The Eternal Smile: Three Stories [Paperback]

Gene Luen Yang (Author), Derek Kirk Kim (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com 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.

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From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This collaboration between multiple-award winners Yang (American Born Chinese) and Kim (Same Difference and Other Stories) is an eagerly awaited event that actually pays off. Yang writes and Kim illustrates in a medley of different styles united by meticulous detail, almost throwaway beauty and riveting storytelling. All three stories deal with levels of fantasy and how humans use it to escape or transcend everyday tedium and suffering. In Duncan's Kingdom, a fairy tale about a brave youth, beautiful princess and dastardly frog king is played out; the fantasy is so note perfect that the truth of the situation comes as a shock. In The Eternal Smile, Gran'pa Greenbax is an avaricious frog whose moneymaking schemes are first boosted then dashed by the appearance of a mysterious, peaceful smile in the sky. Riffing off classic Disney comic books and evangelical clichés, it's a sharp satire far more complex than it first appears. In Urgent Request, Janet, a schlumpy drone at a tech company, answer a Nigerian scam e-mail to liven up her drab life. However, her motives are not as they originally appear. Shattering the borders between our real and fantasy lives, these bold, masterfully crafted fables have real staying power. (Apr.)
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: First Second (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596431563
• ISBN-13: 978-1596431560
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #451,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GreenBeanTeenQueen Reviews, July 20, 2009

By 

GreenBeanTeenQueen (MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Eternal Smile: Three Stories (Paperback)

I really enjoyed American Born Chinese when I read it after it won the Printz award, so I was excited when I came across this one at my library. It combines Gene Leun Yang's storytelling with Derek Kirk Kim's artwork (who I know from his Minx comic, Good As Lily). The result is a great collection of short comics that are fun to read.

What I really like about Yang's writing is that there's always a little twist that I never see coming, but still totally fits with the story. It works in each one and I'm never disappointed. Kim's artwork stands out and he makes each story have a different feel-you can see samples of the panels on the Amazon page. I love the way everything blended together and each story flowed well with the art.

I enjoyed all three stories and how each one had a deeper story than what first appears on the surface, but my favorite had to be "Urgent Request," the last story in the collection. There was something about Janet that made her a sympathetic character and I really liked how Kim drew her and was able to get her emotions across the page. Her story was bittersweet and I really liked it.

If you need a way to convince someone that graphic novels and comics aren't all about superheroes and cute Japanese girls, give them The Eternal Smile. It's a graphic novel for non-graphic novel fans, and for those who have long enjoyed the format.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the comic fan and for the non-comic fan, May 8, 2009

By 

Casey - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eternal Smile: Three Stories (Paperback)

A good short story is hard to find. The writer doesn't have a lot of pages to make the reader care about the characters and in these same pages, a complete story also has to be told. There is nothing like finishing a good short story and just getting this great feeling of content. This book collects three short graphic stories that leave me feeling complete and really shows what a great storyteller both these creators are. Each story has a few twists and turns and they all have enough emotional impact to make you think after you finish each one.

Gene Yang's debut book, American Born Chinese, was such a great book. The interwoven stories in that book made it perfect, and I recommend that book to a lot of non-comic fans that want to give comics a try. I believe this book can also be recommended to anyone. The three short stories will appeal to anyone and I don't think it could be told as well in any other format except as a graphic novel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gene Yang is my hero, June 11, 2010

By 

H. Johnson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eternal Smile: Three Stories (Paperback)

This short read packs in an amazing amount of truth in such a small amount of time. It's cute and funny, without being fluffy. Sweet, but with glimpses at sad realities. I was surprised by how the story lines and artwork were able to say so much in such a short amount of time. A lot of satisfying depth, which is hard to find in short stories.