Scholastic has announced plans to publish Magical Boy, the award-winning webcomic created by The Kao. The comic appears on the webcomics site Tapas.
“I am absolutely thrilled and honored to have Magical Boy be part of the Scholastic library and so thankful to Tapas for continuing to find ways to share my story,” said The Kao, aka Vincent Kao, who also creates Mondo Mango on the Tapas site. “As someone who spent my childhood reading Scholastic books, this is truly a dream come true. I can’t wait for readers everywhere to meet Max and join him on his journey of self-acceptance and magical misadventures. I hope Magical Boy will capture the hearts and imaginations of readers the same way that I was inspired by Scholastic stories when I was a younger reader.”
Here’s how Scholastic describes the Prism Award-winning Magical Boy:
With over four million views online, The Kao’s energetic and joyful story has captured Tapas readers’ hearts and is sure to take the young adult and graphic novel audiences by storm. A heartfelt and hilarious riff on the classic magical girl genre, Magical Boy follows Max, a trans man just trying to get through high school as his true self. But on top of classes, crushes, and coming out, Max’s life is turned upside down when he discovers that he is descended from a long line of Magical Girls tasked with defending humanity from a dark, ancient evil. With a sassy feline sidekick and loyal group of friends by his side, Max must take on his destiny, save the world, and become the first Magical Boy.
The graphic novel is due out next fall.