression often deliver the punchline before the words do.

Readers who want to understand the artist’s range can explore the creator’s background, which places Bad Grandad alongside other distinctive projects and characters. That wider context helps explain why the strip feels comfortable mixing old-fashioned comic energy with modern observations.

Why The Clock Keeps Ticking

Time travel stories often depend on complicated rules, but Bad Grandad benefits from having rules that can collapse whenever a joke needs them to. The machine may create a paradox, split the timeline or bring home an unexpected passenger, yet the story remains focused on the character’s reaction.

That flexibility gives the comic plenty of room for mini-adventures. One episode might involve a prehistoric picnic, another a futuristic retirement home and another a visit to Australia’s gold-rush era where Bad Grandad mistakes prospecting for a government-funded hobby. Each setting refreshes the visual possibilities while preserving the same comic engine.

The best ending is probably a return to the present with one small problem left behind: a Roman senator in the lounge room, a dinosaur egg in the fridge or a medieval knight waiting for a tram. Bad Grandad may have failed to control history, but he has certainly made it more entertaining.

Follow Andy Fanton’s comic work and explore the wider collection of strips, drawings and humorous projects on his website. Start with Bad Grandad’s temporal misadventure, then browse the other characters waiting to cause trouble across the archive.