Adorable Desolation

This is a story with magic. Shopclerk is a befuddled amnesiac who runs a magical gift shop; he wakes up every morning screaming. One day a strange woman, who may or may not know his true identity, walks into the shop and announces she'll be staying with him. A Web Comic by Maglorius. Began in 2008 on Comic Genesis. You can find it here.

There are certain rules concerning the use of magic: Self immolation is a sure sign a spell has gone wrong. Spontaneously combusting is also a pretty good indication that spellcasting may not be for you.

Some of the main characters are:

 * Shopclerk: The befuddled amnesiac. A man with no past, no name, and no memories. He's a really good cook, he thinks he may have known how to cook sometime in his past. His first memory consists of waking up in the chair in the back of the shop. He has bad nightmares, he doesn't remember them- but trust him, they're bad.
 * Girl: (Yes, she has a name, but it doesn't seem fair for y'all to find it out before Shopclerk does now does it?) a woman who just shows up one day and moves in to the shop.
 * Isidore Hines (Izzy): a man with the ability to "see" spells.
 * Sterling Faraday: He's rich, he's handsome, he's aggressively masculine in appearance, and he's used to being the center of attention where ever he goes. An unusually good looking 7 ft tall man.


 * Ahem: Izzy does it to get the Girl's attention here.
 * Art Evolution: The first few strips are black and white and then it switches to color
 * Aura Vision: Izzy is a detector of magical fields and can see auras.
 * Bad Dreams: Shopclerk has one of these every night.
 * Beat Panel: several here and here
 * Cheeky Mouth: often but not all the time some examples are here and here
 * Chirping Crickets: Spoofed when Girl swears she heard them here.
 * Crystal Ball: Shopclerk breaks one here
 * Don't Explain the Joke: He doesn't get it, she doesn't explain it. She laughs even harder when he realizes he's missing something.He's not even sure what he's not getting.
 * Dramatic Ellipsis here and here
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Shopclerk is known only as Shopclerk or sometimes The Shopclerk.
 * Golem: Features a classic clay one
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Not a couple, but Girl and Sterling qualify.
 * Innocent Cohabitation: Two of the main characters live together; they even innocently share a bed.
 * Mana: Izzy has the ability to map mana trails.
 * Mugging the Monster: The man in the wall; a literal mugging here.
 * No Name Given: Shopclerk doesn't seem to have a name.
 * One Head Taller: Izzy's a big guy compared to Girl.
 * Selective Squeamishness Suppression: Girl seems to enjoy a bloody crime scene, she even thanks Izzy for calling her to see a good one, it may be a hobby they share.
 * Spit Take: Girl does it here
 * There Is Only One Bed: and they share it!
 * Through His Stomach: Shopclerk cooks, and to her surprise, he's pretty good.
 * Unsound Effect: The Girl leaps up to Sterling with a written "leap".
 * Visible Silence: It happens here and here
 * Vomiting Cop: subverted when Girl sees a gruesome corpse with ribs sticking out, and gets hungry- for ribs.