Characters in Boy Meets Boy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (December 2007)

This page is a list of all the characters featured in the webcomic Boy Meets Boy.

The plot of Boy Meets Boy mainly revolves around four or five main characters, including Harley; Mikhael; Cyanide; Skids etc, but to compliment these there are many other characters with different personalities, used in different storylines. Many of these characters can also be found in K. Sandra Fuhr's other works, including Utopia and This Is Home. Collin and Fox who were regulars in Boy Meets Boy have been spun off to create Friendly Hostility. Below is a complete list of all the named characters, roughly in order of prevalence and importance to the strip.

Contents

[edit] Mikhael (Mik) Rasputin

Mikhael comes from a strong Roman Catholic family. A relationship with a fellow student as a youth was discovered, causing Mikael to be alienated from his own family. Because of this, he signed himself out as an emancipated minor and was forced to set out on his own. Since then, he has established himself as an artist, and grossed a fortune after a lottery win - which, it would appear, he often rubs in the face of his family.

He floated from a very sex oriented relationship with a fellow student (Tybalt) to a very meaningful relationship with Harley. When he met Harley at a gay singles' bar, he immediately fell in love with the underage blond. Despite age difference, he immediately opted for a relationship. They had been together for three years before the comic starts. An artist with a naturally brooding soul, he acts as the anchor for Harley's chaotic and childish behavior, although he too is prone to being foolish at times.

Mikhael usually tries to act "adult", often lapsing into trains of thought, often seen reading dystopian literature, 1984 for example. Although he seems like an antisocial and dark person, he really has a big heart and a kind nature. He grew into the brooding artist stereotype, but he finds friendship in others later on in the story.

[edit] Info

  • Age: 25
  • Status: Artist; Multi-millionaire
  • Likes: Grape juice, art, classical music and literature, Harley, Harley's piercings
  • Dislikes: Punk rock, spiders, people who dislike art, Tybalt

[edit] Relationships

Mik's life is completely centered around Harley. Of Harley's friends, Skids is the only one that Mik doesn't treat with true dislike. Cyanide is double the punk and attitude that Harley is, and so he is double the pain to Mik - ironically, however, it conspires that the two of them have much in common, and after a traumatic encounter in an elevator, they end up confiding secrets in each other, much to their disdain. He also gets jealous very easily.

Mikhael often forgets to pay rent to his landlady, Tabitha, so she punishes him and Harley with various curses/demons.

Mik is the center of Tybalt's vengeful nature, and hates him just as much. When Tybalt seduced the guidance counselor at their university in order to get the edge over Mik on getting a scholarship, Mik severed ties with Tybalt on a very bitter note. His dislike for Tybalt is intensified when Tybalt sets his sights on Harley.

[edit] Harlequinn (Harley) Goldman

Harley is Mikhael's 19-year-old boyfriend, a punk musician in a group named "Boy Band" (so named as a joke, which no one seems to get). Harley tends to act without thinking. He can be brash, rude, and self-centered at times. But on the whole Harley is a good person, and comes through for those he loves. Strangely, this includes his guitar which he appears to have a psychic relationship with.

Harley's history comes from being within a group of strong friendships with Skids and Cyanide. The fourth founding member of their rock band was not so much a friend to them, often being neglectful, and was outright hostile when Harley came out to them. Cyanide and Skids refused to abandon Harley as their friend and took him out in search of a boyfriend which led to him meeting Mikhael.

Like Mikhael, Harley noticabley does not fit into the typical "Queer" personality. Neither limp wristed nor lisping, Harley packs attitude. Although usually cheerful, he can at times skyrocket into anger, and people are often liable for injury in these cases.

As well as his love for Punk Rock, Harley is a devout fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is often shown discussing the show's characters and stories with his friends Cyanide and Skids.

[edit] Info

  • Age: 19
  • Status: Live-in boyfriend; Punk Rock Singer
  • Likes: Punk rock, Hot Topic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Mikhael
  • Dislikes: Posers, The Gap, Classical Music, Tybalt, Religion.

[edit] Relationships

Harley met Mik at a gay singles' bar after a period of depression. Though he was underage at the time, he entered into a relationship with Mik and they settled together in an apartment before the start of the comic. Dancing around in tight shirts and shorts, Harley knows he's a very attractive young man, at times he uses that fact to get what he wants from Mikhael, as in the "PS2 Blues" mini arc.

One of Harley's best friends, Skids always cheers him up when he's down. Harley eagerly accepted Skids as a friend back in middle school, giving him the nickname "Skids", which he uses from then on. Harley spent a lot of his youth having a crush on Skids in high school when Skids underwent a physical transformation from a plump pre-teen into handsome youth he is now. They are both founding members of "Boy Band", along with Cyanide. Cyanide has been Harley's best friend since elementary school and has a loyal friendship with Harley. He has similar tastes as Harley, though with a darker, more extremist approach.

As the fourth member of the now ironically named "Boy Band", Rasheequa sees Harley every so often. She gets on with him to an extent but, unlike Skids and Cyanide, her mature and adult nature tends to make it difficult for them to get along.

Harley is loyal to his family, as we see in the ways he helps his cousin Flash and sister Aurora. While his love for them is unconditional, he is usually rather grudging in the way he offers it.

Tabitha is Harley's landlord; although he finds her frightening and hellish to live under at times, he can't really complain. He is unemployed for a large portion of the series, and so has no real right to argue with Tabitha. Like everyone, Tabitha's other half Allen somehow keeps tabs on Harley.

Tybalt and Harley meet at an art show that Harley attended with Mikhael. When Tybalt aggressively makes a move on Harley in front of Mikhael, we learn just how fiercely loyal Harley is to his boyfriend. He snubs Tybalt's every attempt for courtship (breaking his nose on two occasions), and only comes slightly close to ending up with Tybalt during a rocky period in his relationship with Mikhael. In the end though, he always regards the 'evil' redhead with contempt and malice.

Since they rarely meet, Harley is mainly indifferent to Collin. Fox, however, begins on Harley's bad side by playing Harley's guitar without permission. Fox's playboy behavior leads him to hit on Harley, though naturally he is rebuffed. Although in the end Harley begrudgingly befriends Fox, it is not without some dislike for his sometimes blatant advances in the past.

[edit] Gio (Skids) DiAngelo

Skids started out life as an overweight, friendless geek with little to no self confidence. So it was with open hearted eagerness that he became friends with Harley and Cyanide, who rescued him from the clutches of older bullies in middle school. Thanks to the boost of self-esteem gained from his caring friends (and martial arts training), Gio, newly dubbed "Skids" by Harley, rejoined his friends as a freshman with a dramatically changed inward and outward appearance. Handsome, intelligent (though not exactly 'bright' at times), sociable and good natured, Skids becomes the ideal personification of congeniality.

Skids is a "glass half full" type person. Should Cyanide, Harley, Rasheequa, and even on occasion Mikhael and Tybalt get down in the dumps, Skids' optimistic philosophy is there and ready to bring them back into positive sunshine. Often the object of the affections of more than one person at any given time, he seems hopelessly out of reach sexually, and more so, hides most of his inner thoughts. Even the readers don't know his inner workings till much later in the comics. Even Skids is not immune to vices such as greed and jealousy and anger, especially with Collin coming into the picture.

[edit] Info

  • Age: 19
  • Status: Punk Band Member (Guitar/Vocals/Keyboards); College student
  • Likes: Bright colours, smiles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Dislikes: Bummers, being alone, Collin.

[edit] Relationships

Skids has a deep friendship with Harley, mostly because of their kind-natured attitudes. During the series, it is revealed that Skids had a crush on Harley during high school. Despite this, Skids treats Harley with respect and admiration. He reveals to Tybalt that he has had a crush on Harley for a long time, and was planning to reveal his feelings to Harley on the night Harley and Mikhael met. Skids is always kind and polite to Mikhael, with whom he has never had any significant disagreements.

As with Harley, Skids is best friends with Cyanide, whom he has known since middle-school. Again similar to Harley, it is revealed that Cyanide has unresolved feelings for Skids, though they do not appear to be mutual. After getting lost at a Buffy convention he met and befriended a girl named Ronnie. After chatting (via instant messages) with her on a regular basis he began to have romantic feelings for her. When she comes to visit, she reveals to him that she is interested in Cyanide, which rocks their friendship.

After the episode with Ronnie, Skids is left without a trustworthy confidante and so turns to instant messaging once more. Here, by coincidence, he befriends Tybalt. They share a friendship, which most of the other characters remain in ignorance of. At the end of the series, they begin a romantic relationship.

[edit] Cyanide Torres

A 19-year-old drummer and chemistry major, Cyanide is Harley's friend and bandmate. He is ostensibly heterosexual, but with unresolved feelings for Skids. As the "Hetero one", Cya has been best friends with Harley since elementary school. He has similar tastes as Harley, though with a darker, more extremist approach. Harley may have a belly ring, but Cyanide has no less than 5 piercings, and many more tattoos. Also, like Harley, Cyanide develops a crush on Skids early on in high school. However, it grew into something much stronger and deep rooted. He has a loyal friendship with Harley all the same.

Cyanide comes from a stereotypical Latino family, i.e., a very large one. The eldest of eight siblings, and the only boy, Cyanide lives at home and is plagued by his sisters, as well as their seemingly innumerable pet ferrets. Although he'd rather they didn't annoy him at every other moment, he does look out for his sisters. He just wishes they were someone else's sibs for a change.

[edit] Info

  • Age: 19
  • Status: Punk band member; College student (Chemistry major)
  • Likes: Piercings, Punk music, Chemistry
  • Dislikes: Artists, posers, Mikhael

[edit] Relationships

He has a strong dislike for Mikhael, a feeling that is mutual between the two. During one bout of aggression, he refers to Mik (in Spanish) as 'friend stealer'. This alludes to the fact that he is jealous of the amount of time Harley spends with Mik instead of his best friends.

Cya's life becomes increasingly involved around his sexuality crisis towards Skids. Antisocial and a little bit inept when it comes to relationships, he is in a constant dilemma. When his emotions are twinged with the romantic affections of those around him he has a sexual dream about Skids and he throws himself even harder at girls in a desperate attempt to override his unresolved feelings for Skids. As it stands, Skids and Cyan share a strange relationship, often making out for the sake of each other's comforts without thought of seriousness or consequence.

Cyan had a relationship with Ronnie starting when she came to visit Skids. She confessed to Cyan her attraction to to him, which flummoxed Cyan, who heretofore thought Ronnie was interested in Skids. The relationship was a bit rocky due to it being an LDR, with Ronnie in California.

[edit] Alter-ego

Cyanide's alter-ego, Agent Double-Oh-Sexy, first features in a dream of his. After saving the world, it is revealed that Skids is Agent Double-Oh-Sexy`s love interest - something Cyanide is angry at his subconscious for causing. Cyanide's alter-ego appears again when Mikhael requests that he uses his knowledge of chemistry to help in a revenge scheme against Tybalt, and makes his final appearance fighting alongside Foxman against the villain His Mind Kills.

[edit] Recurring Minor Characters

[edit] Rasheequa Jackson

A law student, feminist, and bassist for the somewhat inaccurately named "Boy Band," which she more or less bullied her way into, in a bout of feminist rage. She half regrets it at one point when she realises what she got herself into, but grows a little bit attached to the gang. Rasheequa also acts as the band's manager. Her constant bad choice of gigs is a source of frustration for Harley, Cyanide, and Skids. Though she in turn gets annoyed with her band members' childish behavior, she remains loyal and caring towards them.

She is a slightly stand-offish person, probably distant only to keep her own sanity.

[edit] Tabitha Sinclair

Tabitha is Mik and Harley's landlady and daughter of Satan, who is her mother - her father is a lawyer from New Jersey, hence making her evil incarnate (Omen reference). She's often involved in a lot of parody and jokes around the occult.

She claims to be heartless and can often be down right cruel to her two "favorite" tenants, but despite her frightening facade, she looks out for Mik and Harley in her own strange way.

She also carries a very loving (if slightly strange) relationship with Allen.

[edit] Flash Goldman

Flash is Harley's cousin and a computer nerd. Though not quite an extra, his part in the saga is very limited.

He can be hopeless at times, especially when it comes to women, to the extent that he goes to a leather store for help becoming tougher and has Fox coach him in the ways of seduction.

He is often the butt of jokes, especially when he tries to let Tabitha know of his affections for her.

[edit] Allen

The leather wearing boyfriend of Tabitha, known at one time to be a hitman. He enjoys recording the movements of the residents in Skyview Apartments. A man with "A lot of spare time and who is easily amused", he has a large collection of high tech spy equipment and very big guns. How he acquires this stuff is never really made too clear. He guards his secrets well, and always keeps on top of everyone else, and is generally quite low key and easy going for a man who can wreck pretty much anyone's life.

[edit] Tybalt O'Donnell

Mik's lascivious ex-boyfriend with designs on Harley and Skids

In such a light hearted story Tybalt may well be considered the closest thing to a villain, with perhaps the exception of Collin. He tends to put himself first and rarely takes no for an answer when it's something he wants. He isn't afraid to turn things to his own advantage, especially where love and sex are concerned.

Unlike Collin however, who appears to have no redeeming characteristics and is a very simple shallow character, Tybalt is a very complex individual. Tybalt is well educated, charming and has a certain dignity and grandeur about him, but is utterly without a conscience, vindictive and actually enjoys his crimes. Tybalt clearly understand the concept of good but is powerless to be it.

In many ways this makes Tybalt a classic Hero-villain from Victorian era pulp fiction. An individual who’s a paradoxical mix of passions and impulses which he knows to be evil yet is powerless to resist or overcome and is as tormented by his own urges every bit as much he as torments other people. The two broken noses dealt to him by Harley, which it must be pointed out he made no attempt to defend against and simply endured, and his own constant self flagellation over his inability to let go of Mikhael are testament to that.

In many ways its clear that Tybalt has set himself up as his own hero, viewing himself heroically confronting the good guy he knows he’ll never be able to defeat and knowing he’ll be made to suffer for it. This point was not lost on Mikhael, who himself rises that issue in their final confrontation where he tells Tybalt not to play the Martyr.

However, when he begins a friendly relationship with Skids later on in the story, he begins to redeem himself. Eventually, his relationship with Skids turns physical and they move to New York together at the end of the strip. The audience is generally left with feelings of ambivalence towards him due to the kindness he's show to Skids.

[edit] Ronnie

A girl the band met at a Buffy/Anime convention. Probably one of the most underdeveloped characters, she nevertheless becomes very much involved in the storyline when something of a love triangle forms between her, Skids, and Cyanide. The fact that she lives in another city makes most relationships with her a little bit difficult.

[edit] Collin Sri'Vastra

A cynical self-proclaimed asexual (though in a relationship with Fox) and enemy of Skids. Collin is by definition the Anti-Skids. Where as Skids goes out of the way to comfort and assure people, Collin makes sure everyone around him feels the burn of his asexual, atheist, apathetic scorn. So when Skids and Collin meet, the fur really flies, and Collin commits himself to plaguing Skids to trouble. At the end of Boy Meets Boy, Collin and Fox's relationship are the centerpoint of the spin off comic Friendly Hostility. Both are first introduced as two college students hired by Tabitha to pose as homosexual lovers sharing an apartment, when Harley and Mik are out, and Tabitha needs a stand in for them to show off to her mother, Satan. Although claiming to be asexual, he can often get intensely sexual with Fox, who knows him well enough to push all the right buttons. Especially with green Jell-O.

[edit] Alter-egos

Collin has two, in fact. One being the Villain "His Mind Kills" (who wears goggles), and is Foxman's Arch-enemy; and the other (sans goggles) is Collin, Foxman's "Youthful Ward"

[edit] Kailen (Fox) Maharassa

Wild and mischievous bisexual; best friend and lover of Collin; hates to be called Kailen. The charisma of the dynamic duo, Fox thinks a little too highly of himself, and tends to talk with his balls at times. Somehow Collin puts up with his vivacius personality, and the two are never out of each other's company. Later on in the story Fox convinces Collin to become lovers with him, and often they end up doing a little more than what's proper in public. Particularly underneath vending booth tables.

[edit] Alter-ego

The adventures of Fox's alter-ego, Foxman, is given significant comic-time towards the end of the series, one of which takes place in full colour throughout (as opposed to most of the series being black and white).

[edit] Aurora Goldman

Harley's sister, who has a baby (Scott) during the series. When Aurora comes into the scene, she is bursting with energy and goodwill, and often drives Harley insane with her Goody Goody personality, mainly through the "I love you, now leave." story arc, in which she needs a place to stay, and volunteers Mikhael and Harley to take her in, much to their displeasure. So it's a doubleshock when she reveals unexpectantly that she is pregnant, by an unknown father no less. Her pregnancy comes with the expected hormonal swings that make her an impressive, if slightly unpredictable personality later on. She becomes closest to Aubrey in the series.

[edit] Aubrey

When he was still Abby, he was friends with Harl at the beginning of the strip. Abby disappeared one day to show back up a couple of years later as Aubrey. Though he purports to having had a sex-change from female to male, it is revealed that he is still waiting for the surgery. Whereas Skids can be viewed as a little bit naive and slow to catch on, Aubrey is downright flakey. He does, however make friends with Aurora, and can indeed be a good friend.

[edit] Other Minor Characters

[edit] Izzy, Rabbit, and Red

Izzy meets Mikhael at an art gallery, and is pleased to find a friend who appreciates art and "isn't gay." This leads to a story arc in which Mikhael reveals his sexuality to Izzy and his friends Rabbit and Red (presumably nicknames; their real names are not revealed) over a poker game. Surprised at first, he eventually accepts Mik, and their friendship develops into a strong one over the course of the strip. At the end of the comic, it is hinted that his wife is pregnant with his first child.

[edit] Rhapsody Nguyen

Manager of the bar where the band play. Rhapsody is severely eccentric, and comes up with ideas that often rub the group the wrong way, such as dressing them up in strange mascot-esqe costumes.

[edit] Cyanide's Sisters

Cyanide's younger siblings. They drive Cyanide up the wall with their demanding selfishness and quarreling nature. They are always a single item for the most part when ever featured in the comic, Though Tere (Marie Teresa) had a very brief storyline of her own in which she tried to convince Tabitha to turn her into a monster again. (This having been done before when Tabitha tried to order thin mint girl scout cookies from her and realized she didn't have any.)

[edit] Apollo

Tybalts roommate, who may or may not have had sexual relations with Tybalt. It is implied at one point that he is in a relationship with Rasheequa. He is a Republican.

[edit] Hope & Faith

Two sisters who go on a double date with Cya and Skids, respectively, after meeting them at the mall. Hope's date with Cya is a disaster; Faith and Skids are the opposite, but Skids just wants to be friends. Faith does not give up easily. Faith also goes on a date with Harleys cousin, Flash, who she gets on with but dumps, deciding that she doesn't need a man to be happy.