Exhausted yet Rejuvenated

Four packed days running on adrenalin and much less caffeine than you might think -what an experience ALA was! And now I am home, and tired, and getting ready to walk down the lane with my girls to pick raspberries.



I am hoping to do a post soon about my trip to New Orleans, after I’ve had a day or so to process the whirlwind. I met old friends and new friends, found exciting new books and artists, encountered a wizard, explored a nocturnal city, signed a lot of books, shared a lot of art, fought my fear of flight, and talked a LOT about comics.

Stay tuned.

New Orleans Here I Come

The travelin’ artist rambles on...



This weekend I will be in New Orleans for the American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition. This is adventure marks a number of FIRSTS for me. Not only will this be the first time I’ve been to the ALA conference and the first time I’ve been to New Orleans, but it will also be the first time I’ve ever had a table at one of these things.

When I started preparing I worried that my table would be bare and uninteresting. But I’ve gathered all kinds of things from my little studio/office to display and sell. I’ll have lots of copies of both Zita the Spacegirl and my little Bohemian Highway book, Two portfolios full of original art, a few framed drawings and paintings, some art cards to give away, and I’m bringing some watercolor, pens and brushes so I can create art on site.

If you are reading this and will be at ALA this weekend please drop by my table and say hello! My table number is #1768. I’m seriously considering trading sketches for beignet.

The Neighboring Field

Yesterday, Sunday, I had a rare block of time all to myself. Anna and Ronia were off on a mission near DC and the three older girls were at a tea party. So I did something I hadn’t done in a long time: I threw my paints into my old leather bag, grabbed my pallet and my easel and headed outside.

Every time I paint, and it’s not nearly as often as it should be, I find myself with two competing thoughts- “I love this” and “I wish I were better at this.”

I am still very much a beginner in painting and it can be very frustrating. There’s a quote attributed to Degas that has always stuck with me: “Painting is not very difficult when you don’t know how- but when you know, ah! then, it is a different matter.” Big D knows the score I think.

Sometimes things go well. Yesterday, after finding a suitably humble location (standing nearly on top of my neighbor’s septic tank), getting everything set up and the easel level I had a little over an hour for painting. It was just enough time to make a small sketch of the neighboring field on a little wood panel I’d been saving. I had fun! And I was not unhappy with the result. It was a good Sunday Afternoon.

A Dragon and a Mailbox

Yesterday evening I did something that I haven't done in a long time. I sat out on the porch and drew pictures. I just drew whatever I wanted while I waited for my friends to arrive for D&D. It was great.

You Like Comics, Right?

This morning I want to point you toward Tony Cliff’s online graphic novel adventure, Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant. It’s the story of a mild mannered, tea-loving lieutenant in Constantinople and how an exotic traveling adventuress changes his life. Also Tony Cliff’s drawings make me cry. Check it out!


And if you’re looking for print comics, two notable books released from First Second this week. They are Dave Roman’s Astronaut Academy, and Vera Brosgol’s YA GN, Anya’s Ghost.




Finally here is a comic I made in 3 minutes about believing in yourself:

Fire and Smoke

I had a birthday this weekend marking 34 years of rambling through this old world.

Anna gave me a party with quite a few of our friends. Anna’s cool because even when I pretend I don’t want a party she makes one anyway and lots of friends come over and I have fun. And then all of a sudden I’m dive rolling over lines of children and then she’s dancing with fire and I’m playing a drum and wondering where my precious, precious grumpiness went. Here’s a video of a few short snippets of jumping and fire breathing followed by Anna’s first time doing fire poi in front of a group:

Untitled from Ben Hatke on Vimeo.

I also smoked a cigar.

It may not sound like much, but the cigar is a Big Deal. It’s a Big Deal because, strangely enough, I have never before smoked _anything_ in all my 34 years. (okay, granted, I don’t remember much from the first couple of years of my life but I’m assuming I wasn’t one of _those_ babies). It was pretty cool, and I had the good fortune of starting out with a pretty high quality cigar.

It was a big weekend and now it feels like Summer is here. Let's hope it’s a good one.

Finally, here's a bit of Zita the Spacegirl fan art that came my way courtesy of Gaelen:

Under a Twisting Tree

Summer has Returned

Spring has sprung the coop and Summer has jumped us from a dark alley. We usually try to wait as long as possible to hit the AC, but here we are in the first breath of June and already I'm sorely tempted.

Thanks to everyone who bought a copy of the Bohemian Highway art and comics collection. The last batch has been packed up and mailed out. The proceeds pretty much went toward buying another batch of the books which I will be bringing with me to ALA in a couple weeks. I used the title page sketches as my morning warm up drawings this week. Here's an example:

I also wanted to share with you another one of Angelica's drawings featuring her character, Star Chicken. He's pictured here with his friends, Blue Chicken and Soup Chicken (who is a rooster and has a pot of soup pictured on his chest).