Tune: Still Life
In Vanishing Point (2012), lovelorn slacker and artist-wannabe Andy Go signed up to be an exhibit in an alien museum. Now he finds that a life with no responsibilities is not all it’s cracked up to be, especially since he knows that Yumi, the love of his life, actually loves him back, and he cannot communicate with her ever again. As Andy discovers that his keepers live in a society where art does not exist and uses this information to hatch a plan that reunites him with Yumi (sort of), the book reaches its cliff-hanging end. Originally a webcomic, the book consists of panels set on dark, starry backgrounds to highlight a sense of isolation, while McClaine’s manga-influenced cartooning holds on to the humor, even in the darker moments. Kim has created a recognizable and complex character whose selfish proclivity for heading nowhere in life is balanced by an innate likability, and, though the author has plunged him into an absurd situation, the humor does not hinder Kim’s exploration of several profound issues of burgeoning adulthood. --Jesse Karp