So you have a modern re-imagining of Calvin and Hobbes except with an English Mastiff and two fathers. That's the short version of the story.
AJ & Magnus, as the name might suggest, is a series of comic strips that mainly revolves around the adventures of AJ Parker and Magnus, his dog (who may or may not be a Talking Animal but we definitely know he is real). They cause havoc around the house with their pranks, antics, and crazy adventures, induced by AJ's overactive imagination and dramatic tendencies. Often it is up to the stay at home Dad Alex to clean things up after the two.
The comic strips are written by Bryan Steel and illustrated by his husband Simon. The strips themsevles started on 8th August 2014 but did not gain popularity until later on. It is noted for its positive representation of an LGBT+ family with no overt stereotypes for the two fathers. Well, when they feature anyway. The comic is mainly about AJ and his dog in their misadventures. Heck, we did not even know about the existence of "Pop" John until October later on that year!
The comic has tropes of
- Ambiguous Situation: Do Magnus and Twix actually talk, or only in AJ's imagination? While there are some strips that show Magnus talking when AJ isn't around, he's usually by himself or with Twix or the squirrels.
- Bland-Name Product: Bananas instead of apples for technology.
- Chewout Fakeout: AJ playing a prank on his aunt had both of his dads amused. Despite making him apologize, they admitted he did what they always wanted to do and considered taking him to the toy store later on.
- Cosplay: Several characters engage in cosplay. AJ dresses up as his favorite superhero, Ebony cosplays as Elsa, Loca dresses up as several different characters, and Roz has dressed up as Cruella De Vil, Carol Danvers, and She-Ra.
- Death by Childbirth: The fate of AJ's birth mother, Alex.
- A Dog Ate My Homework: In this strip, Magnus eats AJ's math homework so they can play outside. The next day, when AJ confesses this to his teacher, he even goes as far as to bring in the remnants of his homework.
- Engineered Public Confession: Roz records John’s boss Joe White admitting that he discriminated against John for being gay. He also says several transphobic things about Roz herself. She posts all of Joe’s bigoted rantings online for revenge. Never mess with Roz.
- Forbidden Fruit: Alex's baking. AJ and Magnus can never resist them, no matter how many times they are told not to touch them.
- Hereditary Homosexuality: AJ's father John is gay, and AJ's first crush is a boy.
- Hidden Depths:
- See all the awesome costumes scattered around the comics? Alex makes all of them in his sewing room.
- Speaking of craft skills, AJ is a very good artist.
- Interrupted Intimacy: AJ and Loca walk in on AJ's aunt and some randon guy she invited over. John and Alex were less than pleased when they found out.
- Jerkass: John's father in the past, known as an abuser. We find out later John's mom and siblings aren't much better.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: The "Alex" in AJ stands for his birth mother, Alex.
- Like Father, Like Son: AJ has traits from both his parents.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Considering Alexander Jonathan Parker is named after both his parents, it is probably for the best he only be referred to as 'AJ'.
- Person as Verb: AJ's reaction when the "Spirit of the Forest" (actually Ebony) torches his and Magnus's pine cones.AJ: OH MY DOG! Our pine cones got Thanosed
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Joe White was going to hire John for his company, but after learning he's gay, pretends that job offer didn't exist. He also mocks Aunt Roz for being trans and uses a certain homophobic slur.
- Politically Motivated Teacher: Miss Napparella is very liberal, discussing civil rights, the importance of the environment, and gerrymandering. One strip created around the time of the 2016 Presidential Race she, describes both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as dangerous to our country.
- Queer Establishing Moment: For the longest time, AJ seemed to just be a straight ally for the LGBTQ+ community who had some gender non-conforming interests such as drag. That is until "First Day" where he's crushing on a male student named Logan.
- Running Gag:
- The Parker House Museum, featuring a live action gay family! note
- John's attempts at dieting
- Aunt Rochell's unwelcome visits
- AJ's attempts at house improvements
- AJ's pranks
- AJ and Magnus's inability to stay in a tent for a full night.
- Alex's worries about the future.
- Shady Real Estate Agent: Mr. Lowe; he's helping Gram sell John and Alex's home without their consent.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: During Roz’s first visit, she and Alex verbally spar. Alex insults her general personality, while she focuses on his cooking and cleaning.
- Stop Being Stereotypical: The men from G.A.G.S. (Gays Against Gross Stereotypes) are an obnoxious gay couple who judge the Parker family for feeding into Camp Gay cliches. One of the men considers leaving his boyfriend for the crime of listening to a Beyoncé song.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Over the course of various strips, we learn each of the family members’ fears.
- AJ has the classic fear of needles, panicking when Alex takes him to the doctor’s office for a flu shot.
- John suffers from arachnophobia, passing out after being pranked with a fake spider.
- Magnus’s fear of heights is so great that they built the treehouse on the ground for this reason.
- Alex’s fear of being useless is so great that he calls Denise while she’s performing surgery.
- Alex is revealed to be afraid of clowns. He’s clearly nervous when the family watches It Chapter One.