Events
ThoughtBubble
14 Nov 2026 – 15 Nov 2026
Harrogate Convention Centre
Manchester Megacon
31 Jul 2027 – 1 Aug 2027
Manchester Central
Whatever’s coming had better be flammable because Ms Barber is going to smoke it.
You can smoke ANYTHING if you try hard enough. Or so certain acquaintances assure me.
Relatedly, from my theater and event tech friends, any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.
While I get what you are saying, most machines just give out a little smoke before dying. It'd be an art form to get it to continually give out smoke.
Use machines wrong enough by blatantly setting them on fire
That's magic smoke. It's what makes the machine run.
We know that because when you let out the magic smoke, the machines don't run any more.
No, the smoke is the result of the gremlins dying from overwork. As supernatural creatures, they turn to stardust upon death. It only looks like smoke because it has yet to fully disperse.
Conversely, it's a miracle if you can get a smoke machine to produce smoke regularly.
I love all of you people. <3
I am wondering why the island witch hasn't investigated the knocking yet. I wonder if the anchor is hard to reach even for them?
There she is!
I've been wondering about the island and mountain witch. Back in chapter 7, their letter in the between-zone (the one that came with the scarf for Mal) said "[We] will come knocking soon," and i thought that implied they'd be visiting Mal (and Harry) in that space, but in the end they never showed up, and only their doors opened. Here, it seems like Harry's been on her own for however long she's been stranded, so where's the island witch? IIRC the island is in New Zealand, so shouldn't there be some people around, at least?
Off-topic crack theory: Florrie's husband is the island witch
I can't believe you finally cracked it
The human measurement of time is a rather peculiar thing. Some cultures might consider "soon" to be within the hour, while others think of "soon" as some time over the next two weeks.
I don't know if that is culture, or context. I will have a cup of tea soon (in the next hour), but I will also be flying away on a trip soon as well (next week).
Ask a German to do a task without specifying a time limit and they'll likely have it done by the end of the day. Now ask an Indian or Mexican worker to do the same job and you will discover that island time is a very real thing.
...That sounds pretty racist. I'm not sure how that comment could be well-intended. Please think about what you're saying.
My comment was not meant to be derogatory in any way towards Indians or Mexicans. They just happened to be the first nationalities that came to mind when I was thinking of examples as opposite to the German sense of punctuality.
Skatie's answer above better illustrates what I was trying to describe.
It probably would have been better to not stereotype at all. I have some German family, and not all of them are overly organized. To compare two completely different nationalities to your idea of another one is not the best choice. Additionally, the idea of 'island time' is often considered derogatory. It can be hard to realize you've made a faux pas sometimes; I just ask that you recognize it and refrain from making another such mistake. I don't want a drawn-out internet argument.
Also, neither India nor Mexico are islands. : )
Maybe a Hawaiians would have been a more apt example as from what little I hear, they tend to be a laid back group and very much go by island time.
It really isn't a race thing, so much as a culture thing. Are you familiar with hot vs. cold cultures?
Hot cultures tend to be relationship oriented, more relaxed when it comes to hospitality (come over any time!) and punctuality is a suggestion.
Cold cultures tend to be more task oriented and focused on efficiency, hospitality is more planned (dinner party at 6:00) and keeping on schedule is valued.
I'm only a little familiar with the concept, as I haven't read any books on the subject, but my sister is an international traveler so I get the cliff notes version. :D
Here's a good [link ](http://tckness.blogspot.com/2013/04/hot-and-cold-cultures.html "http://tckness.blogspot.com/2013/04/hot-and-cold-cultures.html")that explains it.
Oh, it’s definitely a cultural thing. My dad (American) lived in Italy for five years and it was a STEEP learning curve, because when he needed work done to his house, the guys MIGHT show up two or three weeks later? And that was considered soon in Italian culture. For a government guy who worked in Washington D.C., where soon means TODAY OR ELSE, this drove him absolutely crazy. It only took him a year or two to acclimate. :P
Or I'll have a baby soon - in several months :)
I live in Spain, where ‘mañana’ technically means ‘tomorrow’, but in reality can mean anything from ‘tomorrow’ to ‘eh, whenever i get round to it, really’.
Big fan of all the birds so far this book
And the bird in sky is green, it seems!
Plenty of green birds in the Oceania region.
I bet Harry wishes she'd kept that pipe Greed zapped now
Not sure it'd avail her much, though, if it works the same way as an 'endless purse'. Well, unless there's someone else on the island who just so happens to have a nice pouch of tobacco.
A good smoke seems like a pipe dream right now
/facedesk
Aaand now she's motivated to get home.
Yep! Stuck in a strange locale? Nbd. Out of tobacco? Time to bounce!
Maybe the giant what's-it has some tobacco.
That beautifully rendered, lush scenery calls to the dryad in me.
How I've missed that Hrm.
I bet she's run out of bullets by now, too...
Art change/upgrade for Barber, I see.
I love the way the shots/frames are paralleled. I've been having fun just flipping between these two pages
glad it was noticed, it was fun to mirror them!
I take it symmetry and/or parallelism is going to be a major theme in this story? Look forward to finding out how.
Thanks for pointing it out!
Same here! The only thing I noticed was the bird in the first panel, until you mentioned the parallel.
Harriet Barber in her direst moment yet: Nicotine withdrawal.
I've seen people in that state, it's not pretty. Probably for the best she's alone on island
Except for those poor unsuspecting animals on the island.
Ah, the vital supply is running low I see
Ooof
The waves are washing... the bugs are buzzing... the Harries are hrming...
friday's page may be an hour or so late, my apologies!
HARRY <3
ya know i never really understood why she didntt just leave through the blue door they came through when she stopped lust's time with the music box or whatever
or i guess i idnt see if it was open like the others
and why she didnt just stay near the door and come bakc through after lust was banished although i guess they never said how it was opened