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Tune #1
Tune: Vanishing Point
Andy's life is going nowhere, fast. He left art school with his career all worked out ahead of time, but ...to say it didn't work out is the understatement of the century. Unemployed and living with his overbearing parents, Andy struggles to keep sight of the lofty goals that once drove him. But it's hard, even when he reconnects with his old art school crush, Yumi. Things look better, briefly, with Yumi back in the picture and an actual job offer on the table. But then Andy takes the job offer--to work at a zoo--and finds himself in an alternate dimension. The zoo? It's run by aliens. The exhibit? It's him. Derek Kirk Kim is back with an offbeat, poignant new project. The first volume of a series, Tune is a science fiction comedy, but it's also a smart and affectionate examination of human nature.
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 13, 2012
About the author
Derek Kirk Kim
31 books97 followersDerek Kirk Kim is an award-winning Korean-American cartoonist. He won both major industry awards in 2004, the Eisner and the Harvey, for his debut graphic novel Same Difference and Other Stories, which was originally serialized on his website Lowbright (formerly known as "Small Stories"). He also won the Ignatz Award for promising new talent, in 2003, for the same graphic novel (which was originally published with the help of a 2002 Xeric Award).
Kim came to the United States when he was eight. He considers himself fortunate to have received formal training in the visual arts and in the craft of writing. Much of his early highly acclaimed work was done while living with his parents in Pacifica, California. He now lives in Portland, Oregon.
Kim came to the United States when he was eight. He considers himself fortunate to have received formal training in the visual arts and in the craft of writing. Much of his early highly acclaimed work was done while living with his parents in Pacifica, California. He now lives in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 122 reviews
July 20, 2018
The story was interesting and I wasn't real engaged in this story. It's about and American Korean art student. His parents give him an ultimatum to get a job. He finds a job and that is where things get wacky and interesting. He has a crush on a girl from school and nothing ever happened between them - Yet.
I didn't like how the pages were set up. This is all black and white, no color but the color. They are not simply blocks, but always weird spacing. I didn't think it worked well and it was distracting. The ending was very interesting and I look forward to seeing where this goes.
I didn't like how the pages were set up. This is all black and white, no color but the color. They are not simply blocks, but always weird spacing. I didn't think it worked well and it was distracting. The ending was very interesting and I look forward to seeing where this goes.
July 30, 2015
Andy Go drops out of art school believing his obvious talent will instantly land him lucrative illustration jobs at The New Yorker and similar high profile magazines. Except nothing happens after he drops out - who’da thunk it? Sat on his couch for weeks, Andy’s parents eventually push him out into the big wide world to get a job. But the job hunting doesn’t go well – until a peculiar opportunity at a zoo appears…
Derek Kirk Kim’s Tune, Volume 1 is a slice-of-life comic that, like most slice-of-life comics, is a sloooooooooooooow read. Nothing much happens in the first third besides Andy talking with his art school buds and then schlumping around in his family’s home. Most of the book is taken up with Andy’s secret crush on girl friend Yumi, wishing she was his girlfriend. And then the book kinda goes off the rails in the final act.
BUT. You know why slice-of-life comics are slow reads? Because they’re usually about the author circling some truth about their lives which makes reading them more rewarding than seeing Marvel/DC muscleheads in tights fisting one another (maybe could’ve phrased that better).
And it feels like there is some truth to Tune. Being in your late teens/early twenties is a confusing time. The optimism of youth clashes with the reality of life, and you start to realise things don’t get handed to you: you gotta work at it to get anywhere, whatever your profession. Arrogance alone ain’t gonna cut it, which seems obvious but isn’t for more than a few at that age.
The awkward, soppy love angle too could’ve killed the whole book for me but it’s kinda sweet. Bashful Andy tip-toeing around similarly shy Yumi – daww! But that’s how romance is for a number of people. It takes a while but you do warm to Andy and actually want to see him tell Yumi he’s in love with her, and then take on the world, renewed, determined to become the artist he knows he is.
Except the story instead veers off in a very odd direction. Up ‘til then I was wondering why all the backgrounds behind the panels were outer space with the panels free-floating around - and then I saw why. I’m not saying I hated it but it felt a little too self-consciously “kooky” and a bit of a cop-out from the otherwise decent story Kim had built up to at that point.
But I can see why people would be bored with Andy’s life. It’s realistic but real life is boring and there were plenty of scenes where my mind wandered. It didn’t bother me that much because I could empathise with Andy’s plight as his search for a job/love/creative fulfilment as a young man reminded me a lot of my experiences around that age. And Kim’s art is beautiful too.
Tune Volume 1 isn’t Derek Kirk Kim’s best effort. His collaboration with Gene Luen Yang (the current Superman writer!) on American Born Chinese was superb and I loved his Eternal Smile book too. But I liked Tune in parts. It’s a fine portrait of a young man as a clueless wannabe comics artist finding his way in life and love; it just suffers from uneven pacing.
Go in expecting a slow read, especially that beginning, and you might get more out of Tune and even enjoy it yourself. Bryan Lee O’Malley still did it better with Scott Pilgrim though!
Derek Kirk Kim’s Tune, Volume 1 is a slice-of-life comic that, like most slice-of-life comics, is a sloooooooooooooow read. Nothing much happens in the first third besides Andy talking with his art school buds and then schlumping around in his family’s home. Most of the book is taken up with Andy’s secret crush on girl friend Yumi, wishing she was his girlfriend. And then the book kinda goes off the rails in the final act.
BUT. You know why slice-of-life comics are slow reads? Because they’re usually about the author circling some truth about their lives which makes reading them more rewarding than seeing Marvel/DC muscleheads in tights fisting one another (maybe could’ve phrased that better).
And it feels like there is some truth to Tune. Being in your late teens/early twenties is a confusing time. The optimism of youth clashes with the reality of life, and you start to realise things don’t get handed to you: you gotta work at it to get anywhere, whatever your profession. Arrogance alone ain’t gonna cut it, which seems obvious but isn’t for more than a few at that age.
The awkward, soppy love angle too could’ve killed the whole book for me but it’s kinda sweet. Bashful Andy tip-toeing around similarly shy Yumi – daww! But that’s how romance is for a number of people. It takes a while but you do warm to Andy and actually want to see him tell Yumi he’s in love with her, and then take on the world, renewed, determined to become the artist he knows he is.
Except the story instead veers off in a very odd direction. Up ‘til then I was wondering why all the backgrounds behind the panels were outer space with the panels free-floating around - and then I saw why. I’m not saying I hated it but it felt a little too self-consciously “kooky” and a bit of a cop-out from the otherwise decent story Kim had built up to at that point.
But I can see why people would be bored with Andy’s life. It’s realistic but real life is boring and there were plenty of scenes where my mind wandered. It didn’t bother me that much because I could empathise with Andy’s plight as his search for a job/love/creative fulfilment as a young man reminded me a lot of my experiences around that age. And Kim’s art is beautiful too.
Tune Volume 1 isn’t Derek Kirk Kim’s best effort. His collaboration with Gene Luen Yang (the current Superman writer!) on American Born Chinese was superb and I loved his Eternal Smile book too. But I liked Tune in parts. It’s a fine portrait of a young man as a clueless wannabe comics artist finding his way in life and love; it just suffers from uneven pacing.
Go in expecting a slow read, especially that beginning, and you might get more out of Tune and even enjoy it yourself. Bryan Lee O’Malley still did it better with Scott Pilgrim though!
July 15, 2013
Completely missed that this was a volume 1 and not a stand alone, and it ends on a cliffhanger right when the story gets interesting. Figures! (You guys can thank me, I just added the series info and "Book 1" to the title so you're not duped like I was.)
Not bad but kind of annoying that this is going to be one of those "boy finds out girl's true feelings through reading something he was told not to" which of course is going to piss her off when she finds out and then there will be that conflict to work through.
I like that this is science fiction though, that was a nice surprise. (I just grabbed this at the library and didn't read the synopsis.) Not the best formatting though, lots and lots and lots of black space instead of, you know ... drawings and story. The drawings are cute and I was enjoying the story, but I wanted more of it. This was more like a couple of issues of comics than a full graphic novel. Kind of a cheap move and I'm glad I didn't buy it. I want to read the rest though so I'll check out the next one when it's out in ... 6 months. Sigh.
I just wish I could keep going and finish. (That's what she said, heh.)
Oh well. Just have to wait.
Not bad but kind of annoying that this is going to be one of those "boy finds out girl's true feelings through reading something he was told not to" which of course is going to piss her off when she finds out and then there will be that conflict to work through.
I like that this is science fiction though, that was a nice surprise. (I just grabbed this at the library and didn't read the synopsis.) Not the best formatting though, lots and lots and lots of black space instead of, you know ... drawings and story. The drawings are cute and I was enjoying the story, but I wanted more of it. This was more like a couple of issues of comics than a full graphic novel. Kind of a cheap move and I'm glad I didn't buy it. I want to read the rest though so I'll check out the next one when it's out in ... 6 months. Sigh.
I just wish I could keep going and finish. (That's what she said, heh.)
Oh well. Just have to wait.
January 16, 2015
I was so bored by this book that it took me over a week to come up with a decent review. The thing is, it's so short (and so full of blank space, including entirely blank pages) that there's no reason to publish book one separately from book two, except to try and make twice as much money on the series. Worse, the entire premise (a slacker gets a job in an alien zoo) doesn't even kick in until the last few pages. The rest is just watching Andy slack off, convinced of his own artistic greatness, and moon over a female friend. It may be only 160 pages, but it felt so much longer when I was trying to read it.
January 30, 2013
I really wanted to like this book, and OMG! I was not disappointed. Its no secret I'm a big fan of Derek Kirk Kim's art. It is beyond cute, the style is cartoony and adorable and just all around cool. A very simple style that hides a lot of talent. Its one of those art styles that has people going, "I could do that" just because they used to dabble in drawing 'Once upon a time'. It doesn't hurt that he's a protege/friend of Gene Luen Yang of American Born Chinese fame. Their styles are very similar.
In any event, art styles aside, Tune is a compilation of the first couple 100 pages of Mr. Kim's web comic Tune. Its a story about a boy out of college, dropped out, who is forced by his parents to find a job and essentially 'grow up' with his life by giving up his dream of being an illustrator. Perhaps because I was there once in my life, and because I once dreamed of being an illustrator too, and finding love and all that stuff the story resonates with me. A lot of this book deals with us getting to know Andy Go and of course the situations that made his life what it is at present. Its is a very slice-of-life kind of comic, if you ignore the beginning and the end. And it works that way very much, but this is very much a science fiction story.
To begin with, Andy's job is to be a human exhibit in an alien zoo. So yeah. I imagine we will see a lot more of that later in the series, at present and what is covered in the volume of this book are Andy's adventures on earth.
He is a very cute character, I love the way Mr. Kim draws Andy. So it was easy for me to fall in love with him. His self-deprecating nature, and his failures and foibles make him all too human, and young. I remember being that age, and being that jaded with life and thinking I had it all planned out and together, and that's ultimately what I think the premise of this whole series will be about, in a roundabout science fictional sort of way. But in all fairness I have not read the three times weekly comic that this book is the first volume of. You can however catch up with the book once you're done here:
http://www.tunecomic.com/
Or you can just start reading the comic there, and don't bother getting the book. For myself, I will most definitely be purchasing this book. It is whimsical, and cute, and I am definitely in love with the very likeable character of Andy and his adventures. I don't think it matters what race or color you are some of the situations are very much universal. Perhaps even the being an exhibit at an inter-dimensional zoo.
The black and white art are lovely, and Mr. Kim has a very detailed style. The dialogue sounds real, and the situations as I've said only too familiar to art school drop outs, slackers, and anyone with parents who at one time or another possibly felt their children were not doing anything with their lives. A light, lovely read that I hope will soon be followed by more books. It ends on a cliffie but you can continue reading the stories at the link I mentioned above.
For myself, I am going to buy this book it is too cute, funny, and lovely to pass up, and Andy like the artwork in the book is just too cute to pass up.
In any event, art styles aside, Tune is a compilation of the first couple 100 pages of Mr. Kim's web comic Tune. Its a story about a boy out of college, dropped out, who is forced by his parents to find a job and essentially 'grow up' with his life by giving up his dream of being an illustrator. Perhaps because I was there once in my life, and because I once dreamed of being an illustrator too, and finding love and all that stuff the story resonates with me. A lot of this book deals with us getting to know Andy Go and of course the situations that made his life what it is at present. Its is a very slice-of-life kind of comic, if you ignore the beginning and the end. And it works that way very much, but this is very much a science fiction story.
To begin with, Andy's job is to be a human exhibit in an alien zoo. So yeah. I imagine we will see a lot more of that later in the series, at present and what is covered in the volume of this book are Andy's adventures on earth.
He is a very cute character, I love the way Mr. Kim draws Andy. So it was easy for me to fall in love with him. His self-deprecating nature, and his failures and foibles make him all too human, and young. I remember being that age, and being that jaded with life and thinking I had it all planned out and together, and that's ultimately what I think the premise of this whole series will be about, in a roundabout science fictional sort of way. But in all fairness I have not read the three times weekly comic that this book is the first volume of. You can however catch up with the book once you're done here:
http://www.tunecomic.com/
Or you can just start reading the comic there, and don't bother getting the book. For myself, I will most definitely be purchasing this book. It is whimsical, and cute, and I am definitely in love with the very likeable character of Andy and his adventures. I don't think it matters what race or color you are some of the situations are very much universal. Perhaps even the being an exhibit at an inter-dimensional zoo.
The black and white art are lovely, and Mr. Kim has a very detailed style. The dialogue sounds real, and the situations as I've said only too familiar to art school drop outs, slackers, and anyone with parents who at one time or another possibly felt their children were not doing anything with their lives. A light, lovely read that I hope will soon be followed by more books. It ends on a cliffie but you can continue reading the stories at the link I mentioned above.
For myself, I am going to buy this book it is too cute, funny, and lovely to pass up, and Andy like the artwork in the book is just too cute to pass up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2012
I've been reading this as a online comic for some time now. It has a very compelling story and interesting characters. As an online comic I had one major gripe and that was how slow the story was told from page to page. As a collected graphic novel I suspect this problem will not exist, except perhaps from volume to volume, which would be another testament to how engaging the story is.
For the purposes of a synopsis, Tune: Vanishing Point collects the first eleven chapters of the graphic novel Tune, which stars Andy, a would-be graphic artists who finds his life going nowhere and doesn't have the courage to ask out the girl he is crushing on, Yumi.
However when his parents force him to go interview for a job, he is given an amazing opportunity. To become an effective ambassador of the human race to a trans-dimensional alien species, or to put it more realistically to be an exhibit in their zoo. For Andy, however, this is an ideal solution to his problems. Get away from his life for a year, get paid in untold riches, have time to work on his art, and maybe convince Yumi to go along with him!
And that's when everything starts to go wrong.
For the purposes of a synopsis, Tune: Vanishing Point collects the first eleven chapters of the graphic novel Tune, which stars Andy, a would-be graphic artists who finds his life going nowhere and doesn't have the courage to ask out the girl he is crushing on, Yumi.
However when his parents force him to go interview for a job, he is given an amazing opportunity. To become an effective ambassador of the human race to a trans-dimensional alien species, or to put it more realistically to be an exhibit in their zoo. For Andy, however, this is an ideal solution to his problems. Get away from his life for a year, get paid in untold riches, have time to work on his art, and maybe convince Yumi to go along with him!
And that's when everything starts to go wrong.
June 10, 2013
Totally engaging story about a slacker who gets abducted by aliens. :P
I really like Kim's storytelling style. His art is fun and easy, and his characters are relatable. Just as our hero discovers his longtime crush may actually reciprocate his affections, he leaves earth.
This is really just the beginning of a much longer saga, so it didn't totally pull me in. But this is candy for me.
I particularly like the way Kim plays with panel placement here - we can see the influence that being friends with Jason Shiga has had on him.
It's a little wacky, but totally fun.
I really like Kim's storytelling style. His art is fun and easy, and his characters are relatable. Just as our hero discovers his longtime crush may actually reciprocate his affections, he leaves earth.
This is really just the beginning of a much longer saga, so it didn't totally pull me in. But this is candy for me.
I particularly like the way Kim plays with panel placement here - we can see the influence that being friends with Jason Shiga has had on him.
It's a little wacky, but totally fun.
May 13, 2012
I HAAAAAAATE that I have to wait goodness knows how long until Volume 2 comes out! This story is terrific, and hilarious. As I was reading it I kept thinking Derek Kirk Kim had been stalking my younger brother, wrote the story of his life, but made him Korean instead of Mexican. The only negative I have is that for me, the sci-fi element introduced in the final few chapters actually took AWAY from the story and made me enjoy it slightly less that I had been up to that point, where it was simply a very well crafted, very funny story about a lovably loserly art school dropout. Still, it gets my highest rating, and a 100% recommendation for anyone, sci-fi fan or not.
Shelved as 'first-second-publications'
December 12, 2012The first thing to say here (so we can get it out of the way at the beginning) is that Derek Kirk Kim's art is wonderful. I'm not sure how he draws with as clean of a line as he does -- maybe he's magical? Or a robot? Either of these things may be possible -- we may have to perform a magical!Turing test.
The premise of this book is the kind of thing that ends up in, 'and then we all went crazy and ended up in outer space without a towel' type of age-old drama -- boy likes girl (secretly); girl likes boy (also secretly); parents interfere and it all ends up with Our Protagonist stuck in an alien zoo.
Was that not enough to get you intrigued?
The premise of this book is the kind of thing that ends up in, 'and then we all went crazy and ended up in outer space without a towel' type of age-old drama -- boy likes girl (secretly); girl likes boy (also secretly); parents interfere and it all ends up with Our Protagonist stuck in an alien zoo.
Was that not enough to get you intrigued?
May 27, 2012
ARC provided by NetGalley
Andy is just your average guy. He knows what he wants to do in life, a career in comics, and has it all planned out. So he leaves art school early to set off on his journey...and quickly finds himself unemployed. His parents becoming dissatisfied with his inability to land a job (and lounging around the house) and force him to find one, any type of job,...or they’ll find one for him. And everything seems to hit rock bottom. No one will hire him, heck a crazy homeless guy gets hired ahead of him. And then a magical day happens. Andy sees Yumi (his art school crush), discovers that she likes him, and finds a job to work at a zoo! There’s just one problem...the zoo job is an alternate dimension and Andy is one of the exhibits.
I’ve been following Tune since it came out in webcomic format and it’s quickly become one of my favorite webcomics to keep up with. Although this first volume starts off a bit slow, as its setting up the world and the universe, it picks up pace in the following chapters (that can be viewed online.) In this volume though we get a good sense of the characters that we’ll be following in the series, especially Andy. I like that Andy is your average guy, for the most part. I can see elements of myself in his story, which of course makes me cringe at times (especially when he realizes that Yumi might actually like him) because I’ve made some of the same choices, the same decisions, and my life mirrors Andy in some ways. And that’s what makes this such a great story, that it is easy to relate to Andy and Yumi. We’ve all mapped out our life and had it veer off into different directions (hopefully no one is an exhibit in a zoo though.) I like the sense of humanity and humility that Derek brings to the characters and I can’t wait to see where he takes them next.
Derek’s artwork is very similar at times to Gene Luen Yang, expressive characters and movements that eerily resemble real life, even in cartoon format. It’s easy to imagine that you could walk out the door and meet Andy, Yumi, and the rest of the gang. Some of my favorite depictions are of the dad, mostly because he hides behind the newspaper and grunts. I love that we don’t get to see his face and the fact that he acts like many dads out there (no, not TV ones..those guys are just fantasy.) The one thing that I will note is that after this volume Les McClaine took over the artwork so that Derek was able to put out the story more often. He has a similar style to Gene’s but he really makes the characters his own (but that’s a discussion for the next volume.)
This story has a nice blending of sci-fi and real life, which makes it easy for folks to dive into and read. It’s a story that I highly recommend and I can’t wait to see what happens next. 4 out of 5 stars.
Andy is just your average guy. He knows what he wants to do in life, a career in comics, and has it all planned out. So he leaves art school early to set off on his journey...and quickly finds himself unemployed. His parents becoming dissatisfied with his inability to land a job (and lounging around the house) and force him to find one, any type of job,...or they’ll find one for him. And everything seems to hit rock bottom. No one will hire him, heck a crazy homeless guy gets hired ahead of him. And then a magical day happens. Andy sees Yumi (his art school crush), discovers that she likes him, and finds a job to work at a zoo! There’s just one problem...the zoo job is an alternate dimension and Andy is one of the exhibits.
I’ve been following Tune since it came out in webcomic format and it’s quickly become one of my favorite webcomics to keep up with. Although this first volume starts off a bit slow, as its setting up the world and the universe, it picks up pace in the following chapters (that can be viewed online.) In this volume though we get a good sense of the characters that we’ll be following in the series, especially Andy. I like that Andy is your average guy, for the most part. I can see elements of myself in his story, which of course makes me cringe at times (especially when he realizes that Yumi might actually like him) because I’ve made some of the same choices, the same decisions, and my life mirrors Andy in some ways. And that’s what makes this such a great story, that it is easy to relate to Andy and Yumi. We’ve all mapped out our life and had it veer off into different directions (hopefully no one is an exhibit in a zoo though.) I like the sense of humanity and humility that Derek brings to the characters and I can’t wait to see where he takes them next.
Derek’s artwork is very similar at times to Gene Luen Yang, expressive characters and movements that eerily resemble real life, even in cartoon format. It’s easy to imagine that you could walk out the door and meet Andy, Yumi, and the rest of the gang. Some of my favorite depictions are of the dad, mostly because he hides behind the newspaper and grunts. I love that we don’t get to see his face and the fact that he acts like many dads out there (no, not TV ones..those guys are just fantasy.) The one thing that I will note is that after this volume Les McClaine took over the artwork so that Derek was able to put out the story more often. He has a similar style to Gene’s but he really makes the characters his own (but that’s a discussion for the next volume.)
This story has a nice blending of sci-fi and real life, which makes it easy for folks to dive into and read. It’s a story that I highly recommend and I can’t wait to see what happens next. 4 out of 5 stars.
August 14, 2012
When I first started reading TUNE, I didn't think I'd like it. The beginning is a bit slow at getting to the main plot, but in hindsight, it was the perfect lead up to Andy's current location. Like many other great books, one has to get through the intro to get into a fascinating plot.
What I love the most about TUNE is the characters. Andy Go is one of the most well rounded characters I've ever seen; he's very realistic. Although we haven't seen as much of them as we have Andy, Dash and Yumi are the same way.
The first two books of TUNE can be read online now at tunecomic.com.
What I love the most about TUNE is the characters. Andy Go is one of the most well rounded characters I've ever seen; he's very realistic. Although we haven't seen as much of them as we have Andy, Dash and Yumi are the same way.
The first two books of TUNE can be read online now at tunecomic.com.
November 3, 2014
I adored this book. This novel is so funny. All the characters are quirky and hilarious. The art is excellent. The pacing is good, and the dialogue is clever. I read it straight through and immediately grabbed the 2nd one.
August 14, 2012
http://shesgotbooksonhermind.blogspot...
Andy Go is an Art Major. He could be best described as a nerd in college. I can also describe him as ridiculously similar to my brother and his friends but you don't know them now do you? So basically the illustrator guys and one girl who like comics and know almost everything about them. They are super smart usually but can be super lazy. They go to Comic Cons and aspire to be one of the greats or maybe not. Not all nerds can draw. They can also be inappropriate like these guys and one girl can be so you are warned. Think college.
The comic all starts out with Andy discovering himself with all his clothes on even his shoes which is weird for him because he is a perpetual neat freak. Also lights are on oddly then as he's using the bathroom he discovers... yes my friends there is an audience watching him relieve himself. How did he get to this point? You'll find out later by going back 5 months ago and meeting all his friends as well hearing him saying the stupidest thing that he will later fully regret.
He's been friends with Roger since grade school wasting their days drawing comics. Specifically He-Man comics. More specifically She-Ra. Even more specifically She-Ra's breasts. Expect this and more. His other friend Tony he met in anatomy class freshmen year and knew they would be friends when he was reciting things to remember for the first test in Klingon. My brother doesn't know Klingon and I really hope it stays that way. At least I really really hope he doesn't. These guys were fun to watch together and hope for more funny interactions.
I said one girl on purpose. Then there is Yumi who Andy has been hopelessly in love with since the day they met two years ago. Out come the hearts around him when she's thinking about how much she loves him. It's quite adorable. But like any other socially awkward person he has said nothing. Ah, now he sounds more like me. She has his sense of humor and are always kidding around plus she's a great artist. I can see how he would think she would reject him... No! He's a funny and charming character. I absolutely love him. I say that a lot about fictional character don't I? Well, it's true.
Back to the part where he makes the stupidest mistake that he will woefully regret later. That is he decides that he's not going to go to one more year of college. He's going to drop out. Cue disapproving noise whatever you want to imagine that noise be. Not surprisingly he's at home months later where he's living with his parents and has no job. He's Korean which I love because go diversity! According to him a Korean mother crying sound like a (to me) cartoon making a sound because they see someone hot. There crying is an ai-goo! Maybe I'm thinking Aiooga! Enough with the noises... Anyways his parents are making him get a job any job. His desperate attempt not to be kicked out gets him in the worst trouble there is. Or is it? It depends on you I guess. With that you are brought to the present tense and you will now know what he's gotten himself into.
Andy Go is an Art Major. He could be best described as a nerd in college. I can also describe him as ridiculously similar to my brother and his friends but you don't know them now do you? So basically the illustrator guys and one girl who like comics and know almost everything about them. They are super smart usually but can be super lazy. They go to Comic Cons and aspire to be one of the greats or maybe not. Not all nerds can draw. They can also be inappropriate like these guys and one girl can be so you are warned. Think college.
The comic all starts out with Andy discovering himself with all his clothes on even his shoes which is weird for him because he is a perpetual neat freak. Also lights are on oddly then as he's using the bathroom he discovers... yes my friends there is an audience watching him relieve himself. How did he get to this point? You'll find out later by going back 5 months ago and meeting all his friends as well hearing him saying the stupidest thing that he will later fully regret.
He's been friends with Roger since grade school wasting their days drawing comics. Specifically He-Man comics. More specifically She-Ra. Even more specifically She-Ra's breasts. Expect this and more. His other friend Tony he met in anatomy class freshmen year and knew they would be friends when he was reciting things to remember for the first test in Klingon. My brother doesn't know Klingon and I really hope it stays that way. At least I really really hope he doesn't. These guys were fun to watch together and hope for more funny interactions.
I said one girl on purpose. Then there is Yumi who Andy has been hopelessly in love with since the day they met two years ago. Out come the hearts around him when she's thinking about how much she loves him. It's quite adorable. But like any other socially awkward person he has said nothing. Ah, now he sounds more like me. She has his sense of humor and are always kidding around plus she's a great artist. I can see how he would think she would reject him... No! He's a funny and charming character. I absolutely love him. I say that a lot about fictional character don't I? Well, it's true.
Back to the part where he makes the stupidest mistake that he will woefully regret later. That is he decides that he's not going to go to one more year of college. He's going to drop out. Cue disapproving noise whatever you want to imagine that noise be. Not surprisingly he's at home months later where he's living with his parents and has no job. He's Korean which I love because go diversity! According to him a Korean mother crying sound like a (to me) cartoon making a sound because they see someone hot. There crying is an ai-goo! Maybe I'm thinking Aiooga! Enough with the noises... Anyways his parents are making him get a job any job. His desperate attempt not to be kicked out gets him in the worst trouble there is. Or is it? It depends on you I guess. With that you are brought to the present tense and you will now know what he's gotten himself into.
November 23, 2012
Tune: Vanishing Point is a bit of an odd book. It begins with the main character, Andy Go, waking up as an exhibit in a zoo and flashes back to the events leading up to it. Andy's story is a mundane one with demanding parents and struggles to make it as an illustrator, but Derek Kirk Kim makes the mundane enjoyable with likable characters and great illustration. The last few chapters flip drastically to the extreme fantastic and I'm not quite sure where the book is going. The ending is listed as "to be continued", so there should be more to come (though GoodReads doesn't list it as a series yet).
I love the format of the ebook (ARC from NetGalley) and would like to purchase the hard copy for looks alone. First Second Books always does such a great job on their graphic novels and this one is no exception.
I love the format of the ebook (ARC from NetGalley) and would like to purchase the hard copy for looks alone. First Second Books always does such a great job on their graphic novels and this one is no exception.
March 4, 2016
In good faith I attempted to read a second graphic novel by Derek Kirk Kim, but am again met with disappointment. Now that I've been exposed to more of his material, I can better articulate what annoys me about his work. Believe me, I want to like his work--he's Asian American. Solidarity, and all of that. Nope. Can. not. support.
It seems that Mr. Kim relies on autobiographical details to inform his characterization. Well, his leading males just aggravate me! They're self-pitying, self-deprecating (but not in an endearing way), self-indulgent, self-absorbed, unmotivated and uncomfortably sexist (in this novel there's a bit where he includes offensive fetishized female Asian stereotypes--if he was trying to be "tongue on cheek," I was not amused).
Kim's stuff is just not my jams and I'm willing to admit it. That's it.
It seems that Mr. Kim relies on autobiographical details to inform his characterization. Well, his leading males just aggravate me! They're self-pitying, self-deprecating (but not in an endearing way), self-indulgent, self-absorbed, unmotivated and uncomfortably sexist (in this novel there's a bit where he includes offensive fetishized female Asian stereotypes--if he was trying to be "tongue on cheek," I was not amused).
Kim's stuff is just not my jams and I'm willing to admit it. That's it.
September 3, 2014
Nice! This is only volume one, so don't expect a complete story. This is good stuff, though. It starts with a teaser chapter: our hero, Andy, finds himself in an unusual situation. The rest of the book leads up to an explanation of how he got there. The middle chapters feature some wonderful slice-of-life writing as Andy drops out of art school and looks for a job. There's some nice banter between him and his friends. This is a very warm and charming book. Fantasy elements begin to creep in towards the end of the book (assuming we don't count the opening teaser chapter) at which point you're hooked and waiting for volume 2. Hopefully it won't be too long in coming. Kim has a lovely, manga-inspired style that meshes well with the material. He does good humor without forgetting about the drama. I'm definitely keen to see more of this series!
December 19, 2012
I love Kim's illustrations here, but I think this volume spent far too much time setting up the characters before introducing the biggest plot element. This was a little aggravating because the consequences of his later decision are teased in the first pages of the title, but it takes nearly the entire book for him to get around to making that choice. That being said, I think this will work better if the whole series-to-be is collected in one volume. I really felt for the sad sack Korean son and liked his group of friends and his love interest. This story took such a 180, though, that I'm not sure these interesting characters will show up in the next book! I still want to find out.
April 7, 2014
Tune is a delight in part due to the creative, unusual and entertaining formatting. White panels on a dark page that = strong readability and the slow unwinding of the story, strong character development & arch, and protagonist Andy's hyperbolic parents are both satisfying and a hoot! I especially enjoyed how Kim plays with convention & archetype (see: those mysterious folk on the back jacket of the novel). After reading many recent graphic novels by Asian American authors that have been much lauded but didn't work for me, I finally feel I've found a perfect fit. Just ordered book #2 through my library!
November 1, 2012
The flawed and everyday characters of Kim's work have always been the great foundation to his weird and quirky situations. TUNE is no different in that respect, but here I feel like his storytelling really shines. I can't wait for book 3 to be drawn and published.
The art for TUNE is wonderful without being derivative or trite. I think the character designs of the whole thing are a pleasure to look at and the panels flow smoothly.
The art for TUNE is wonderful without being derivative or trite. I think the character designs of the whole thing are a pleasure to look at and the panels flow smoothly.
December 18, 2012
I was really enjoying this story about a slacker art student, until I got to the last chapter and it mysteriously turned into some weird scifi thing. Now I'm not really sure what it is about. I may read the second volume when it comes out, I may not. Overall the art is good and the first half of the story is really solid, it simply looses points for the 'alients that come out of nowhere' near the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2013
Uh. I think if I had read this first and not read the second one (which I'm thinking is the heart of the tale) first, I wouldn't have gone on to read the second? Make sense? I think it was probably not the best choice to split this story up into so many books. It's good, but not great, and this beginning is just ok. Though I did like the parental "get a job, lazy butt" griping plenty. Regardless. You could skip this book and go straight into Tune 2, and it would be just fine.
December 6, 2015
Really liked near the end the reference to Gene Yang. It's cheesy, but I enjoy cheese from time to time. I enjoyed the portrayal of the father (only ever viewed as from behind the newspaper) and the possibility of the job he never gets the chance to take, but that the readers knows he'll never take.
Probably closer to a 3, but it was easy to get caught up in the characters and their familiar stories.
Probably closer to a 3, but it was easy to get caught up in the characters and their familiar stories.
August 28, 2012
Ok, I read this as a webcomic, which is always a bit tough. Updates always move pretty slowly. Now, as a book, there won't be any trouble. The story is really different and the art is hilarious. I love the characters, especially the mum, and I am super excited about where this could go. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for something light and quirky.
November 12, 2012
The idea behind this is actually a really cool, cute Sci-Fi-meets-slice-of-life kind of thing. And I'd be interested to see where this was going... except... I kind of wanted to slap the main character's face through most of it. Can we, as a society, PLEASE get over "the friend zone" already? I like the story, I just wish it had a different narrator.
ARC was provided by NetGalley
ARC was provided by NetGalley
February 26, 2013
Appropriate for high school or older audience. Main characters in this graphic novel are college students. From the back cover: “your classic romantic slice-of-life science fiction sex comedy adventure.” Speaking as an adult, I enjoyed it quite a bit and would read the next in the series, but it's not appropriate for my middle school and maybe not some high school students as well.
August 20, 2012
Books with bad endings just ruin it for me. I didn't realize this was going to be the first of a series, but I'm not annoyed by that. I'm annoyed by where the story leaves off. The book is all set up and no pay off. Too bad, because I was just starting to enjoy it.
November 20, 2012
I guess I'm conditioned to expect a complete story when comics have spines. My bad.
November 30, 2012
I haven't brought book yet but soon. I discover this graphic novel on online read as webcomic and really enjoy it. Looking forward to see next chapter down the road...
March 29, 2013
At first I was disappointed at the end but then I realized... it's book 1! I want more!
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