Graphic Novel: Gingerbread Girl by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover

Gingerbread Girl is an upcoming graphic novel and webcomic that features one of those rare creatures - a bisexual.


It is written and illustrated by husband and wife Colleen Coover and Paul Toibin, both professionals who work for Marvel (among various other projects). The artwork is accessible and attractive, although it does look a bit more 'ready to colour' than ideally black and white.


Annah Billips is a self proclaimed tease who loves sushi, girls with afroes, Riesling and travelling. She also possibly lost a sister called Ginger when her parents divorced. Or possibly not - having a mad scientist father who like to mess with people's brains makes reality unreliable and sanity questionable. 


Annah's story is that this sister is a homunculus of sorts, created from the sensory part of her brain, leaving Annah emotionally and tactile deprived, while Ginger feels everything for both of them (...from pain to sex). Alternatively, Ginger could be how Annah dealt with her parents fighting, by projecting all her sensations and emotions into an imaginary sibling. Annah obviously wants to know the truth, and follows a lively quest to discover it and find her lost sister-twin-clone. 

Along the way she flirts with, callously passes over and dates various men and women. Often at the same time. She does state she hates the label bisexual because it implies indecision or promiscuity - both traits she appears to possess! But she also has a rather crazy personality naturally, and she claims she has trouble feeling much when Ginger is away from her.


The narrative is a little odd, as - with the exception of some action scenes in between each speaker - most of the story is told directly to the viewer. Beginning with Annah, then her date, then a pigeon, then a guy in the park... each directly narrates what's going on, thoroughly breaking the fourth wall. We even have a mind-reader step in to explain a dramatic pause (...it involved breasts and public indecency).


You can read the entire story free online at Top Shelf 2.0 in installments (which are a bit annoying, every two to four pages you have to go to 'See Also' in the top right hand corner and pick the next chapter). Alternatively, you can pre-order the hardcover from Amazon (which is listed at $12.95)


Further Reading

• The Graphic Novels page
• The list of lesbian (and bi) webcomics
• The Free Stuff page
• Everything tagged graphic novels and webcomics