Finieous Fingers

Finieous Fingers (often misspelled Fineous even in Dragon magazine's own FAQ) was among the earliest comics that appeared in Dragon magazine. Finieous Fingers, the title character and self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Thief", was a good-natured thief who was pestered by halflings (hobbits) and evil magic-users. He was generally found in the company of his two men-at-arms, Fred and Charly. The full-page comic was created by J. D. Webster, who was its sole author and illustrator.

The comic's appearances were sporadic due to Webster's commitments as an A-7 pilot in the U.S. Navy. In The Dragon it appeared in issues 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 through 22, 25 through 28, 30, 33, 35, 38 through 41, 43, 45, 49 through 51, 53, and 54 (October 1981). Webster then moved it to Adventure Gaming magazine, a publication that folded the following year. Finieous was next spotted in The Space Gamer and its sister publication Fantasy Gamer in 1984, but again this only lasted about a year. In the 1990s, Finieous Fingers was resurrected for a time in the pages of Shadis magazine, this time drawn by Jason Holmgren.

Author J. D. Webster is a late '70's graduate of Auburn NROTC and a former Navy pilot. Webster is currently flying for Northwest airlines and is living in Michigan with his wife and daughter. Several of his Fineious Fingers characters were modeled after friends who he dungeon mastered for: BoredFlak was based on Everette Burge who now lives in Selma, Alabama. Ozyamadas was based on Grant Castlebury who now works in the Texas aerospace industry. The title character was based on close personal friend Scott Mills, who currently delivers mail in the Birmingham area.

A compilation, The Finieous Treasury, was published by TSR in 1981. A series of miniature figures based on the comic was produced by Thunderbolt Mountain in 1982 and made its debut at the 1982 Origins in Baltimore. 10 gold plated sets were created at that time.

Partial Listing of Dragon Appearances

 * Issue #3, p. 17 "The Adventures of Finieous Fingers and Fred and Charly"
 * Issue #4, p. 30 "The Continuing Adventures of Finieous Fingers Minus Fred and Charly"
 * Issue #6, p. 27 "The Quickly Ending Adventures of Finieous Fingers And the Return of Fred and Charly"
 * Issue #7, p. 24 "Beginning a New Adventure of Finieous Fingers, Or One Day in the Marketplace"
 * Issue #9, p. 29 "Finieous Fingers in: The Trouble with Trifles Or!, Do Hobbits Make Bad Company?"
 * Issue #10, p. 29 "Finieous Fingers, Fred and Charly in: Hobbits Are Definitely Bad Company, Or, 002½ in: You Only Get It Once"

Listing of Adventure Gaming Appearances

 * Issue #4, p. 41 "Revenge of the Liche: Prologue"
 * Issue #5, p. 45 "Revenge of the Liche"
 * Issue #6, p. 41 "If Finieous Fingers Played Traveller..."
 * Issue #7, p. 49 [The liche actually returns]
 * Issue #8, p. 45 "The Adventures of Finieous Fingers"
 * Issue #9, p. 49 "The Adventures of Finieous Fingers"
 * Issue #10, p. 57 "The Truth Behind the Hobbit Plot to Rule the World"
 * Issue #11, p. 49 "The Adventures of Finieous Fingers: Curse of the Liche"
 * Issue #12, p. 45 "The Adventures of Finieous Fingers: Curse of the Liche"
 * Issue #13, p. 53 "The Adventures of Finieous Fingers: Curse of the Liche"

Listing of Fantasy Gamer and Space Gamer Appearances

 * Fantasy Gamer Issue #5, (April/May 1984) p. 42 "Finieous Fingers"
 * Fantasy Gamer Issue #6, (June/July 1984) p. 44 "Finger's Guide to Adventuring, Lesson One: How to Deal with the Occasional Orc Guard"
 * Space Gamer Issue #71, (November/December 1984) p. 61 "Finieous Fingers"
 * Space Gamer Issue #72, (January/February 1985) p. 31 "Deep Space Pirates"
 * Space Gamer Issue #74, (May/June 1985) p. 41 "Deep Space Pirates Part II"
 * Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer (January/February 1989) Issue #85, p. 65 "Space'd 89"
 * Space Gamer (July August 1989) Issue #86 (vol. 2 no. 1), p. 53 "Space'd 89"
 * Space Gamer (October/November 1989) Issue #87 (vol. 2 no. 2), p. 62 "Space'd 89"