When George Meets A Wizard Out of Time

George has faced dragons, medieval mayhem and the sort of heroic confusion that makes a perfectly sensible plan collapse before lunchtime. A time-travelling wizard adds a new problem: the enemy may know the future, the past may be wrong, and the spellbook could contain instructions written in a language nobody has invented yet.

In this imagined meeting, George vs Dragon meet a time-traveling wizard in the least dignified way possible. A glowing portal opens beside the castle, a wizard tumbles out carrying a cracked hourglass, and George immediately assumes the stranger is responsible for the dragon’s latest rampage.

The setup suits Andy Fanton’s comic style, where sharp visual jokes, exaggerated characters and fast-moving nonsense can share the same panel. The medieval setting gives the story its familiar shape, while time travel brings in modern habits, strange technology and plenty of opportunities for misunderstandings.

That combination would feel at home alongside Fanton’s work for The Dandy, including George vs Dragon, Boo!, Carrotty Kid and Bad Grandad. Readers can explore more of that creative world through the Andy Fanton blog, where cartoons, projects and observations reveal the thinking behind the jokes.

A Portal Opens In The Wrong Castle

The wizard should arrive with a grand announcement, perhaps warning George that the kingdom will fall before the next sunrise. Instead, the portal deposits him in a pantry, directly into a barrel of turnips. George sees a robed stranger emerge from the vegetables and reaches for his sword, while the wizard insists that the turnips are historically significant.

The dragon makes matters worse by sneezing at the portal. A burst of magical wind scatters objects from different centuries across the courtyard: a knight’s helmet, a digital alarm clock and what appears to be a takeaway menu from Sydney. The wizard claims this is a minor temporal disturbance. George points out that the menu has a two-for-one deal.

The Wizard Knows Too Much

A time traveller can create funny tension by predicting every move George makes. He knows George will trip over the drawbridge chain, mistake a magical scroll for a tablecloth and attempt to negotiate with the dragon using a stale meat pie. George becomes increasingly determined to prove the predictions wrong, which naturally causes each one to happen.

The joke becomes stronger if the wizard’s knowledge is incomplete. He remembers three possible futures, but has mixed up their details. In one version, George saves the kingdom. In another, the dragon becomes mayor. In the third, everyone spends Saturday queuing for coffee in Melbourne while debating whether a wizard needs a permit.

Medieval Logic Meets Modern Australia

The story could use everyday Australian details without losing its fantasy setting. The wizard might complain about Brisbane humidity ruining his robe, mistake a Melbourne tram bell for a dragon warning, or attempt to navigate Sydney using a hand-drawn map that excludes every tunnel and toll road.

George’s practical habits would clash with the wizard’s dramatic rituals. He wants a quick plan, a snack and a clear exit route. The wizard wants six candles, a lunar alignment and complete silence. Someone in the castle keeps asking whether the portal accepts tap-and-go, while the dragon guards a backpack full of sunscreen for the journey through time.

A Dragon With A Flexible Future

The dragon should have its own opinion about time travel. It may enjoy the past because villagers still bring tribute in pies, yet dislike the future because dragons have been replaced by air-conditioned drones. Its greatest fear could be discovering that a museum display describes it as “a moderately sized reptile of local interest.”

George and the dragon work best as rivals who occasionally cooperate for selfish reasons. When the wizard accidentally creates three versions of the dragon, George has to identify the original before the copies take over the castle. One is brave, one is lazy and one has developed an alarming interest in medieval property prices.

The Comic Timing Of A Temporal Spell

A strip built around time travel needs clear visual rules. The hourglass might reverse whenever someone tells a lie, freeze when the dragon yawns and accelerate whenever George says he has everything under control. Repeating these rules gives each panel a reliable comic rhythm while allowing the final gag to arrive with a satisfying snap.

The wizard’s grand spell can also fail because of a tiny technicality. He intends to send the dragon back to its own century but forgets to include the castle. The castle arrives in the future, where it is immediately assessed for heritage protection, surrounded by safety barriers and given a sign explaining that visitors must not climb the battlements.

From Panel Gags To Bigger Stories

A one-page strip could focus on the portal mishap, while a longer adventure follows George, the dragon and the wizard through several eras. They might visit a prehistoric landscape, a suspiciously familiar modern shopping centre and a future kingdom where the royal throne is controlled by an automated customer service system.

For Australian readers, that wider journey could gently play with the local comics market and publishing realities. A cartoon may appear in print, online, at a school fete or among the weekend stalls at a community market. If the characters eventually become a television project, creators must also consider Australian classification rules and suitable content for the intended age group.

Copyright matters in a crossover of this kind as well. Original character designs, scripts and illustrations should be clearly owned or licensed, while adaptations for merchandise, animation or digital platforms need written agreements. Australian creators may also need to account for GST, production budgets and the practical distance between markets in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and the east-coast publishing centres.

The strongest version of this adventure would preserve the simple pleasure at its centre: George wants to defeat a dragon, the dragon wants to avoid responsibility, and the wizard wants to repair history before anyone notices. Follow the wider creative work, read the rare interview, and get in touch through Andy’s contact page to keep up with new cartoons, writing and creative projects.