Vita Ayala and Skylar Patridge on Finders Keepers

Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast

It belongs in a museum? On this week's podcast, we chat with friends and collaborators Vita Ayala and Skylar Patridgeabout their new comic, Finders Keepers, and why they were compelled to tell a "reverse Indiana Jones." Like the other comics in The Horizon Experiment, Finders Keepers flips a classic genre trope on its head and knocks the dust and cobwebs from a well-trodden idea. The hook is powerfully compelling, but as you read through the one-shot, the reader also begins to understand there is much more to the concept below that initial subversive thrill.

Robbing from colonizers and returning artifacts to their culture and context, but doing so with all the trappings of a great Indiana Jones story requires a deft hand with multiple genres. Given The Horizon Experiment's pilot program, Vita Ayala and Skylar Patridge must also establish the concept and offer a grand promise of the story's possible future in just a few short pages. However, this challenge is not really different from any other comic book gig. The Horizon Experiment is merely more honest about these commercial practicalities.

This week, we dig into all the demands of an Indiana Jones riff. We discuss with Vita Ayala and Skylar Patridge their collaborative process, the thrill of museum heists, and the difficulties of loving classic Hollywood adventure. FOC for Finders Keepers is TODAY (12/9), but the issue will arrive in comic book shops on January 15th.

Continue this conversation by following Vita Ayala on Bluesky and their website. And follow Skylar Patridge on Bluesky, Instagram, and their website.

Other Relevant Links:

• CBCC/The Horizon Experiment: Pornsak Pichetshote and Terry Dodson on The Manchurian

• The CBCC TeePublic Page

• The CBCC Comic Book Holiday Gift Guide

• Brad on the 2000AD Thrill-Cast

Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY

And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren.

Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts.

Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators.

Podcast logo by Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.