Barnes & Noble is reprinting Roger Stern's novelization of The Death and Life of Superman in a new exclusive edition available only at Barnes & Noble stores.  Originally published by Bantam in 1993 in both hardcover and paperback, Stern's novel recounts the epic tale of the Man of Steel's demise (and regeneration).  Unlike their paperback reprints of the previously hardcover-only Marvel Masterworks, Barnes & Noble's reprinting of The Death and Life of Superman, which is priced only 3 cents lower than the original 1993 paperback, is unlikely to stir much resentment among comic shop retailers.  After all, The Death and Life of Superman is a novel, not a graphic novel, and comic shops were able to carry the paperback edition back when the epic struggle between Superman and Doomsday was fresh news for comic book readers. While the growing trend among mega-chain retailers toward acquiring exclusive merchandise is worrisome to independent retailers, this 'exclusive,' which debuts in March, isn't likely to raise much of a stir among the indies.