In Magical Boy by The Kao, a teenage transgender man named Max must navigate high school, the expectations of his parents, and an ancient, magical duty.
So far, he’s only told his best friend, Jen, that he’s trans (and she gifts him a binder for his birthday). But as if working out his transition isn’t enough of a challenge, he’s suddenly gained the ability to see mysterious colored auras around other people. And soon after that, he begins to see strange, bug-like creatures in addition to the auras. Is he simply seeing things, or is something afoot?
Finally, Max must admit that he can’t take hiding who he really is any longer, and so he resolves to come out as trans to his parents. However, when he tries to express who he is to them, his mother becomes confused, and assumes he is attempting to share the discovery of a different inherited characteristic: magical powers.
It seems that Max is a descendant of Aurora, the Goddess of Light, and Max’s mom believes that this indicates that he will be a goddess himself. However, as he explains to her, he is not a goddess, but a man! Unfortunately, his mother doesn’t understand, and he leaves the house to get some bubble tea with Jen.
On the way over, however, he encounters another one of the diminutive, insect-like creatures, and it promptly attacks him, banishing any hope that they might be nothing but a hallucination. Can Max balance sorting out his magical powers with his transition?
Magical Boy was the recipient of the 2020 Prism Award for Best Webcomic, so you know it will be amazing.
You can read Magical Boy on Tapas for free right now, but the series will be locked after the final release, so be sure and catch up as soon as you can. Be sure and follow The Kao on Twitter to keep up with the latest news!
