Gingerbread Girl

Gingerbread Girl
Top Shelf Productions
Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover

When I go looking for new graphic novels to read I’m always on the lookout for something different. That one story that puts itself together in a completely different way. And that’s what you get with Gingerbread Girl, which uses multiple narrators to tell the story of one girl on her night about town. It’s one of my favorite novels that I’ve read this year and I think more folks should give it a try.

This is the story of Annahnette (Annah) Billips…who may or may not have a missing sister. But there are plenty of things that we do know for sure about her. She dates both boys and girls (she really likes afros), she’s 27 years old, like sushi, hates beer breath…and oh yeah her parent’s divorced when she was 9. Annah says that her mad scientist father extracted part of her brain, the part that deals with emotions, and grew it into a twin sister. As Annah prepares for her date (she’s not sure which person she’s going out with yet, depends on who arrives first) multiple narrators introduce us to who Annah is and the mystery surrounding her sister.

I love how this story is told. Its just such a unique way of introducing the main character, the various elements of her life, and what we should know about her. The fact that it’s presented by multiple different narrators allows us to see Annah from different perspectives and how different people view her and what she says is her life story. It’s almost like piecing together a mystery, does she really have a sister? And I love that we never really get told whether she does or not, but the writers present us evidence on both sides so we get to form our own conclusion. Even better for me, is that although its a short book I feel like I know the characters, even the supporting ones that don’t really say much. They say enough that you can recognize them as that guy that you know down the block or that waitress that you keep trying to flirt with. The authors do a fantastic job of building the characters so that we feel like we know them. And the story flows smoothly never missing a beat.

I love the artwork in this book. It reminds me a lot of the style that Craig Thompson uses in his book “Blankets.” It’s a nice flowing line, with good detail in the background without being overwhelming. And they capture the human form so well! I can just picture the people in real life and seeing them because that’s how they move. It helps make the characters feel like real people. And the layout of the book is absolutely fantastic and really helps the story flow.

I cannot say enough good things about this book and I’m just completely blown away by the storytelling and the artwork in it. I give it 5 stars out of 5 and highly, highly recommend it. It’s picks up for the 20/30 generation where Scott Pilgrim left off