Ben Hatke (born June 4, 1977, in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

. He is most well known for his series of middle grade

graphic novels A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

''Zita the Spacegirl''. His work is notable for its focus on strong female characters.COLYARD, K.W
"'Zita The Spacegirl' Is Getting A Film Adaptation, And Author Ben Hatke Has More Exciting Things On The Way, a"
''Bustle'' (Oct 5, 2016).

Biography

Hatke was born in

,Brown, Hillary
"''Mighty Jack'' Cartoonist Ben Hatke on Juggling Art, Blowing Fire and Creating Ridiculously Charming Comics,"
''Paste'' (December 12, 2016). and grew up with sisters. His family were members of the

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

, and Hatke spent a lot of time outdoors as a child. One of his early comics influences was

Wendy and Richard Pini Wendy Pini ''née'' Fletcher, (born June 4, 1951) and Richard Pini (born July 19, 1950) are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known '' Elfquest'' series of comics, graphic novels and prose works. They are also known as ...

's '' Elfquest''. Other influences included

Bill Watterson William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is a retired American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip ''Calvin and Hobbes'', which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes'' at the end of 1995, ...

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

Brian Froud Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He is most widely known for his 1978 book ''Faeries (book), Faeries'' with Alan Lee (illustrator), Alan Lee, and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson fil ...

Trina Schart Hyman Trina Schart Hyman (April 8, 1939 – November 19, 2004) was an American illustrator of children's books. She illustrated over 150 books, including fairy tales and Arthurian legends. She won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustrat ...

Barry Windsor-Smith Barry Windsor-Smith (born Barry Smith, 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' ''Conan the Barbarian (comics), Conan th ...

, and

Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...

. Hatke attended

Christendom College Christendom College is a Catholic liberal arts college in Front Royal, Virginia, United States, located in the Shenandoah Valley. It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College and has been characterized as a conservative Catho ...

, in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

, earning his B.A. in 2000."Christendom Alumnus Ben Hatke Scores Movie Deal at 20th Century Fox,"
Christendom College website (Sep 15, 2016). While he was in college, he spent a semester in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

studying

Italian Renaissance painting Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political stat ...

Career

Hatke contributed the story "The Plank" to the anthology ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'' vol. 2, published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

in 2005. His story "The Edge" appeared in ''Flight'' #3, published (at that point by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

) in 2006. His character Mighty Jack is a contemporary spin on the

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...

''Zita the Spacegirl''

According to ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', ''Zita the Spacegirl'', "centers on a girl named Zita who embarks on a journey to becoming an intergalactic hero after her friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult. Along the way, she rides a giant mouse, deals with humanoid chickens as well as robots, and makes friends with a blob-like creature."Kit, Borys
"Fox Animation Picks Up Movie Rights to 'Zita the Spacegirl',"
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (SEPTEMBER 14, 2016). According to Hatke, the character was actually created by his wife Anna while she was still in high school. When Hatke and Anna met in college, he began adapting the character into its present incarnation. He continued developing the character in webcomics and then a short story titled "Zita the Spacegirl: If Wishes Were Socks," in the 2008

anthology ''Flight Explorer''.Gustines, George Gene
"Graphic Books Best Sellers: To the Rescue,"
''New York Times'' (September 21, 2012). ''Zita the Spacegirl'' debuted in 2011 with

First Second Books First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism. It als ...

. The second and third volumes appeared in 2012 and 2014. In 2016, it was announced that

Fox Animation Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

had picked up movie right for the ''Zita'' trilogy; the films will be produced by

Chernin Entertainment Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and owned by former News Corporation president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin, also CEO and chairman of the company. Jenno Topping is the current Head o ...

Personal life

Hatke lives in

Front Royal, Virginia Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become F ...

, with his wife AnnaLiu, Jonathan H
"Q&A With Ben Hatke on Legends of Zita the Spacegirl,"
''Wired'' (Sept. 26, 2012). and their five daughters. In September, 2019 their then youngest daughter Ida died in a horse-related accident. They had another daughter two years later. He is an avid player of

role-playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

, as well as a practitioner of

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

. He is also a

fire-eater Fire eating is the act of putting a flaming object into the mouth and extinguishing it. A fire eater can be an entertainer, a street performer, part of a sideshow or a circus act but has also been part of spiritual tradition in India. Physi ...

and amateur tumbler.

Awards

* 2011

Cybils Award The Cybils Awards, or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, are a set of annual book awards given by people who blog about children's and young-adult books. Co-founded by Kelly Herold and Anne Boles Levy in 2006, the awards were c ...

— ''Zita the Spacegirl'' * 2016 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) — ''Little Robot''

Bibliography

Graphic novels

* 2011 ''Zita the Spacegirl'' (

First Second First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism. It als ...

) * 2012 ''Legends of Zita the Spacegirl'' (First Second) * 2014 ''The Return of Zita the Spacegirl'' (First Second) * 2015 ''Little Robot'' (First Second) * 2016 ''Mighty Jack'' (First Second) * 2017 ''Mighty Jack and the Goblin King'' (First Second) * 2018 ''The Zita Trilogy Boxed Set'' (First Second) * 2019 ''Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl'' (First Second)

Children's books

* 2014 ''Julia’s House for Lost Creatures'' (First Second) * 2016 ''Nobody Likes a Goblin'' (First Second) * 2016 (by

Ann M. Martin Ann Matthews Martin (born August 12, 1955) is an American children's fiction writer, known best for ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' series. Early life Ann Matthews Martin grew up in Princeton, NJ. Her mother, Eden Martin, was a preschool teacher and h ...

and Annie Parnell) ''Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Whatever Cure'' * 2017 (by Ann M. Martin and Annie Parnell) ''Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Won't-Walk-the-Dog Cure'' * 2018 (by Ann M. Martin and Annie Parnell) ''Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Sticky-Fingers Cure''. Retrieved July 31, 2018. * 2020 ''Julia’s House Moves On'' (First Second) *2021 ''Julia's House Goes Home'' (First Second), ISBN 978-1250769329

References

External links

*
''Zita the Space Girl'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatke, Ben 1977 births Artists from Indiana Artists from Virginia American cartoonists American children's book illustrators American graphic novelists Living people People from Front Royal, Virginia