A recent meeting with Gina Gagliano from First Second led to a special series of excerpts of The Eternal Smile now on the site. The Eternal Smile is from Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and Derek Kirk Kim (Same Difference), two award-winning creators who have teamed up for something special. I'm excited we have the opportunity to give you this sneak peek at the book. I'm working on an interview with the two creators to coincide with yet another excerpt of the book in the weeks to come. The meeting with Gina also yielded the stunning book The Photographer by Didier LeFèvre and Emmanuel Guibert; I'm totally blown away by this one and can't recommend it highly enough. Be sure to snap it up when it comes out in May. (How's that for advance notice?) Look for a lot more coverage of that book on GNR soon.

I also recently met with Sheila Marie Everett and the graphics team at Scholastic. Scholastic was one of the first major publishers to recognize the importance of graphic novels (their colorized versions of Jeff Smith's Bone are really lovingly done; they preserve the true look and feel of the books while adding color to them). One of Scholastic's recent releases was Tales from Outer Suburbia, from Shaun Tan. You might remember Tan from his all-pictures-and-no-words debut, The Arrival. (If you don't know that book, run and get it; it's beautiful and you'll love it.) Tales from Outer Suburbia isn't exactly a graphic novel, but it does contain some fabulous illustrations. We knew our readers would want to know about it, so a review of it is now up on GNR. This is the kind of book that has broad appeal and crosses genres and formats.

Speaking of genres and formats, here's a question for you: What do you call this format? And by "this format," I mean comics, graphic novels, graphica...or whatever other names you have for it. We have spent a lot of time talking about this in the office. In the end, I think everybody agrees that it doesn't matter what you call it, as long as you're enjoying it. That's true, but I'm curious what everyone prefers. There are so many varying opinions on this that it's hard to imagine we'll ever come to a consensus. But it's a fun discussion. Shoot me your thoughts at John@bookreporter.com.

I'd also like to hear from you if you belong to a book club that is reading Watchmen, or if you know a group that is reading it. As part of the Book Report Network of sites, GNR is affiliated with ReadingGroupGuides.com. Is the movie inspiring your group to pick up the graphic novel? Is that leading to other graphic picks? If you'd like to write about the experience of reading the book in a group, let us know.

One other thing I'd love to hear from our readers about: retailers you'd like to see highlighted on our site. Hopefully you've already been checking out our regular bestseller lists feature, where we profile comics shops from around the country and present their top 10 bestselling graphic novels and manga for the past week. It's always intriguing to see what's selling where. If you own a shop or have one that you love, suggest it to us and we'll see if we can feature it soon.

That's it for this time. Don't forget to join in the discussion on GNR by contributing your comments to the stories we publish. Just use the Comments field at the bottom of each page to share your thoughts on the things you like...or hate...or feel passionate about. We love hearing what you have to say!

Enjoy the new content, and look for your next GNR newsletter on April 8th. See you then!

John Hogan (John@bookreporter.com)

A New Watchmen DVD
Beyond the groundbreaking film, a new Watchmen-related DVD and Blu-Ray disc has just been released, shedding more light and background on the dark world in which these characters live. First is the story of the Black Freighter and its evil allegory for the story, and next is the documentary styles of Under the Hood. Director Eric Matthies discusses how Under the Hood came together and how this essential subtext for the storyline fits in with the movie.

PLUS, DON’T MISS THESE OTHER RECENT INTERVIEWS

Chris Meloni is best known as Stabler from the hit TV show "Law & Order: SVU," but this year, he’s off to protect the universe as the greatest Green Lantern of all time, Hal Jordan. The actor discusses the upcoming animated movie in this exclusive interview.

Robert Venditti discusses the inspiration behind his bleak sci-fi book The Surrogates in this insightful interview. Plus, we give our readers a look inside the upcoming sequel to The Surrogates, coming this summer!

Chris Duffy is the senior editor of Nick Magazine and the man behind their upcoming comics awards. So what do these awards mean for kids and what does it mean for the industry? Find out Chris’s take here.

Dean Motter has been working in comics for the past 30 years. He’s worked for several major publishers and on many important projects. Now, with the release of Mister X Archives, which marks the 25th anniversary of the series debut, it seemed like the perfect time to take a look back at Motter’s career, and we asked him to share his memories and perspectives on it all in this interview.

We share news, updates, tips, personal observations, and more. Keep up-to-date by checking our blog entries.

Kids Comic Con 2009 Takes New York on April 25th

More Watchmen Material? It's Coming Tuesday

Beyond the original content the graphic novel and manga industries create year after year, a burgeoning marketplace has formed for adaptations of prose literature. Whether they are current ongoing series, literary classics, or modern books looking to reach a broader audience, comics adaptations are catching on with readers as well as bringing new people to the format. We talked to several pros, including Betsy Mitchell, Editor in Chief, Del Rey Books; Ralph Macchio, Senior Editor, Marvel Comics; Ruwan Jayatilleke, Senior Vice President Strategic Development—Acquisitions, Marvel Comics; Ernst Dabel, President/CEO, Dabel Brothers Publishing; and Marco Pavia, Associate Publisher, Tokyopop, to find out what they do and how it works.

From great science fiction to compelling drama to aching romance, dozens of reviews of top fiction titles are now online.

Abandoned Cars
Tim Lane's exceptional debut, Abandoned Cars, delves into the stories of characters who come to realizations about the "Great American Mythological Drama" and examines their lives at the crossroads of hopes for the future and reality. The noir-style art is another highlight of Lane's surrealistic creation.

The Immortal Iron Fist, Volumes 1 and 2
First created to capitalize on the kung fu and martial arts fads of 1970s movies, Iron Fist is shrewdly updated in these volumes, which serve as homage to these genres and pulp fiction. An awareness of the character's history in comics is not needed to enjoy these new adventures.

Heaven's Will
Heaven's Will combines the vintage shoujo horror style of Chie Shinohara with latter-day gothic Lolita fashion sense. The book serves up plenty of provocative food for thought about the boundaries between male and female, friendship and love.

We call the format graphic novels, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for nonfiction. In fact, some of the best books in the field are memoirs from top artists and writers.

The Beats
Remarkably comprehensive, The Beats isn't content simply to spotlight the late-'50s explosion of the "beatnik" subculture onto the American scene. Instead, it traces its antecedents back to early 20th century circles of bohemians and left-wing artists/raconteurs, and also thoughtfully covers its influence on '60s and '70s counterculture.

Why I Killed Peter
Years after enduring abuse at the hands of a family friend, a priest named Peter, Olivier Ka comes to terms with what happened to him and how it's affected his entire life. His catharsis is powerful and vivid yet wonderfully understated at the same time.

I Live Here
To say that I Live Here is a unique endeavor would be a gross understatement. It is an epic undertaking that spans a wide array of artistic techniques, ranging from fiction and nonfiction texts to graphic novellas to scrapbook art to combinations hard to classify, all with the honorable purpose of bringing four far-reaching places on the planet into the homes of readers and offering a glimpse at the personal tales of people living under dire circumstances.

Teens love graphic novels, and we’ve got them covered in our in-depth reviews.

Scott Pilgrim, Volumes 1-3
The Scott Pilgrim universe is one that's so much fun to be in --- even when it turns deadly dangerous --- that you want to stay in it, which probably explains why sales of this series have gone through the roof.

Blank Slate, Volumes 1 and 2
This two-volume shoujo manga series is an action-packed, hardboiled noir storyline, perfect for anyone in the market for cathartic, gratuitous violence and gun-toting pretty boys.

Fairy Cube
Fairy Cube is both an ideal entry point for those interested in trying out Kaori Yuki's works for the first time as well as unusual fare that will amply reward veteran shoujo manga fans.

Kieli, Volumes 1 and 2
Kieli is the best of both the worlds of prose and sequential art: The story achieves novelistic complexity of sentiment, while the artwork is simply top-notch.

Maximum Ride: The Manga
Maximum Ride: The Manga is a strong so-called global manga production that simultaneously capitalizes upon a popular franchise and potentially extends its reach to a new, manga-reading demographic.

Hey, kids! We’ve got the books YOU want to read. There's something for everyone.

My Mommy Is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill
My Mommy Is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill builds an elegant, transitional bridge between children's picture books and graphic novels. But you don't need to be a child to like this book. Adults will find it rewarding as well.

Tales from Outer Suburbia
An exchange student who's really an alien, a secret room that becomes the perfect place for a quick escape, a typical tale of grandfatherly exaggeration that is actually even more bizarre than he says... These are the odd details of everyday life that grow and take on an incredible life of their own in tales and illustrations by Shaun Tan, author and illustrator of The Arrival.

Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Pokémon meets Yugi-Oh in this vivid interpretation of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers anime series. Dan is a talented brawler, but when the fate of the Bakugan monsters' universe falls into it hands, he will soon discover that Bakugan is much more than a game.

If you see a great video, or listen to a podcast that you think will be of interest to our readers, please send the link to me at John@bookreporter.com