Finder's Keepers
is an Urban Fantasy webcomic that started in October 2008, focusing on the exploits of Cardinal, Lord and Aspect of the Primary Directions and some other stuff, and Cailyn Asher, the owner of his Soul Jar through a bit of poor choice of words. Now she's being chased by Living Shadows, meeting The Powers That Be face to face, and discovering that pretty much every myth she's ever heard is true... but not always the way she heard it.
Finder's Keepers is written and drawn by Garth Graham.
The comic has been placed on indefinite hiatus as of before 2013.
Not to be confused with the game show where what you find is what you keep, or the novel.
Tropes in Finder's Keepers include:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: The Cutting Edge. Remember that "many things on this side [of the Veil] are more literal than you might imagine. "It is the line between theory and reality, between what is defined and what isn't, between open and locked, perhaps between knowing and not knowing. It seems Lady Death has given the key to the answer to all questions right at the start of the story but no-one is the wiser.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Cardinal is described as a bad boy that leaves girls wanting, by Puck.
- Alliterative List: Chapter 6: Page 23: Cailyn's questions to Puck, "What? Why? Where?"
- Bazaar of the Bizarre: The Wyrd Bazaar.
- Bigger on the Inside: Morlock's shop. According to Cardinal, "Doors don't have to open to the same place on both sides."
- Bilingual Bonus: Sort of. If you know how to read Tarot, then you can see exactly why it is that the fortuneteller in Chapter 5 reacted the way he did.
- Clap Your Hands If You Believe
- Could Say It, But...: Robin leans on this here.
- Deadpan Snarker: Cailyn, mixed with enough Good Old Ways style Fey terminology that she instantly gets on Robin's good side.
- Embarrassing Hobby: Death has a rose garden, which goes against her cultivated goth look.
- Exact Words: Cailyn refuses to surrender Cardinal's Soul Jar until she knows exactly what's going on. Now Cardinal can't take it back from her until the Umbra explain why they're after him... something they seem reluctant to do.
- The Fair Folk: Pixies are dicks.
- And Robin Goodfellow is a sly little ***.
- Fantasy Gun Control: Justified:A gun may be far more efficient and effective than a sword, but carrying one can and will inevitably bring you far more trouble. Some creatures here are so incensed by the unfairness of man's technological weaponry that they will preemptively attack.
- Fantasy Kitchen Sink: "Every myth, every belief, every dream, every nightmare, they all are residents of this side. The Veil separates the Every-Day from the Every-Daydream. If Humanity has dreamt it up, you'll find it lurking around here somewhere."
- Fiery Redhead: Cailyn.
- First-Episode Resurrection: The story begins with a flashback of Cardinal dying, and Cailyn claiming his soul as a result.
- Flowers of Romance: Along with Chocolate of Romance, referenced by Death when talking about "girl advice", as she was going to "suggest flowers or chocolate".
- Forgot I Could Fly: Forgot I Could Find Literally Anything:Cailyn: I can take care of myself.
Cardinal: So you keep saying. Yet, I still don't like it. How will I find you afterward?
(Beat)
Cardinal (blushes): Oh. Right. Nevermind. - Genre Savvy: Cailyn. She remembers legends and myths told to her by her grandmother that prove quite useful when they start coming true.
- The Grim Reaper: The Reapers fit the trope more than Death herself.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Cardinal, as said in Chapter 3: Page 9.
- I Never Told You My Name: Chapter 7: Page 12: The troll is the first user of Cailyn's middle name, "Sophia", indicating him having more information than before indicated.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: Invoked by Cailyn. Cardinal points out that would be Tempting Fate. Cailyn replies that they're trying to find Fate.
- Literal-Minded: EVERYTHING on the Other Side of the Veil is. Intentionally. It's how The Cutting Edge works, for one. A Literal Metaphor that makes dividing lines.
- Living Shadow: The Umbra.
- Meaningful Name / Overly Long Name: Cardinal the Finder, Lord and Aspect of the Primary Directions, second son of the Lord Navigator, great-grandson of The Seeker.
- The Morlocks: Or more accurately, Old Man Morlock, who dismisses Cailyn's inquiry about stalking Eloi as "They're not nearly as good eatin' as you'd think." Runs a weapon shop in the Wyrd Bazaar.
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: Cardinal. He's flirted with Cailyn, but he's utterly unaffected by Lady Death taking a stretch. On his lap.
- Complete with Unsound Effect.
- Our Pixies Are Different: Implied by the Winged Humanoid colored figures in the upper left of this page talking about boycotting pixie sticks.
- Perky Goth: Death. She may seem familiar.
- Pointy Ears: A sign of being from beyond the Veil, as seen in Chapter 6: Page 16.
- Powers That Be: So far two have been introduced - Lady Scarring, Aspect of Natural Healing, and Death herself; a possible third, the Earth Mother, has been mentioned, as has a for-sure fourth, Fate.
- And, to be painfully exact, the term "Powers That Be" is used to describe what are apparently the most powerful beings in the comic's setting. There are 9 total, listed in the world description page: Bliss, Suffering, Order, Chaos, Energy, Matter, Life, Death, and Void.
- Shout-Out: Oh where to begin...
- To The Sandman with Lady Death.
- Guardian bears a strong resemblance to The Dresden Files Morgan. Of course, some of that resemblance is lost when Cailyn pisses him off.
- A merchant in the bazaar says to a customer, "We don't sell dwagons, just the regular kind."
- Puck chides Cailyn for assuming he would have humanity by reminding her that he isn't human, and that this wasn't some supernatural teen romance.
- Slasher Smile: Morlock's grin is creeeeeeeepy.
- Soul Jar: Cardinal's compass.
- Swiss-Army Weapon: The Cutting Edge can unmake you, relocate you via emergency reality surgery, and lock doors if thrown at them, apparently. It's also a bitchin' bracelet.
- Tarot Troubles: Chapter 6: Page 17 shows Cailyn's tarot reading, which has the dangerous-looking cards, of The Hanged Man and The Tower.
- The Tease: Death is "a[n] insatiable flirt".
- Trickster Archetype: Robin Goodfellow, the one and only.
- Undressing the Unconscious: So Cailyn can be healed in her stomach, her clothes have to be removed.
- Unflappable Guardian: Boris Alexander Charkov, Canid Guardian of the Earth Mother.
- Unusual Euphemism: Cardinal's tend to be navigation-based: "Compass and Cross, Cailyn!"
- Urban Fantasy: At least it started that way. Now that they've moved to the Other Side of the Veil it might become more traditional.
- "Wanted!" Poster: Some for Cardinal and Cailyn have been posted in the Wyrd Bazaar.
