The Eternal Smile: Three Stories - Softcover

Yang, Gene Luen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1596431563 ISBN 13: 9781596431560

Publisher: First Second, 2009

Synopsis

Gene Luen Yang is the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and is a MacArthur Fellow, a recipient of what's popularly known as the MacArthur "Genius" Grant.

A fantastical adventure through the worlds we live in and the worlds we create.

From two masters of the graphic novel--Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and Derek Kirk Kim (Same Difference and Other Stories)--come three magical tales.

The story of a prince who defeats his greatest enemy only to discover that maybe his world is not what it had seemed.

The story of a frog who finds that just being a frog might be the way to go.

The story of a women who receives an e-mail from Prince Henry of Nigeria asking for a loan to help save his family – and gives it to him.

With vivid artwork and moving writing, Derek Kirk Kim and Gene Luen Yang test the boundaries between fantasy and reality, exploring the ways that the world of the imagination can affect real life.
The Eternal Smile is the winner of the 2010 Eisner Award for Best Short Story.

About this title

Review

Book Description
From two masters of the graphic novel--Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and Derek Kirk Kim (Same Difference and Other Stories) come fantastical adventures through the worlds we live in and the worlds we create: the story of a prince who defeats his greatest enemy only to discover that maybe his world is not what it had seemed; the story of a frog who finds that just being a frog might be the way to go; and the story of a woman who receives an email from Prince Henry of Nigeria asking for a loan to help save his family. With vivid artwork and moving writing, Derek Kirk Kim and Gene Luen Yang test the boundaries between fantasy and reality, exploring the ways that the world of the imagination can affect real life.

Three Short Stories from The Eternal Smile
Each pair of panels below belongs to one of the three stories in the book: "Duncan's Kingdom," "Gran'pa Greenbax and the Eternal Smile," and "Urgent Request."
Click on each panel to enlarge [pdf].

Prince Duncan goes on a quest to avenge the king's murder and marry the princess.

Grandpa Greenbax the frog sees what looks like a smile in the sky and hopes it will answer his prayers.

Janet's ho-hum life gets interesting after she receives an email from a Nigerian prince.

From the Author

There's a self-hate that goes along with being a geek sometimes. Yes, we're into comic books and video games and all sorts of not-for-real-stuff, and usually we're proud of it. But every now and then -- after a nine-hour Lord of the Rings marathon, for instance -- that little voice inside your head goes, "What the freak are you DOING??!!" Geek fantasy media can suck the life right outta ya. That's what this book is about. Years ago, Derek and I did a book called Duncan's Kingdom for Image Comics that talked about the relationship between fantasy and reality. We added two more short stories on the same topic and *ta da!* The Eternal Smile was born!  The last story in this collection (and the most geek-media-friendly) won the 2010 Eisner Award for Best Short Story!

About this edition

• Publisher: First Second
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1596431563
• ISBN 13: 9781596431560
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 170
• Illustrator: Kim Derek Kirk