Are you telling me that Monkey Punch isn't just some horny guy who draws silly stories about thieves?
Everything we do is a part of ourselves, whether we like it or not, filters of a paper world. That's what art is.
Easily top 3 favorite artists of all time.
As you read more and more of the manga, especially Shin, you can notice how the fourth-wall jokes become meta-comments from an author who experiences firsthand how his work is being reinterpreted by very different people, sometimes even moving its original vision to the side.