Tune: Still Life (Tune, 2)

Derek's "Tune" graphic novel is funny and engaging. Derek himself illustrated a significant amount of the series, but at some point handed the art duties to the equally-talented Les McClaine. Their collaboration is a good one - lots of good chuckles, a few good laughs, and even a few touching moments. The awkward protagonist is easy to relate to (for me at least, which may say more about me than the novel), and his co-star is somebody you really want to get to know.I hope that Derek and Les continue to move the story forward.

Be careful what you wish for, you might get it. And the young man in this story gets it in spades! Some bargains just aren't worth the price demanded of them. Now I need to get book 1. I want to know what came before! I hope book 3 isn't too far in the future. Definitely a keeper.

Continues the misadventures of a downtrodden cartoonist engaged in intergalactic relations as a petri dish for gawking aliens!

Good book.

This second volume is the series picks up right where the first one left off. Andy, the average guy, who is disillusioned with the lack of jobs, can't seem to get his art going, and can't work up the courage to ask out his art school crush has finally found that perfect job. He's going to work at a zoo!...as an exhibit in an alien dimension. And while all seems great upon signing the contract, he quickly discovers there's no way home and all of that money he's making is useless in this dimension. And worst of all the aliens messed up on bringing Yumi, his art school crush, to him so he could say goodbye! Instead, he faces Yumi for an alternate reality...where things are a bit different. What's a guy to do?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 it's on hiatus now pending sales of this book. So people...go buy this book so we can continue the story!!! Seriously. Ahem.... What I like about this book is that for the most part, Andy is your average guy. He makes mistakes (dropping out of school, not reading the contract that he signs with the aliens), but all in all he means well. And 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. 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.Les McClaine took over the artwork in this volume so that Derek was able to put out the story more often. He has a similar style to Derek's but he really makes the characters his own and brings a different style to them. For me the characters come to life more with Les than Derek. For one Les has a lighter touch, less of the dark heavy lines that typify Derek's work and more of a sketch quality that loosely captures the characters movements and the shading that give them a bit of extra vitality. There's also more of a rounded quality the faces, which does create a bit of sameness to the characters, but at the same time does away with some of the harshness of the earlier versions. Don't get me wrong I love Derek's art, but Les brings his own touches to this work and it adds a great deal to it.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.

Volume 2 picks up Andy Go's story where volume 1 ended. Andy wakes up to the realization that he is now on display in an alien zoo. Fortunately, his "cage" is a replica of his parents' house, so it's not a bad place to live. Unfortunately, some walls are missing and zoo visitors watch everything he does. Yes, everything. The loss of privacy is offset by the chance to spend all day watching television (500 channels!) and earning $250,000 a year doing nothing. Naturally, there's a catch, and it takes Andy awhile to catch on to it.To an extent, Tune is about art. Andy is, of course, an artist, and he encounters trouble when he realizes his zookeepers have outlawed art. In fact, the Praxians have banned all creativity because they (quite correctly) consider creative thought to be subversive. I'm not sure I would call Tune subversive, but it's creative. And fun.I like volume 2 at least as much as I liked volume 1, maybe more. Derek Kirk Kim's writing is a clever, grounded combination of silly and sly. I'm looking forward to the next volume and to the further development of the offbeat love story that tethers the alien contact story to a more tangible reality. I would give this 4 1/2 stars if I could.

Fantastic! This is just as good as the first, maybe even better! Loved it! What a bizarre, out of this world story, but Andy Go is just such an ordinary down-to-earth guy that the story flows naturally and seems so normal until you realize just how absurd it really is. Parts of the story are just average 22 year-old slice-of-life guy stuff and then, well, Andy *is* imprisoned in an exhibit in a zoo on an alien planet. Dash is such a sweet, sincere character she's my favourite part. And what an ending! Can't wait for the next volume! A huge winner this series and a must read for older teens and up.