PWPLS:Teens is proud to present an exclusive interview with Ben Hatke, one of our very favorite graphic novelists and author of the Zita the Spacegirl series. His most recent book is The Return of Zita the Spacegirl, the third volume in the series, which follows the continuing adventures of a young girl who has been transported through a portal into the far reaches of space.
PWPLS: What were some of your favorite books and/or comics as a teenager?
Ben Hatke: Elfquest by Wendy and Richard Pini, Sherlock Holmes stories, The Hobbit! One of my favorite picture books has always been Rotten Island by William Steig. (I still liked that even as a teen). The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander were also favorites. My mom started feeding me Stephen King stories when I was a teenager, too, and I remember losing sleep over the idea of a wind-up monkey.
PWPLS: When did you start making comics? What was your first story about?
BH: I started making comics early. I started with comic strips. One of my first ones was very much influenced by Garfield, but was about a group of birds. Birds who played together in a rock band.
Later in about 7th grade, I made a short graphic novel (probably only 35 or 40 pages) about my friends and me. It was a Halloween story about all the jack-o-lanterns coming to life and attacking people.
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PWPLS: In the creative process, do you usually come up with art first or story lines?
BH: My motto is “story is king!” My books always start out with a very long outline. But even when I’m writing I do keep a sketchbook for each project where I come up with character designs and sketch out the look of key scenes.
PWPLS: Do you have any interesting working habits? Do you need music playing? Complete silence?
BH: I play a lot of music and I often have to use headphones because I have four daughters and so I live in a very active house. It seems like there is always something going on outside my door, so I have to keep myself from getting distracted.
PWPLS: It can be tough to find stories with strong female leads, especially in comics. As the father of four daughters did you intentionally set out to create a comic with a strong female role model your daughters could enjoy? Does Zita have any personality traits similar to those of your daughters?
BH: I think it was the other way around. I think it was more a case of seeing these adventurous girls that it just seemed like the natural type of character to write. Zita herself is very much her own character, but still… she shares a lot of personality traits with my wife.
PWPLS: You live in Virginia. Do feel like you draw inspiration from your experiences in Virginia, or that elements of your life in Virginia show up in your work?
BH: Actually, the book I’m working on right now takes place very much in the area near where I live and even includes the Shenandoah River (though not by name). The book is called Little Robot and is about a young girl and a small robot who develop a very particular friendship one summer. I even went out with a sketchbook and took a lot of reference photos for this book. It’s been a joy to draw.
PWPLS: For your own reading, do you prefer e-books or traditional books?
BH: I definitely prefer traditional books, though my mom gave me her old Kindle and that has been really handy now that I’m traveling so much. If I’m sitting at home though I like curling up with a hefty book. Maybe they can work on an e-reader that smells like a book?
PWPLS: What about when you are creating comics? Do you ever use the computer or do you only use traditional methods?
BH: I go as traditional as I can. For big 200-plus page books like the Zita stories I make black and white pages and then do the coloring in Photoshop. My picture book Julia’s House for Lost Creatures is all watercolor. Little Robot is a mix of watercolor, ink wash and digital colors.
PWPLS: You have a blog, tumblr, and a Twitter account. Do you have a favorite social media platform? Do you feel like social media has helped you grow a fan base for your work?
BH: I like social media and I feel like the different platforms work for sharing different things. I use Twitter for posting little sketches and doodles and peeks at my desk that I wouldn’t ever post on a blog or on tumblr. I also enjoy the sense of being a little more connected with readers.
PWPLS: If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
BH: The MOST USEFUL superpower, if you are serious about being a superhero, is “certain knowledge”—knowing when and where something bad is going to happen. Everything else you can figure out with gadgets and training.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this.
PWPLS: The theme of this year’s National Library Week was “Lives Change @ Your Library.” How has a library or librarian changed your life?
BH: We had a great old library when I was growing up. My mom would go there about once a week and I would wander through the rows while she looked for books. I think the smell and magic of that dark, quiet place infected me with a love of books even before I could read.
PWPLS: What’s the best advice you can give young writers and illustrators?
BH: Draw every single day. Write every single day. Especially the bad days. And keep a notebook where you are allowed to write and draw any crazy idea you come up with.
Also have adventures.
Click here to find books by Ben Hatke at PWPLS, or click here to view the book trailer for The Return of Zita the Spacegirl.
