{"id":1305,"date":"2011-03-18T06:14:25","date_gmt":"2011-03-18T02:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/?page_id=1305"},"modified":"2011-03-18T06:14:25","modified_gmt":"2011-03-18T02:14:25","slug":"go-cerebral-literally-with-gingerbread-girl","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/go-cerebral-literally-with-gingerbread-girl\/","title":{"rendered":"Go Cerebral (Literally) With Gingerbread Girl"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think I have made it pretty clear that I enjoy comics that fall, shall we say, outside the norm. Something other than Superheroes I mean. I like Supes fine, it’s just that I like diversity in any medium. Too often it seems that comic media is full to choking with be-latexed (I just invented that) individuals that are as gods. Sometimes I am not in the mood for it. Often I want stories about people.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thankfully there are comic creators like Paul Tobin and Coleen Coover. I got a little sneak peak at their upcoming graphic novel Gingerbread Girl<\/em> and was quite impressed. Tobin tells the story of a 26 year old Annah who has an, interesting, idea about her life. She\u00a0believes\u00a0that her sister Ginger was created by her mad genius of a father by removing the part of her brain known as Penfield’s Homonculous. The interesting tale is told through a series of fourth-wall\u00a0breaking narrators that includes Annah herself as well as other characters that cross paths with Annah through the course of the story.<\/p>\n

Is Annah’s sister homonculous real? Or just imagined. Despite being a strict rationalist, I like stories that play with themes of reality vs\u00a0belief\u00a0and the meaning of what sane or insane. The idea of the Penfield’s Homnculous itself seems to be more a macguffin to drive the story than the integral\u00a0piece. It sets things in motion, but it doesn’t really matter if the characters understand the scientific aspects or validity of what they are discussing. What matters most is Annah’s\u00a0belief\u00a0in her sister, and how it affects those around her.<\/p>\n

I also have to give kudos to Coleen Coover, the artist behind it all, for presenting a refreshing art style. I sometimes grow wearing of staring at said belatexed men flaunting their engorged… well, you get the idea. Coover’s illustrations are simple, pretty, and skillfully done. The characters are different and recognizable instantly while maintaining a consistency that makes them feel like they all belong to the same world. The characters are cartoony, but not in a hyper distorted way that would diminish from the gravitas of the comic. The drawings compliment both the lighheartedness and the complex emotional issues presented and it is obvious that Tobin and Coover are on a\u00a0certain\u00a0wavelength together.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for a break from capes, or want a more\u00a0stimulating\u00a0comic, you can’t go wrong with Gingerbread Girl. The\u00a0characters\u00a0are all\u00a0believable\u00a0as people, and the story never feels to preachy or convoluted but will leave you thinking about it after you have finished the story. If you have been following the webcomic version over at Top Shelf Productions<\/a> then you know what I am talking about. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Gingerbread Girl<\/em> hits stores in May if you just have to have one for your shelves (I know I do).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Well, if you have made through my raving and are still with me I wanted to discuss a few other things as well. First, I would ask that you extend well wishes to AJ Herrera and Lynn Paulus. They work tirelessly to make Forbidden Panel what it is and are always striving to make it better. Also, please, please contact me about new Geek Girls episodes. Or if you know some geeky ladies that want to get their voice out there for the world to hear, refer them. I will grovel if I have to (please don’t make me). I have some ideas for the show and I really want it to take off as its own feature rather than just an extremely infrequent affair. Call me. ( or email bryan@forbiddenpanel.com)<\/p>\n

One more thing. I mention Trade Reading Order<\/a> on Panelcast 80, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about it here because I think it is an excellent and\u00a0thoughtfully\u00a0nerdy resource. If you are lost in a confusing cloud of\u00a0innumerable\u00a0titles to choose from at your local comic shop (I always am and end up staring dumbfounded most of the time) then you should hop on that link and create an account\u00a0because\u00a0TRO is set up just for that reason. The site is broken\u00a0down\u00a0by publisher, era, and\u00a0genre, to make the once daunting task of figuring out where to start with a particular series much simpler by telling you what\u00a0titles\u00a0are\u00a0important\u00a0to read for a particular arc or offshoot. The site itself takes a little getting used to, but it is constantly being updated and improved and I am sure that it will soon become one of your most visited bookmarks (after Forbidden Panel of course ;).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think I have made it pretty clear that I enjoy comics that fall, shall we say, outside the norm. Something other than Superheroes I mean. I like Supes fine, it’s just that I like diversity in any medium. Too often it seems that comic media is full to choking with be-latexed (I just invented […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":290,"menu_order":15,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1305","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P1opIU-l3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":290,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":0},"title":"Bryan’s Madness","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"January 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Bryan is a writer, editor, and sometimes artist\/graphic designer for Forbidden Panel, as well as a regular host on the some times funny sometimes boring, but always from the heart, Panelcast.\u00a0 He is also bringing his long-time-in-the-making table top RPG to FP as the Zombie Kill Squad RPG.\u00a0 He also\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1952,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/about\/press-kit\/","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":1},"title":"Press Info","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"June 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Forbidden Panel Studios is an independent publishing company and event coordinator, specializing in graphic novels, comic books, and multimedia. Formed in 2007 by A.J. Herrera, Forbidden Panel provides a home for revolutionary writers and gifted underground artists, whose talents express the nerdy, the dark, the macabre, and yes!! ...Even the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Rancid1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Rancid1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Rancid1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Rancid1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":367,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/review-the-traveler-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":2},"title":"Review: The Traveler #1","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"January 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"By - Stan Lee, Mark Waid, Chad Hardin I just got done with The Traveler #1, a new comic series by icon Stan Lee (you know who he is) and Mark Waid (Irredeemable, Incorruptible), with artwork by Chad Hardin (Spider-Man, Age of Heroes).\u00a0 Stan Lee's touch is unmistakable here though\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/TheTraveler_CVRA-195x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":362,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/review-the-99-origins\/","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":3},"title":"Review: The 99 \u2013 Origins","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"January 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"When I first heard of The 99 I was intrigued and set about searching the internet to find out more, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Origin tale for the series was freely available on the website in PDF format.\u00a0 If you have listened to Panelcast 65\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2128,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/ajs-side-panel\/its-here\/","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":4},"title":"It’s HERE!!","author":"AJ","date":"July 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"That's right everyone our first comic book Z.K.S. #0 is finally out!!! Does this explain where I have been and why I haven't posted in awhile lol. Well let's see what's been going on. Finally started reading Fables.\u00a0 Wow what an awesome comic book.\u00a0 That is up until the Great\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":404,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/starborn-and-catching-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":1305,"position":5},"title":"Starborn and catching up.","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"January 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"OK, I know I am pretty awful at posting regularly, but I plan to make that all change.\u00a0 Starting now. I should start off by talking about some of the things that I have read recently, which would be Stan Lee's Starborn, published through Boom! Studios.\u00a0 Well, really I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/blogs\/bryans-madness\/starborn-and-catching-up\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Starborn02_rev_CVR_B-195x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1305\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}