Gingerbread girl

I've been wanting to read this for years; I really liked [b:Bandette Volume 1: Presto! 50551033 Bandette Volume 1 Presto! Paul Tobin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582085465l/50551033.SX50.jpg 25455666] another collaboration of Coover and Tobin. The concept is really clever as in the fairytale of the gingerbread man he runs away and when he is caught it leads to his demise; Ginger is running out of self preservation. Additionally, gingerbread serve as a connection to to concept of a golem/homunculus.However, the telling of the story gets muddled, it feels like its trying too hard and it gets in its own way. Too many characters are telling...things, I say things because they're not always telling the story which is tiring. I like factoids and think names and etymology are interesting, but the bulldog talking about the breed being used for bull baiting and that's how they got their name takes me away from the story. At least the pigeon talking about breadcrumbs eventually connects to Chili's metaphor.Also I like Coover's art but I longed for Annah to have some color to her. She's drawn with these cute freckles, but she's always rendered in black and white even though the only other color used in the book would have been a great color for her freckles and/or highlights in her hair.