“Boys’ comics” is something of a misnomer.

I’m not talking about the Japanese word (genre) for it, Shonen. These are webcomics, and these are English comics. Believe it or not, no matter the influence, our shit has its own identity. I’m talking about target audiences, demo-fucking-graphics. Girls writing long-story mangu romances about elves certainly appeals to one demographic, while succubus erotica panders to the opposite.

Then we find something fun. And I am a boy. However, I believe cross-gender appeal is as easy as cross-genre appeal. Girls like funny-shit too and boys can get into romance even without a porno-payoff. I believe these things are true.

Here we go: Masters of the Art

Again from ‘month one’ into my waiting list, MotA doesn’t really need my help, but it couldn’t hurt. The title has little do with Masters or an Art, so again (like Betapwned) we are forced to reconcile the gap with fuzzy logic.

Masters of the Art is a 3-year-old joyride into the lives of two student chuckleheads, the girls who hate to love them, and about three-dozen offbeat cameo characters. I probably fucked up somewhere in that synopsis, but you can’t blame me–this is the biggest clusterfuck I’ve ever seen. Forgive me if I can’t pin down what this one is about.

That’s not to say it’s shitty.

It’s just that if you randomly jump to a different arc of the story, the plot is unrecognizable to what you might have been reading three months ago. As natural as that sounds, it’s uncommon for a webcomic to be so fluid as to not give a shit whether they spend months in nite-clubs, court, alleyways, or teenage slumber parties. Their fucking MAIN characters don’t even seem like mains, giving an ensemble feel to the cast and storyline. However, while this comic can spend 20 strips going nowhere, offer 10 more out-of-canon, throw in 5 guest strips, it often leaves you thinking, “Heh, nice chapter.” I’m not sure if they’re just keeping it fresh or haven’t got a clue. In any case, they pull it off as often than not.

It’s like Chugworth Academy, only funny.

That vein of humor is where MotA lives, both in its over-the-top characters and its random-pop-culture-tied references. We’ve recently resolved a robot-clone arc where our exhausted lead, Dirk, has been replaced by a Renaissance Fair doppelganger. Romance and hilarity ensue as the unsung stars of the comic, the girls, deal with the hapless baggage. That’s where the cross-gender appeal comes in since the relationships are as slowly developed, yet gracefully handled as any Red String-esque drama.

Obligatory: The full color art is competent and has always improved. The site is fucking solid.

Would I pay to read it? Fuck no, it’s too goddamn random. I will, however, keep catching up for free ;)