Art and Adventure

Robot Comic #4

2012-01-31T10:26:00.000-08:00

Everyone who makes comics seems to do things slightly differently. For me, the great unseen portion of any comic, be it a page from a graphic novel or one of these little robot comics, is the thumbnail sketch. Often these little compositional drawings really are not much bigger than my thumbnail, and often barely legible. Sometimes they even have a liveliness to them that never quite makes it into the finished work.

I used to do my thumbnail sketches on loose sheets of copy paper, but lately I’ve switched over to keeping most of my roughs and thumbs and thoughts in big sketchbooks. Those sheets of copy paper are long gone, but with the sketchbooks I can always go back and revisit the ideas when they were raw, or see pages as they might have been. For me, it’s a better way to work.

On My Desk Today: Foxes and Woolly Worms

2012-01-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

Over the last several weeks I’ve been working on a set of illustrations for a book by Betty Hicks called The Worm Whisperer. It’s a sweet story and it’s given me the opportunity to work in pen and ink with a bit of ink wash, which I enjoy. Plus, the story features a fair amount of wildlife, which makes it particularly enjoyable to draw. Here’s a tiny peek:

Robot Comic #3

2012-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

I probably should have saved that one for Valentines day. (click here for the original “newspaper” format).

For me, one of the most fascinating challenges of cartooning is capturing gesture. Done right you can transmit volumes about a character with only a few simple lines. Often in capturing a good gesture fewer lines are better, but they have to be exactly the right lines or the meaning is lost. One of the reasons I like drawing robots and creatures is that pulling human gestures out of something that resembles a tin can or a squid is sometimes more delightful and surprising than drawing the same gesture in the human figure we know so well.

From the sketchbook:

Always Bring Your Sketchbook

2012-01-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a comic I scribbled in my current sketchbook a week or so ago, forgot about, and rediscovered today:

I’ve posted before about the importance of sketching for the artist -how, like sleep, it is a restorative activity that is sometime tempting to skimp on. But what about the artist’s sketchbook? If sketching is likened to sleeping, then your sketchbook is the bed you sleep on. Do you prefer a tattered bedroll that travels along on your adventures, or a luxurious mountain of comfortable quilts?

There’s definitely something to be said for beautiful leather-bound sketchbooks with quality art paper. They travel well, and when you pull something like that out of your bag you feel every inch the artist. But I tend to be a little precious about the pages, and a little less inclined to spontaneity. For me most of the best ideas come unexpectedly.

Lately I’e been filling up big old Strathmore series 400 sketchpads. At 8X11 inches and 100 sheets I usually feel like I can let myself go a bit, worry less about “wasting” pages and just keep the pen moving and the ideas flowing and see what pops up.

A lot of what pops up is rather silly, but sometimes the silly stuff is the best.

Robot Comic #2

2012-01-17T20:57:00.000-08:00

Hey guess what! I drawled up another comic for you guys. Anna’s been calling this guy “Lil’ Robot.” I can’t imagine there’s not already a character out there called Lil’ Robot but I’m not going to google it. Not just yet.

One interesting exercise in writing and art is seeing how many variations you can come up with from a single theme, how many stories you can pull from a single set up, how many times you can revisit a subject before you’ve exhausted it.

I wonder how far I can go with these Lil’ Robot comics...

Robot Comic!

2012-01-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

One of the things I’m hoping to do in 2012 is create and post more journal comics and webcomics. With that in mind, here is a little robot comic that I made late last night:

I’m also thinking more about the format of these little webcomics. The vertical/stacked layout seems to work well for posting on a blog, but it requires scrolling. This robot comic was drawn as a traditional horizontal comic strip. (click here to see the original format). And I’m curious... about how many of my readers are webcomic aficionados and, if so, what are your favorites?

Interested in purchasing the original art from this comic? Click here:

Blogbot

2012-01-16T18:50:00.001-08:00

Okay Little Robot. Okay.
(from my sketchbook).

LEGENDS OF ZITA THE SPACEGIRL

2012-01-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

THIS IS IT!

I can’t hold back any more! Here is the cover for my next graphic novel, Legends of Zita the Spacegirl:

Here’s the full wraparound (which you can click to enlarge):

I’m so excited to share this book with you guys! Unfortunately, it won’t be released until September 4th which seems like an eternity to me, but I noticed that you can already pre order it on Amazon. I wish I could just post the whole thing online but I’d get in huge trouble. We’ll just have to wait it out together.

Oh, and special thanks to the talented Colleen AF Venable for the cover design. The illustration is mine, the text layout, etc is her. Colleen writes comics about mystery solving rodents.

Sleeping Children

2012-01-09T07:09:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend Anna refurbished and refinished a new bed for our Julia, who just turned four. It’s a good bed for a four-year-old, a bargain 1940’s bed frame from a flea market, stripped of it’s chipping black paint and coated with a cheery green. I built new slats for the bottom and Anna turned an aged futon cushion into a new mattress (pictures of said bed will be forthcoming on Anna's Blog).

Julia was thrilled with her new bed, and fell into a deep and happy sleep. I took the opportunity to slip in and do a few sketches:

Children present good opportunities for life drawing. When they are awake they are almost always on the move. This is good for learning to catch gestures quickly and with economy of line. Sleeping and reading are about the only activities in which they hold still. My kids most often sleep with a light on and relatively little tossing and turning, which gives the opportunity for slightly more detailed studies.

Links, and a Piggy

2012-01-04T06:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a dancing pig drawn by Angelica:

And now some links:

Here is a beautiful interview with Maurice Sendak. What a great, great artist.

And here is an audio interview with writer/director Joss Whedon, who I will love forever because he gave us Firefly.

...And In With the New

2012-01-01T06:28:00.001-08:00

For those of us worried about the character of our time and our people, slow conversion to the loveliness of things is the task at hand. So much to do, so many bad ideas, so many neglected fences and overgrown windbreaks, so much overgrazed pasture, so many used and discarded persons. Each idea needs replacing, each fence mending, each windbreak pruning, each pasture fallowing, each person restoring, but we’re in it for the long game, we need to think in terms of centuries, not years; of cathedral (re)building, not petition signing. And the long game ahead needs the conversion of our loves, our advertence to the loveliness of the real.

-from this article on website Front Porch Republic.

Happy New Year my friends. Stay tuned for art, sketches and a sneak-peek at Zita 2!

Memory Dragon

2011-12-13T07:25:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Sold Out! I didn't realize the seven copies would go so fast. I'm sorry I couldn't offer more of these.

The Memory Dragon game is here! The cards printed up very nicely on glossy cardstock and the colors look good. They are about the thickness of playing cards or sturdy business cards, which is a bit thinner than I would have liked. But at nearly 50 cards per set they make a hefty stack. Have a look:

Each Memory dragon game comes with 48 cards: 2 copies each of the 15 dragon cards, 5 wizard cards, the princess card and the three symbol cards, flame, star and heart. The cards come in a beautiful, wizardly hand-sewn bag made by Anna.

The set is good for all kinds of made up games, but it makes a very challenging game of traditional memory. The way we play is to make wizard matches worth double, since there are fewer of them. The princess, since there is only one princess match, is worth triple or more.

I have 7 sets for sale for $27 a piece. It’s a little pricey, I know, but printing such a limited run is expensive. I’m not sure what the cutoff line is for Christmas shipping, but I assume that any orders I get today or tomorrow will arrive in time. If you're interested in nabbing a copy of the game just follow the link below to my:

FUNNY ONLINE STORE.

And a happy Festa Santa Lucia to you!

Books in the Mail

2011-12-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

I'm making it official! I am putting together a tile game called Memory Dragon. It’s a set of 3X3 inch tiles featuring some of the watercolor art that I sent out with the book orders. Each 42 card set will include two cards each of the original 15 dragons, 5 wizards and a princess. More information about this soon.

Speaking of those book orders, most of the packages have been sent. I’ve already heard back from a few of you that received your books and I’m glad to hear they arrived safely. So far I have only messed up one order, which is pretty good for a Ben Hatke. If you are still thinking of picking up a book, anything ordered this week will arrive in time for Christmas.

Finally are you looking for a tastier gift idea? Something less “two dimensional” than, say, comics? Well my friend Maggie has made a small business out of putting fruity (and sometimes savory) little taste explosions into jars. She calls it Jams by Mags. Tomato and Nectarine Chutney? Plum and Crabapple? Pinot Noir? Her jams are full of surprises. Visit her site! (it has beautiful photos).

A Peek at the Desk

2011-11-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

Dragon Mania continues at the Hatke house as we creep further into Winter.

Lately I’ve been taking little Zita to her weekly dance class. The dance class is in the same building that houses a little main street coffee shop so I’ve been using the dance class as an opportunity to get in a little quality sketchbook time. For the artist, sketching is like sleep. It’s one of those things that recharges you but is also tempting to skimp on. Of course, like sleep, if you skimp too much your work start to suffer for it.

And now, good news for everyone who ordered Waiting for Toast: The books have arrived, the watercolors are piling up and I’ll start sending out books on Friday!

I ordered extra books so if you still want a copy order this week or next and it’ll be there in plenty of time for Christmas.

Here's a link to the BOOKSHOP.

The Coming of Winter

2011-11-23T11:24:00.000-08:00

I'm hoping for a cozy winter but I miss the warm sun already!

Last Sunday was pretty balmy for November and so the girls and I drove into the city for a visit to the National Gallery. I have mixed feelings about art museums. Most of the works made to be viewed on their own. A museum setting is not the "natural habitat" for a painting or sculpture. In a museum each work is surrounded by hundreds of others and the effect can be a little overwhelming. Still, it's a pretty great resource for an artist to be able to sit in front of a master's work, learn from it, and then walk five feet and be in front of another masterpiece.

Here are a couple brief sketches I was able to do, during an interlude when Anna was out riding the Merry Go Round with the girls:
(from a Tintoretto painting)

(sketch of a woman waiting for the evening concert)

Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy of Waiting for Toast! I'm working on the extra art and will start sending the books soon. There are still plenty of copies available!

Waiting for Toast

2011-11-17T07:50:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: The watercolor limit has been reached! Thanks you to everyone who has ordered so far. I decided to do a few extras so EVERYONE WHO ORDERED YESTERDAY, 11-17, WILL RECEIVE A WATERCOLOR.

Last year, at about this time, I gathered all my journal comics, some watercolors and some sketches and bundled it all up into a little volume called Tales from the Bohemian Highway (Hatke Family Adventures volume 1).

This year I’ve put together a second volume of comics and art which I’m calling “Waiting for Toast.” The name was suggested by my wife who said that much of this year felt like “waiting for toast.” Ironically, shortly after she suggested the title our old toaster up and died after years of hard service. Now we make toast in the oven.

Waiting for Toast is available for pre-order right now! Just click on the link below to get your copy at:

MY FUNNY ONLINE BOOKSTORE

The book is 80 pages, 9X7 inches black and white and perfect bound -a matching companion to last year’s book. Here is a little look at the pages:

Every copy will be signed and includes a little original sketch drawn on the title page.

But that’s not all! The first 20 orders will include a small 3X3 inch watercolor picture drawn and painted on arches watercolor board and lovingly tucked into he pages of the book. To give you an idea, here are a few of last years watercolors:

Thanks for another great year of art and comics!

(Proceeds from sale of this book will be put toward a new toaster).

Guest Artist: Angelica's Seasonal Dragons

2011-11-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

We've been making our way through Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest series. They're fun books, but despite the titles Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons and Talking to Dragons, Angelica is of the opinion that there are not nearly enough dragons in the stories.

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS: Escape from NYCC

2011-11-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately I have to end this storyline here. I did go back to OWS after Comic Con, talked to a lot of people, got lost, ended up sandwiched between protesters and police and even saw a Wall Street Journal writer fall into a plastic storage tub. The writer was James Taranto, who wrote this article about his experience in the park. I was sad that he left out the part where he fell in the storage tub and I helped pull him out.

But unfortunately life happens faster than it can be recorded in comics form, and nearly a month later I find that this project is competing with my other (paying) projects to the point that I have to cut it short. But I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading!

Here are a couple closing clips:

Clip 1: “Change yourself”

Clip 2: “Make That Change” (warning: contains accordion sounds)

The Journeyman and the Master

2011-11-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

About three years ago, when we were living in Italy, I made a clay sculpture of a Madonna and Christ Child. The design of the piece was based on a forgery. I’ve had a long-time fascination with art forgery and counterfeiting and at the time I was reading a book about a sort of renaissance of forgery that happened in Italy in the 1930s. In the book there was a picture of a Madonna carved from wood that was meant to look late Medieval but something in the curve of the Mother’s stance suggested modern sensibility -a hint of Art Nouveau perhaps. I decided to try something similar. I got a couple bricks of plasticine clay and started building...
I started with a terra-cotta sketch

and then moved on to clay

here it is nearing completion

original face of Christ Child

After a few weeks of sculpting I was pleased with the work. Pleased enough that I started thinking about casting a more permanent version. A sculptor friend named Jason Arkles recommended a foundry in Florence where I could have a mold made. And so on a hot late summer day I took my fragile plasticine madonna down the mountain on a three hour trip to Florence in crowded busses, cars and trains. Plasticine never dries, and the hotter it gets the softer it becomes. I still count it as a small miracle that the thing survived.

how I left the statue at the foundry

But it did survive and I had a mold made. Unfortunately I ran out of time and money and never had the final version cast, as I had intended. We returned to the States and the mold, a lump of plaster and silicone, has sat in the corner of my studio ever since.

Until this week, when I finally had the opportunity to call my old friend, master sculptor Reed Armstrong, who agreed to help me cast the statue myself.

I met Mr. Armstrong about ten years ago. At the time he was creating a series of life-sized statues and I helped him with the very messy and labor-intensive process of making molds for those statues. Those days were a lot of fun, even though I always came home with plaster dried into crevices I didn’t even know I had.

And now, years later, Mr. Armstrong lent me his help and expertise in casting my own statue. I won't go into detail, bur we ran into just about every conceivable problem in casting this statue. The mold is far from perfect and, tragically, the Christ Child’s face has suffered quite a bit, losing a lot of detail from clay that seems to have bonded to the silicon (or suffered damage in the original mold making process). But, all in all, having a statue is better that having an empty mold gathering dust in the corner.

the mold lying open

the mold with all its troubles!

the finished piece:

It’s not a masterpiece. And even calling myself a journeyman sculptor is a stretch. But it’s a step. And I’m learning.

Drawing Conclusions: Walking to Comic Con

2011-11-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

This clip is for Andy, and it's just the announcements in the line outside Comic con:

To anyone still following, thanks for your patience! I'm juggling several little projects right now and I'm beginning to think that life happens more quickly than you can record it in comics form. I returned to OWS the next day, after Comic Con and the best bits of audio came from that second visit to Zuccotti Park. Like, for instance, this awesome song:

All Hallows

2011-10-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween, my friends!

I come to you today with a trick and a treat.

The trick was played on me by Mother Nature in the form of unexpected allergies. Now normally there are one or two days in the spring and the fall that some pollen hit the air and wreaks havoc on my nasal cavity. This year I seem to have gotten an extra day-of-drip. I have a small headache from sneezing. I hope gorging on halloween candy will cure it, because that's what i intend to do.

The treat is this little snippet from the cover of Zita 2! This is what I've been working on today and it's coming along nicely. These little guys appear near the bottom of the spine:

The other good news is that Zita the Spacegirl is on the nomination list for the Texas Bluebonnet Award. You can read about that on their website here, though this person's blog entry does a good job of explaining the award (and you can read the list without downloading a pdf).

OWS Comics will return soon! I have another project this week that will make a fun post -it's something I've been working on for a long time. So check back soon!

Skull Sketching

2011-10-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted a sketch. Here's a sketch from a Smithsonian display of early hominid skulls. I wanted to draw something from excellent the live insect exhibit but, man, the kids crowd around those guys.

More comics a-comin'!

Drawing Conclusions: The Photographer

2011-10-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well this one took me awhile:

(Color version of the photo can be seen here).

Clip: After the Photo

The photographer only gave us his first name, but when I got back home it took me only a couple minutes of poking around online before I found this entry on Boing Boing about a whole set of portraits of the Occupiers. Lo and behold there we were. I highly recommend taking a look at his Flickr set, The Occupiers. It’s a striking set of pictures.

I hope everyone following this little blog has been enjoying this little comics journey! I originally designed this with about thirteen parts in mind, but at this point I’m not sure how many I’ll be able to get through. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. In the meantime...

Links!
Planet Money did a little podcast about OWS. Their audio sounds much better than mine and they somehow found a Ron Paul aficionado down there. (That’s what they call themselves, right? Aficionados?). I've been following Planet Money for a couple years now. It's a genuinely geeky economics podcast that explains things clearly.

The Occupy Movement is growing, and the arrest photos are ubiquitous. Please, please check out these images of, yes, Occupy Sesame Street. I want to high five cookie monster for that sign.

Drawing Conclusions: Walking on Wall Street

2011-10-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

Woosh. Took me all day to get this one out!

Clip One: Ben and Anna on Wall Street

Clip Two: The Soothsayer

So next up our first experiences at the actual gathering in Zuccotti Park, plus a fun surprise. Stay tuned!

In the meantime here are a couple links:
1) an article about OWS and good ol' Distributism from the Washington Post.
2)The FIRST episode of the web-based comedy miniseries Fruitcake by my friends at Mirandum pictures. I have a cameo in a later episode!

Now go have fun. I'll see you all on Monday.

Drawing Conclusions: the REAL Part One

2011-10-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

This is the real part one. The last installment was the prologue. Because when you start with a prologue you are hoity-toity. Comics!

Clip One: Banjo Man (FYI: this clip may be not safe for work. Adult language.)

Clip Two: Dance to Remember

So as you can see the REAL part one is a whopping four pages about a moment I’ll always remember. I’m starting to worry that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with this project -there’s so much to tell! I think most entries will be one or two pages.

This is taking me back to my old days as a freelance reporter for the Lafayette Leader newspaper, when I would grab my not-so-trusty mini tape recorder and ride my bike to meetings about a new overpass or a zoo fundraiser. This was a lot more exciting.

Be sure to listen to today’s audio clips where you can get a taste of the banjo Man’s very excellent music and hear his controversial ideas about vandalism, which will have Mr. Andy O’Neill chortling “I told you so.” Andy chortles a lot.

See you in the comments.

Drawing Conclusions: Part One

2011-10-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Alright my friends! Today I’m trying something brand new: man-on-the-street-style comics-reporting with attached audio. It’s a little bit Journal Comic, a little bit editorial, and a little bit mini-Podcast and I don’t know if it will work or not. But as my man Chesterton says "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly."

Here’s the scoop:

Over the last weekend I attended the New York Comic Con (the link leads to an article about my friends Dave and Raina). But I also spent a good chunk of time at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in Zuccotti park. I brought a mini audio recorder (thanks Dane!), a camera and a sketchbook and I came away with a couple hours of audio files, songs, conversations ...and a whole lot of experiences that I wanted to share. Better still, bouncing between the Comic Con and the OWS Protests offered interesting points of comparison. For me, each event threw the other into sharp contrast. It made a good story.

So over the next couple weeks I’m going to try to get as much of the story drawn and posted as I am able. This comic is unusual for me because the backdrop is something political. I will eventually draw conclusions and offer some of my own thoughts, but that isn't the point really. Truly my main goal here is to set down, in my own way, some little personal moments.

In other words, the good stuff.

So without further preamble, lets get to the comics:

And for today’s audio, a link to one of my all time favorite travelin’ songs:
I used to listen to this on every long car trip.
(The rest of the audio sections will be from my own tapes. I promise).

Finally, here is a link to some posts by my friend Daniel Nichols: Click here, here and here. This is what touched off the discussion with Andy that lead me to Wall Street.

Drawing Yourself

2011-10-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

Unpacking my bags and my brain after a big weekend adventure spent bouncing between New York Comic Con and the Occupy Wallstreet Protest. So much happened! And I’m working on a way to condense some of my experiences into a story told in comics form. If all goes as planned those comics will start appearing this week, so please stay tuned.

In the meantime here is the new “about the author” illustration for Zita 2:

As you can see, it’s a little more “action packed” than the last one, which looked like this:

It’s always fascinating to me to see comics artists draw themselves and how those drawings match up to the real person. Sometimes all the characters in a comic will have a little visual hint of the person who drew them. Case in point: this weekend I finally met my flight comrade, Bannister, who travelled to the con all the way from France. I’ve been wanting to meet Bannister for some time. Not only are his comics are amazing, but he looks a lot like his drawings.

You can see some of his work by clicking right here.

Chasing Fall's Colors

2011-10-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Been working on a painting these past couple afternoons, chasing the colors of Autumn before they disappear.

Here's the painting at the lay-in stage.

Here it is after another afternoon of work, after I brought it home:

Mystery of the Baffling Batteries

2011-10-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

That last panel is pure conjecture. In reality we never did find those batteries, so House Elves is still a perfectly valid theory.

I will be at New York Comic Con this weekend! Will you be there? I don't have a table of my on, but I will be signing at the First Second table on Friday at 3pm (booth 1730). Come say hello!

Dance Like You Mean It

2011-10-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Zita to her dance class. Not her first dance class, but my first time taking her. What a fun time! And there's a coffee shop in the same building so I even got some work done.

Is there any thing cuter that 6-year-olds doing ballet? I submit that there is not.

Did you know there is a whole graphic novel about a little girl who loves ballet? It's called To Dance and you can find it here.

Packing Tape

2011-10-03T08:57:00.001-07:00

This weekend Anna made a pot of magic soup. This has happened to us at least once before -where a pot of food will somehow feed a multitude, despite looking like a modest amount of food.

The first time this happened was when we were living in Italy and a group of honest-to-goodness pilgrims wandered into the village (there is a pilgrimage trail in the mountains nearby) There were three of them and they were hungry and tired and a little bit lost. Anna happened to be working in the garden at the time and she offered to give them a little something to eat. What started as an offer of snacks sort of blossomed into a full dinner as other friends and neighbors wandered to the table. There were songs and food and wine and stories and everyone ate well from a pot of pasta that Anna had sworn was only supposed to be enough for our little family. We called it the miracle of the pasta.

This weekend’s magic soup was perhaps not quite so dramatic, but nevertheless we were visited by lots of friends over the chilly rainy weekend and the soup pot was somehow never exhausted.

The Magic Trick

2011-09-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

As Summer packs her bags and Autumn steps off the train with an armload of gifts, the Hatke House plays host to specimens of every kind. We've been visited by turtles and toads, birds and snakes. We've catalogued fungi (it's been an amazing year for mushrooms) and pulled those goosenecked gourds from our garden. Anna and Angelica have been working through a very intensive nature/biology course and there is a large wooden Specimen Crate that houses, among other things, a collection of well over a dozen birds nests.

As for me, I'm starting to feel that oncoming special sort of creativity that comes with the fall and, though the air is cooler, I still feel like I'm waiting for that first whiff of autumn's scent.

Maybe today will be the day?

Hop Into Hummus?

2011-09-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

Books on Every Side

2011-09-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my friend Bill and I drove to the Baltimore Book Festival. I had an afternoon presentation and signing at the children’s book stage, but Bill and I got on the road early and made a day of it.

I’m glad we did.

As an event the Baltimore Book festival gets an A+. They convert the grass and cobbled walkways of one of Baltimore’s beautiful city park into a collection of winding, tent, lined avenues. There’s music, a wide variety of author presentations, and that special kind of festival food that is sooo good and sooo bad for you And of course books, books, books. The children’s book stage/pavillion is fittingly built around a massive statue of a lion that could be Aslan himself. If you like festivals and books I’d recommend this event.

In other news, my daughter, Angelica, continues to chip away at my position as Head Illustrator in the Hatke House. The old wolf’s days are numbered... Here’s her latest:

It's Not Easy Being Three

2011-09-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday one of our finches escaped.

Nursery Rhyme Comics

2011-09-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

Last year something fun happened. 50 comics creators were given two pages a piece and a classic nursery rhyme to interpret into comics form. The results were gathered together and published in a book called Nursery Rhyme Comics which will be released by First Second next month.

I had the good fortune of being asked to participate and I was given the rhyme Pussycat Pussycat Where Have You Been? At the time we had two rambunctious kittens (one of them has since disappeared, the other gone to live with a family down the road) and they became the main characters of my pages.

Nursery Rhyme Comics is a great all-ages read aloud book and it’s already getting some very nice advance reviews. Here’s a good one from Geek Mom:

Nursery Rhyme Comics Knocks My Socks Off

I’ll be at Politics and Prose on October 21st (at 7pm -more information HERE) alongside Richard Thomson to talk about the book. If you’re in the DC area please come. P&P is an excellent bookstore.

Vile Richard!

2011-09-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

This comic isn’t exactly true to life. I really am enjoying Bridget Jones’s Diary, but I’m not really hiding it behind a copy of Sword Warrior Magazine. Mostly because sweet, sweet SWM doesn't exist. But if there were such a thing as Sword Warrior Magazine, I’d totally for sure have a subscription. I’d fill out all the manly battle quizzes too.

I'm thinking about doing a journal comic about the humongous fines I racked up at the library, but some things are just more painful than funny. Also trying to get back into the swing of Journal comics. Hopefully this is the first of SEVERAL.

Turtles and Hobos

2011-09-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

Here I am on a damp and cloudy Monday morning, wondering what kind of week this will be. My mini-vacation is all over and now it’s back to the drawing board...

Yesterday Anna and Angelica disappeared early in the morning to go mushroom hunting. They came back home with a small bag of puffballs, which was nice, but the real surprise was a box turtle that Anna found among the bracken. He stayed with us for the day and in the afternoon the girls and I sat and sketched him. We also drew pictures of Ronia, who has become quite a crawler.

This Saturday (the 24th) I will be at the Baltimore Book Festival. I’ll be speaking at the Children’s Bookstore Stage at 3:30(click the link for more information). If you’re in the area come on by and say hello. Or if hello is too prosaic, then come on by and say some word you made up.

Finally, please excuse the dust around the ol’ blog as I rearrange things a bit.

Zita 2: The Finish Line

2011-09-15T14:34:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday afternoon I loaded all the files for Zita 2 onto a little thumb drive, stuck the thumb drive in an envelope and, with the help of the good people at UPS, I sent the little thing off to the Flatiron building in New York.

Then I think I smiled a lot.

This book took far longer and was a far greater challenge than I had ever expected it to be. Everyone involved was very patient with me as I worked and reworked the story for months on end. Anna, of course, was the most patient of all. It was pretty intense there at the end, as the deadline loomed and I juggled freelance projects and the herculean task of coloring well over two hundred pages of comic. During the last couple days I couldn’t even put my contact lenses in. I’ve never felt so relieved to have a project wrapped up!

On Wednesday I did something almost unheard of for me: I took a day to just relax. It was a sunny day, so in the morning I had Anna drop me off in Strasburg, which is the town just up the road, and I walked the five miles back home along the railroad tracks (a long walk counts as relaxing if you’ve spent weeks hunched over a Wacom Tablet), my old satchel full of cheap snacks I had picked up at the Dollar Store. The snacks were for my D&D friends. At one point the tracks turned into a bridge crossing the river. I chickened out in crossing the bridge, and instead forded the river, which turned out to be just as fun, if a lot wetter. It was a beautiful day.

I also made a trip to the library and today I’ve been catching up on my reading, recharging my creative batteries, and already I can feel the glimmer of excitement for upcoming projects.

So stay tuned! I’ve been meaning to kick things up a notch around the ol’ blog and I have plenty of art and news, bonus book projects and other fun things to post over the next couple of weeks.

Here's a little image from the book:

De Colores

2011-08-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

Coloring like the house is on fire.

This might be the first non-conceptual image from Zita 2...

Edit: Wait, is the expression "coloring like the house is on fire" or is is "Coloring like a house on fire"? They both seem to conjure up some pretty potent, albeit slightly different, imagery. I like them equally.

Like a Hermit in His Little Cave

2011-08-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hey friends. I will be taking a little hiatus from blogging as I work on finishing Zita 2. But in about six weeks I'll be back with a VENGEANCE. In the meantime here is a picture of Patrick's Point State Park in California.

Ergh.

2011-08-11T22:17:00.001-07:00

Oh my poor blog. I will update you soon.
Working furiously on Zita 2.

What's a Molti?

2011-07-28T06:22:00.001-07:00

Here's an odd little snippet I found in my sketchbook:

I drew it months ago on a train and then mostly forgot about it. There are a few scenes in Zita2 that have walls in the background with posters and notices pasted all over. I'm getting even more into the idea of hiding little surprises and references in the details this time around. I added the Molti in as one of the posters.

Also, here's a bonus! A picture of my daughters watching the old Hanna Barbera version of Charlotte's Web.

(photo credit goes to Annie Schap).

Parable

2011-07-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

Wow. sorry about the lack of blogging lately. I have embarked on the massive job of coloring Zita the Spacegirl book 2. I’ve been spending a lot of time on each page, bringing the coloring up a notch or two over the last book, but between that and the freelance work I’ve become a bit of a zombie. Nevertheless, there are a couple of things I wanted to share.

Last week I opened my mailbox and found a book that I worked on years ago that has finally, just recently, found its way into print. The book is called Parable. It’s a funny and widely varied collection of comics with a Christian theme (many of them, as you might expect, retelling of Christ’s parables). The collection was compiled by Mike Maihack and features art and stories by 21 different artists and writers. My story was about Simeon the Stylite, an ascetic monk who lived for nearly 40 years on top of a pillar. As I said, it’s been a few years since I drew this and it’s nice to finally see it in print. The book is published by Lamppost and you can order a copy here.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that some friends of mine are independent filmmakers. And they don’t make stuffy, depressing, faux-hip “indie” films, either! Their work tends to be a nice mixture of big ideas and snappy dialogue. They’re good at what they do. They have talent and energy. Right now they’re trying to raise funds to start filming a new online comedy miniseries called “Fruitcake.” To do this they’re using an internet fundraising tool called Kickstarter. Have a look at their kickstarter video. And if you aren’t already familiar with Kickstarter, poke around. It’s kind of a fascinating idea.

Take Flight

2011-07-23T08:03:00.001-07:00

What's This?

2011-07-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

A SECOND blog post in the same morning? I wanted to post this guy before he went downstairs to be colored by the Hatke Girls. He's just a little background character from ZITA 2 and he's in all of maybe 3 panels. But he loses an arm and that arm plays a small but significant part in the story...

A Mixed Weekend

2011-07-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

I was a little off this weekend. I had intended to write today about our fun family trip to the flea market -and it was a fun Saturday, selling all our extra gipsy knickknacks and a few useful things like back pack carriers. I also sold several copies of my books, which was nice. We even went out afterwards and filled up on hamburgers and french fries at Spelunkers. The Flea market is full of odd and interesting characters. One guy bought a few of our interestingly shaped bottles. He told me he was an alchemist. Our table was also visited by a beautiful parrot.

But the weekend ended on a sour note last night. I was tired, but I wandered down to the neighbor’s house, just to say hello. They had a sickly black lamb. It was light and weak and you could feel its little ribs. It was a beautiful jet black color. They were pretty sure it wasn’t going to make it, but there was a bottle nearby with maybe a shot glass full of milk left in it. I thought “why not?” and I squeezed a little milk into the lambs mouth and felt him swallow it. I was encouraged. Maybe I could save this lamb! They mixed me up a more full bottle of “Lamb-Saver” and I tried to feed it some more. Squeezing the milk into it’s mouth bit by bit. For a couple minutes everything seemed to be going okay, but then I felt the lamb go limp and the milk was coming out of his mouth instead of going in. Somehow I had killed it. Probably by not paying close enough attention to whether it was swallowing the milk or not. It was sudden and sad and more than a little embarrassing because, after all, it was not my lamb. It was like going to someone’s house and killing their pet.

Sure, the lamb had been rejected by its mother and was probably had only a tiny chance of surviving. But it’s still pretty miserable to kill a creature you’re trying to save by squirting too much milk into its mouth.

---

On an unrelated note, I came back from New Orleans last week with several extra copies of both Zita the Spacegirl and Tales from the Bohemian Highway. I imagine most of my regular guests on this blog have already picked up a copy of one or both of the books, but they're here in the shop if you're interested.

The Natural World (Is it Gross?)

2011-07-06T06:08:00.001-07:00

While I was away last weekend my daughter, Angelica, found a duck skull in the muck near a pond. I called home several times during my trip and every time I got updates and reiterations from Angelica about how incredibly awesome this duck skull was. I could tell it was a Big Deal.

So when I got back home we took a little time to make drawings of the skull and talk about the things we could learn about ducks from looking at it. We looked at some of Leonardo DaVinci’s notebooks and the anatomical sketches he did. DaVinci is a great example of how beautiful cataloguing and journaling can be.

ALA, as I mentioned, was a bit of a whirlwind. The best part, though, was getting to hang out a bit with other artists. On the last day I was able to move my table so that I was happily sandwiched between some of my favorite folk. I had Dave and Raina on one side and Ryan Sias on the other. Meeting Ryan, a fellow Flight artist, was excellent because we had emailed and message-boarded before but never met in person. He’s doing some fine picture books. Also nearby was Dern, who is responsible for this cool “Bigger on the Inside Timeline” poster.

And now it’s busy time here in my little studio room. Summer hours slip by as I hunch over the drawing board trying to meet deadlines. But there is still time for quick visits to the creek and we’ve discovered the wonder of grilling vegetables. Viva Summer!

Exhausted yet Rejuvenated

2011-06-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-09T05:57:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-06-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-02T18:40:00.001-07:00

Summer has Returned

2011-06-01T05:33:00.000-07:00

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).

The Dream

2011-05-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

There’s a dream I have, something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now, and if you’ve seen the illustration above you probably already have a pretty good idea of what it is.

I want to buy a small school bus and convert it into a beautiful house on wheels. It would be a sort of Howl's Moving Castle of the American roadways. I want to pack it full of books and art and juggling equipment. I want to pack it full of Hatke Girls. And then I want to drive to festivals and libraries and bookstores around the country selling art and books, meeting people, and putting on little shows. I try not to idealize it. I know it wouldn’t always be fun. I know a short bus is an awfully small space for a family of six (though it’s got to be better than a minivan). But it would probably, more often than not, be an interesting experience. Plus, the girls might see how big this land really is.

The more time passes the stronger the idea grows.

Picking Up Chicks

2011-05-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

So for the past couple of weeks we’ve had only two lonely hens pecking about the yard. They won’t be lonely for much longer. Yesterday a batch of newly.hatched chicks arrived and now, of course, the Hatke house is buzzing with Chick Mania.

And you gotta admit they are cute.

IN OTHER NEWS: I will be traveling to New Orleans at the end of June for the American Library Association Conference where I will be giving some talks, presentations and interviews. I’ll also have a little booth with art and books. More information about my involvement can be found here and here.

PS: Starting with the sketch of the chicks above, I'm going to be putting little drawings and sketches up on EBAY in hopes of starting a little Spelunkers Fund for the Hatke girls this summer. You can find the Chicks here and the Girls on the Porch sketch here. If you have seen a piece on this blog that you're interested in, drop me a note in the comments or email me: ben (at) hatke (dot) com.

A Glimpse of Future Days

2011-05-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we packed the Hatke Girls into the battered old minivan and headed down the road to Strasburg for the Mayfest celebration. Strasburg is the closest town to us and it’s a beautiful small town that I’ve really come to appreciate. As we turned down little neighborhood streets looking for a place to park we passed a bungalow-style house and Anna said she saw a girl playing a mandolin. A Mandolin!

I’m interested in Mandolins.

We did find a parking spot several streets later and Anna immediately made her way toward the pony rides with Angelica, Zita and Julia. I put little Ronia in the sling and told them I’d catch up in a bit. I wanted to check out this mandolin. So I walked back to the bungalow house and its porch full of young folk and at first I was disappointed. The girl was there, but she wasn’t playing a mandolin. She was strumming a ukulele. Still cool, don't get me wrong, just not mandolin-cool. I thought about just casually walking past but something still made me stop and say hello (it’s easy to talk to new people if you’re holding a baby). The girl was happy to let me try out the ukulele -and to tell me all about how you can find them for cheap on Amazon. She was maybe sixteen, and she had a porch full of sisters (and a friend) and all of them were bright eyed and well spoken. They seemed to have a great life in the little bungalow house and, following another impulse, I asked them if they were homeschooled. Yes they were.

And I suddenly had a thought that I was getting a glimpse of my own future -or the future of my girls anyway. I don’t mind admitting that we’re in a difficult stage these days with three young girls and a baby and household finances stretched tight because dad is an artist. It was comforting to think that one day I might look out a sunny window on a porch full of happy daughters surrounded by their friends. Of course in my version one of them would be strumming a mandolin.

Silver Screen Dreams

2011-05-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

So in the comments super-artist Anthony Van Arsdale asked how I would imagine Zita the Spacegirl as a film. I can’t possibly pretend that I haven’t thought about it (yes quite a bit). I’ve thought about the music (which is a particular bit that you can’t do in comics) and the character design and which parts might be expanded. I’ve also thought about how I would splurge on popcorn and snacks on opening night! I’d definitely get a couple boxes of Dots even though they stick to your teeth somethin’ horrible.

Sigh... maybe someday...

Anyway, the honest answer is that my first choice would actually be live action! A dream come true would be to see the Jim Henson Creature Shop bring the world of Zita the Spacegirl to life. I love traditional effects and I love, love, LOVE puppetry! It would be so cool to see Piper’s ship built as a set. For now it’s all just a dream, but somehow, someday maybe I’ll be able to tour the Creature Shop with my girls. Talk about a homeschooling adventure!

I guess animation would be my second choice and computer animation would be a very distant third.

IN OTHER NEWS
I have SIX copies of Tales from the Bohemian Highway left over from my recent travels. I am putting them up for sale online (click here or on the link on the sidebar).

They are $16 and each copy comes with an original SKETCH on the title page.

Also I recently created a logo for our lovely midwives. Take a look:

And if you visit the Ten Moons Midwifery page you might even find a picture of Anna.

Happy Tuesday.

Those Yellowy Bits

2011-05-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

In the comments Gaelen asks:

"How do you do the yellowy bits in your sketchbook drawings? Marker? Watercolour?"

Well Gaelen, I've mentioned this post before, from the awesome art blog Lines and Colors, but it's worth reposting as it highlights a great set of sketching tools. The post is called My Pocket Rembrandt. Check it out!

Idea Books

2011-05-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Last months visit to the Smithtown Library was a treat in many ways. But one unexpected bonus was that the kind librarians not only gave me a pizza dinner, but sent me away with a little gift bag containing, among other things, a nice new sketchbook.

As you can imagine, I burn through sketchbooks pretty fast and I had been needing a new one. Sketchbooks for me are more like “idea books.” I scribble and draw all my mad little visions with little regard to whether the ideas are GREAT or just lousy. And scattered throughout, of course, are creatures and characters. This is what makes them fun to look back through. It’s not unlike looking back through my college notebooks -except that the drawings are better.

Here, then, are a few doodles from my current Idea Book:

Back home, but...

2011-05-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well, that Hatkes are back in VA. Sadly, while we were away all but one of our chickens disappeared into the belly of a fox or perhaps a coyote. It's very sad news, especially for Angelica who had named every on. Ah Blue Nail, Hawk, Eggy Hider and Cecci I will miss you (and all you hens who's names i forget). I also came back with a nasty flu which I am still recovering from. Bleh.

Here's a link to an MTV Geek interview I did at Mocca a couple weeks ago.

More Travels

2011-04-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hello my Bloggy Friends.

My apologies for the long silence. I'm currently visiting my family in Lafayette, Indiana and drawing comics on the very same desk on which I failed all my algebra homework.

Here-s an update for anyone in the Chicago area: I will be talking and signing books tomorrow evening at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL at 7pm. Come by and say hello!

The Rambles of Spring

2011-03-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is my schedule for MoCCA weekend in New york:

Friday, April 8th: Suffolk County Library Opening -Nesconset Branch (Smithtown NY).

Saturday, April 9th: WORD Bookstore, Brooklyn, 1pm, then the New York Public Library (Children’s Room) at 4:30 pm.

Sunday: MoCCA Comics Festival, book signing at the First Second table 12 noon.

Come and say hello!

And, since I like to add at least a little bit of art to every post, here is a little illustration that was once upon a time going to be a t-shirt design:

A Metaphor for Life

2011-03-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Juggling with children underfoot (or in a backpack carrier) is a metaphor for life. Just replace "juggling clubs" with "responsibilities" and there you have it.

Juggling with Kids from Ben Hatke on Vimeo.

I took this little video with my laptop up at the campo above Gravagna. I left that set of clubs in Italy. They were good clubs and I miss them. I've found that not all juggling clubs are created equal.

So that New York schedule I keep mentioning? I'll post it tomorrow. Promise.

Character Design

2011-03-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hi there friends.

For years now, at bedtime and in between picture books and chapter books, I have been telling the girls stories about a pair of mice that follow and protect a little family through its many journeys. The first mouse I made up in the space of a moment never expecting to tell more than one tale about him. I say “made up” though he is really a shameless rip-off of a well-known mouse from beyond the wardrobe -right down to the name: Cheepa-cheep (really, I think you’re allowed to plagiarize in the privacy of your home when you just want a three-year-old to please, please, please fall to sleep). He wears a sword at his side and a feather in his ear. He loves adventure, but is a bit more of a rapscallion than his Narnian cousin. Cheepa-cheep soon acquired a companion in the form of a small, bespectacled mouse named Chirpa-chirp, who carries a nearly bottomless sack of books wherever he goes. Sort of the literary rodent’s version of wikepedia. They ride on geese, have frequent trouble with gnomes, and more often than not their adventures are about saving the little family from unsuspected dangers.

I’ve never drawn a picture of them. But the other day I found these (drawn by Angelica):

This was thrilling to me because I’ve never been on this side of the fence before. I’ve never had the experience of describing a character or idea and having someone else draw it. I’ve given that experience to others but never thought of what it would be like for them. I love the little details that weren’t mine -the sandals, the pouches on Cheepa-cheep’s belt. And of course the feather, which I had imagined as small but works so well as a battle standard.

NEXT WEEK: I will finally get down to posting my upcoming travels, signings and comics workshops. New York is on the horizon...

Pot o' Comic Gold

2011-03-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and/or casual readers! And a happy St. Paddy’s day to you! Here is a little comic I scribbled up and an update below...

UPDATE: Looks like I'm not the only one to make a comic with this gag...

Ha ha! Pinching! Ha! Okay. So I’ve done a couple of interviews lately and I wanted to share them with you today. Both of these cropped up on the internet just this week:

-The first is an interview for the fantastic blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. If you haven’t visited Seven Imp before, now is the perfect time. The blog’s author, Jules, has just started writing for Kirkus Reviews.

-The next interview is for the BookPage blog. You may remember that I recently did this illustrated questionnaire for them. The interview is a nice follow up and features my own daughter, Zita, who is turning six this week (Five! oh Five where did you go?). Also, and here’s the important bit, they are giving away three copies of Zita the Spacegirl. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment in the comments section answering the question “Who was your childhood hero?” (I am probably not going to enter).

-Finally, here is a nice review of the book by the super cool Dr. Katie Monnin who Anna and I had the pleasure of meeting last fall before the New York City Comic Con. She uses comics in the classroom as reading and literacy tools and this review even includes a lesson plan. For real!

On my table now:

Zita Fan Art

2011-03-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

I wanted to pop in today to share this fantastic bit of Zita fan art I found the other day:

The above was drawn by artist Mark Lewis and it’s a fun take on the idea of “world hopping.”

I always really enjoyed seeing other people’s take on the character and I’m interested to see if more fan art will start cropping up. Zita used to get a fair amount of fan art back in the old webcomics days, like this piece from my ol' palMike Maihack:

...and this one from Mario Boon

Will more fan art start cropping up now that the book is out in the wide world? I hope so. If it does I’ll try to post it here from time to time...

Four Daughters

2011-02-27T09:22:00.001-08:00

Hello my Blog Friends.

I’ve already mentioned this on the vast ~~Tomb~~ Tome of Visages, and it’s on Anna’s blog as well, but just for posterity I wanted to post here the picture of the newest member of the Hatke Pack, Ronia Francesca:

(Also I’m just a wee bit proud of the composition of this picture, though I’m nothing approaching a skilled photographer). This brings the Hatke Pack up to four daughters. I’m overrun! Outnumbered! Outclassed and outmatched! What will I do?

I don't know. Probably I'll have more fun.

In the meantime, here’s a link to a fun thing I did recently. It was for a newsletter called BookPage and instead of an interview they sent me a list of questions and asked me to draw and handwrite the answers. It was a fun idea and yet another chance for me to fill up a page with little robots and creatures.

And now, I’m off to clean the house, care for all my girls, and start repairing our chicken coop which was damaged in last weeks high winds.

Two Little Gems

2011-02-23T05:43:00.001-08:00

First this illustration from The Ballad of the White Horse:

"One dim ancestral jewel hung
On his ruined armour grey
He rent it and cast it at her feet
Where, after centuries, with slow feet,
Men came from hall and school and street
And found it where it lay."

the second little “gem” is this animated adaptation of Shaun Tan’s “The Lost Thing.” It’s beautifully done, sad and lovely and well worth a watch. Take a look. (and thanks Dan for passing it along!)

Finally here’s a link to a recent interview I did for The Graphic Novel Reporter. It’s not long, but I do mention Elfquest and Tin Whistles and how I keep getting in trouble at museums.

Huzzah for Independant Bookstores!

2011-02-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the Hatke Family went to Politics and Prose where I had my very first book signing. (Anna did a nice little write-up about it on her blog).

I’ve heard that Politics and Prose is one of the best bookstores in the country and after my visit there I believe it. The truth is, though, that even though I’ve been talking to and entertaining kids for years I was still terribly nervous beforehand. And my heart sank when I saw them setting up a projector and I realized that I hadn’t thought to bring my computer (you can project graphic novel pages up on a screen and do a pretty cool live reading). One of the reasons I was nervous is that the week before I had been listening to author interviews on the Barnes and Noble website and all the authors seemed to have a horror story about their first signing.

But we set up a big drawing pad and the moment I was up in front of the kids (a wonderfully modest-sized group), talking and drawing, I felt great and everything went splendidly. Another cartoonist, David Hagen, even happened by chance to wander in and stayed for my talk about the "Three Secrets of Comics."

Afterward we had a little Hatke Family Homeschool Field Trip to the National portrait gallery. Definitely an artistic gem in Washington DC.

Oh, and tomorrow I will be signing at the Main Street Book Company in Front Royal from 1pm to 3pm.

Also, I made a comic about the day (you can click the images for a larger version):

Enjoy the weekend!

Two Helpings of Grateful

2011-02-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday my Bloggy Friends!

I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has blogged, reposted, facebooked, tweeted, used the arcane practice of speaking, or otherwise spread the word about my little Graphic Novel these past few weeks. Really it makes such a difference and I thank you all.

Word-of-mouth seems to be an intensely important ingredient in a books journey into the hands of readers. When someone spreads the word about a book they like, especially a little-known book from a relatively unknown author, it increases the likelihood that more books like it will appear in the world.

Here are links to just a couple blog reviews that I found lately:

-From a ten-year-old named ben who blogs about books.

-from a blog called Charlottes Library.

-From Wired.com's Geek Dad blog.

And now, the Travels: I will be doing a local signing at Main Street Books in Front Royal next Saturday, February 19th. And on Thursday the 17th, from 10am to 1pm I will be talking comics and signing at Politics and Prose in DC. I'll be doing more in April, and I'll try to post those dates soon.

The Craziest Story

2011-02-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

Going through old files today I came upon this old story. It's one of the silliest things i've ever written. Maybe you'll like it!

Dragon and Muffin Roast a Turkey

Dragon and Muffin were preparing for dinner.

Dragon rinsed the turkey and rubbed it with salt and spices.

"The flesh of this turkey will be savory and delicious," said Dragon.

"Like me!" said muffin.

Next dragon got a big bowl from his cupboard and began mixing the ingredients for stuffing. He cut up oranges, lemons, apples and onions and put them in the bowl. He added cranberries and raisins to the bowl. He also threw in a dash of cloves.

"this stuffing will not stick together" said dragon. "It is missing something."

Dragon thought hard.

Muffin thought hard too.

"Breadcrumbs!" said Dragon.

"Yes!" Said Muffin. (breadcrumbs was what he was going to say).

Dragon looked in the bread box, but it was empty. He looked in the cupboard too, but he didn't find any breadcrumbs. "this stuffing will not be savory or delicious without breadcrumbs," said dragon, and he shed a tear.

Muffin wanted to be helpful. "I am made of breadcrumbs," he said.

Dragon mixed his friend into the bowl and it gave the stuffing a wonderful consistency. He roasted the turkey until the delightful small of it filled his kitchen and then he sat down for a quiet dinner.

As he ate he remembered good times with his friends.

More Ballad

2011-02-05T06:44:00.000-08:00

Hey Bloggerinos! Here is another picture from Chesterton’s Ballad of the White Horse. This is from the very beginning of book three, The Harp of Alfred (click the image for slightly larger):

And here’s a detail:

Also this week I noticed that someone had found and blogged about some years-old images I did for a folk/fairy tale called Cap O’ Rushes. Oh the things that lurk on the internet... This little picture book project never quite got off the ground but it sure would have been fun...

Finally, here’s a link to a short interview I did for Kirkus. It was a phone interview, so I sound... hmm.

Happy Weekending!

Book Brahmin? Yes Please.

2011-02-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

Release day was very nice! A quiet affair with my lovely little girls and Anna made cupcakes because, you know, any excuse for cupcakes...

I'm really just popping in today to note that I answered some author-questions in comics form for the online publishing newsletter called Shelf Awareness. The comic even gave me an excuse to draw myself giving high fives to some of my favorite authors! (image above, left to right: me, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and Neil Gaiman).

You can see the whole thing here.

Little Song and Dance Number

2011-02-01T06:05:00.000-08:00

Lyrics by Julia, sung roughly to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot."

Oh, and today is the day that Zita the Spacegirl is officially released. Hooray! I wrote this funny little article for the Macmillan blog about making comics while surrounded on all sides by your kids. You can read it here.

Happy Tuesday!

The White Horse

2011-01-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

Just popping in with an illustration before I fall into a snowdrift (or is that big, white hillock just a pile of comics pages?).

This is an unused illustration for the Ballad of the White Horse, by G.K. Chesterton. It shows Alfred watching the Danes arrive in England.

Click to make big.

Also, artist Daniel Mitsu posted a pretty amazing drawing on vellum over on the SmallPax blog. Be sure to take a look at the amazing detail.

Another Giveaway

2011-01-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

Hey. Just popping in to note that Goodreads is giving away 15 or so copies of Zita the Spacegirl. Click here for more information.

We Feel Like That Sometimes

2011-01-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

So, so busy! And in the midst of the chaos I decided to sketch out this little picture because sometimes this is how I feel:

(click for a more readable size)

And yes, 8 month into a pregnancy and Anna can still totally high-kick sky trolls.

...oh, and here's a little something: did you know they are rebooting the spiderman movies? There's a picture of the new spiderman suit over at Project Rooftop. Go have a look, it's GREAT! And it looks like we're back to mechanical webshooters, which means something to this geek.

The Proud Fox

2011-01-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a grand start to the new year! I am crazy-busy with comics, comics and more comics! It is now less than a month until Zita the Spacegirl arrives in stores. When I think about it I am nervous! ...So mostly I don’t think about it.

A few early copies of Zita went out over Christmas. A very cool highschool student named Gaelen wrote a little review. Gaelen is also pretty skilled with the legos.

Spring Rambles: I’ll be doing some traveling this spring and speaking at bookstores and libraries. Most of these engagements will be in April and May, but there is an early one coming up -I’ll be visiting Politics and Prose in Washington DC on February 17th at 10:30 am. If you’re in the area please feel free to stop by! I’ll post more about this and the other places I will be soon.

Finally, I don’t have a lot of new art to share at the moment so I’m going to once again post a bit of Angelica’s recent work. This is a tiny drawing of a proud fox that I found on the refrigerator.

I love how he is wearing a polo shirt with the collar up! How jaunty!

A Watercolor Christmas (with Dragons)

2010-12-27T06:42:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas day! We made many of our gifts this year with Anna taking first prize for her three impressive Waldorf Dolls:

Angelica sewed little felt Green Eggs and Ham for Zita to play with (no picture available!) and I came in a distant 3rd by having one of my watercolor pictures framed for Anna (I also gave her the first two volumes of Scott Pilgrim to sweeten the deal). Here’s the framed picture:

I also had the opportunity to do a commissioned piece similar to the one above -three girls reading. This was part of my Christmas rush. That finished piece looked something like this:

and I have to say it looked pretty nice all framed up. It can be downright striking what a good matte and frame can do for a watercolor.

Finally, I have an end-of-the-year book recommendation! I’m currently in the middle of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. The basic idea is “Horatio Hornblower ...with dragons!” During the Napoleonic wars a British naval captain is unexpectedly forced to join the Aerial Corps and become the handler of a rare and powerful dragon. The books are fast reads. I’ve just finished the third installment and they have been getting stronger as the series progresses. If you like historical fantasy give them a try!

NEWER CONTEST WINNERS!

2010-12-20T06:37:00.001-08:00

Here's something I never expected: I haven't heard a peep from the original winners, "LAUREN" and "KAREN" so I have had to resort to drawing new winners after all. Everyone paying attention this time? ...well, here's hoping. And the new winners are....

MAGGIE

and

DON!

Send an email my way, friends! --->ben(at)hatke(dot)com.

Contest Winners!

2010-12-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

Hello again internet! A HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in the Great ZtSGJGC, and especially those that took the time to spread the word. As of this posting the contest is now officially CLOSED. I’ve taken a page from the Jake Parker Playbook and generated the winning names using the website Random.org, which purports to generate TRUE RANDOMNESS. Think about that for a moment... true randomness....

Aaaannnnd we HAVE WINNERS!

Second prize (a paperback copy of ZSG and an ink drawing) goes to:

LAUREN

First Prize (Hardcover Zita and a ZSG watercolor) goes to:

KAREN

Winners, please contact me at your earliest convenience. Email ben (at) hatke.com and send me your mailing address. IF YOU CONTACT ME BEFORE NOON TODAY I’LL BE ABLE TO SEND THE PACKAGES OUT THIS VERY AFTERNOON!

Thanks again, friends!

The Great Zita the Spacegirl Jolly Giveaway Contest!

2010-12-08T06:19:00.001-08:00

Hello Internet! My chilly little studio office looks like the exploded innards of a UPS truck -all packing tape, manilla envelopes and cardboard boxes. Many of you should have received your books by now. This little project was a good experience for me. I learned things. Things like “brownies and milk aren’t so great after licking a dozen manilla envelopes.”

But if you read the title of this post then you aren’t here to listen to me yammer on about licking envelopes! You want to know about the CONTEST. Here’s how it works:

The winner will receive a signed hardcover copy of Zita the Spacegirl along with a little tiny original watercolor tucked in side the front cover:

To Enter all you have to do is leave a comment in this post! Simple, right?

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL...

Do you want to increase your odds of winning? Then help me spread the word about Zita the Spacegirl! Posting about the comics somewhere, mentioning zitaspacegirl.com on twitter or facebook or another blog -that is worth TWO extra entries (three is the maximum). Of course you do run the risk of bringing more people into the contest ...but therein lies the fun!

The contest will close ONE WEEK FROM TODAY and entries will be put into a randomizer. I’ll then post the name of the winner who will have 48 hours to send me his or her address. I’ll do my level best to get the prize out for Christmas.

Okay.... GO!!

EDIT: Contest Update: Guess what finally arrived today? My paperback comp copies! So folks, we now have a SECOND PRIZE -namely a paperback copy of Zita the Spacegirl that comes with a tiny little piece of concept art. Take a look:

PS: this is an super-good animated short via Lines and Colors. Definitely worth watching!

Gotta Have Faith

2010-12-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! If all goes according to plan the Hatke Family Adventure books will be sent out TOMORROW and I have to say that the little 3X3 watercolors all turned out really well. It’s all turtles and wizards and hearts and stars and a few other random creatures. Here’s a picture:

So I’m going to get back to packing up these books now. In the meantime I want to draw (heh heh) your attention to the work of Faith Erin Hicks. Faith is a lovely Canadian comics artist who I got to meet at First Second this year. I am really enjoying her new webcomic, The Adventures of Superhero Girl. I've always been a fan of The Tick's mundane sidekick, Arthur, so the humor in Superhero Girl is totally my cup of tea.

Oh, and I actually have ~~2 more copies~~ of Tales from the Bohemian Highway! I may do another batch of these special editions someday but for now this is it!

Post Thanksgiving Post

2010-11-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hi there blog readers! I hope y’all had a real nice Thanksgivin’. I know I did.

A couple of my pieces appeared in Gilbert Magazine’s recent Art Issue, alongside the works of several other cool artists. My two comp copies came in the mail just in time for me to send one home with my parents (who were visiting us for thanksgiving weekend). Here are a couple pictures -check out the great cover piece by Anthony Van Arsdale:

And here’s my little page:

By the way, thanks to everyone who purchased a copy of Hatke Family Adventures! I’m still waiting on my shipment to arrive, but once it does I’ll be sending those along ASAP.

Now ...back to making comics.

Creatures Galore

2010-11-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who bought a book so far! I'll probably be closing down the "deluxe" version by Friday so if you're still interested in nabbing a signed and arted-up copy now is the time for ACTION!

Here are two short videos that are worth watching:

Out of Sight, a lovely animated short from Taiwan (found via Lines and Colors).

OK Go, This Too Shall Pass, a music video featuring one of the coolest Rube Goldburg contraptions I've seen (and I say this as someone who's parents used to bring him to Purdue University's yearly Rube Goldburg Contest).

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-11-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

...for shopping online!

I’ve finally managed to put together a little book that compiles the Jail Comics, art, sketches, and Journal comics from 2008 and 2010. I’m calling the book Hatke Family Adventures Volume 1: Tales from the Bohemian Highway. There are two slightly different purchasing options for this book:

OPTION ONE: “The Basic.” You can buy a copy of the book from Lulu.com for $14.00 by clicking here. This is the speediest option.

OPTION TWO: “The Deluxe.” By clicking here you can purchase a version which will be signed and include an original sketch (of my choosing) as well as a 3X3 inch watercolor (also of my choosing -mostly creatures like these). I’m offering no more than 25 of the deluxe version, so order sooner rather than later! This option will take longer since it has to ship twice.

Please keep in mind that this is the first time I’ve really tried to sell anything online so ...let’s just collectively hope that nothing catches on fire, okay? Here are a few more pictures from the little book:

Oh, and if you're looking to buy something online that tastes better than a book: We have this friend named Maggie. The Jams she sells in her Etsy shop are crazy-delicious!

(The Bohemian Highway, incidentally, is a stretch of road near where Anna grew up. I sort of became enamored with the moniker)

Another Guest Post

2010-11-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

I don't have a lot of extra-curricular art to show this week, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to post another illustration by our resident nature artist Angelica Rose Hatke. Below is a cutaway of a Happy Henhouse during laying time:

(click for larger version)

One of my goals for the week is to set up a House Hatke Etsy Shop which will feature various artistic bits and bobs from everyone here. It will include, finally, the Jail Comic in book form. Stay tuned!

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

2010-11-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! Exciting news today: the Zita the Spacegirl book trailer is up online! You can see it here:

Or you can see it on the Zita Website if you're so inclined. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Great thanks go to my friend Colin. Colin is an awesome and talented guy and among his many creative projects he and his friends make movies. You should check them out. Thanks again Colin!

And as usual thanks to Bill. This time for helping me with get the thing properly embedded on the website.

D&D Jailbird Blues Part Eighteen: Happy Endings

2010-10-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is it. The last Jail Comic. I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed telling it! Fair warning: I'll be collecting these comics, along with sketches, drawings and other journal-style comics into a little book which will be available right here. More news on that very soon. And now, without further loquacity from me, the final installment.

(It's rather long so I've put it after the jump. Just click the image, or below to see.)

So my pre-trial was an interesting experience. Several friends really did come out to support me. I got there early and the party started late, so we spent about an hour watching the underprivileged get the raw end of the justice system. We also saw a well-to-do lad with a family lawyer slip out of a DUI charge. (friends who were there, correct me if I'm wrong on that one?).

My own "trial" lasted about 30 seconds, as a pile of evidence more or less decided everything ahead of time. I did have a lawyer, but afterward I sure wished I had listened to my instincts and gone ~~Pro Bono~~ pro se.

Maybe next time.

We ended up having to hunt down my drivers license from the arresting officer who had taken it on the night of the arrest and who, I don't know, kept it as a souvenir? (we did have some wacky times). The people at the court told us we would find him at the jail. So we went to the jail and a female officer opened the door a crack and asked what we wanted ("we" being me and Anna and the kids and a bunch of happy friends). We said we wanted to see Officer So-and-So. The lady said "oh he's not here. He's at the courthouse." We told her that the people at the courthouse told us Officer So-and-So was here and that he had my license. She went back to "check" and came back with my license!

Was he back in his office? Did he not want to see me again? Was he afraid he or I would cry because of the memories we shared? I don't know. I'm afraid I'll never know...

The afternoon did end with hamburgers at Spelunkers which was a fitting end to the day somehow.

Box of Books

2010-10-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Also, it looks like Zita the Spacegirl is a staff pick for November's Previews, with a really nice review! For a guy who used to spend a lot of time lurking around comics shops that's pretty cool.

Also Also, that video trailer for the book? It's looking pretty great so far... and it'll be online before long.

Oh My Poor Blog

2010-10-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates! Is anyone still reading?

It's been a busy, busy October, with birthdays, visiting family, a trip to New York, and a college reunion that brought back long-lost friends. Not to mention that I'm now knee deep in thumbnail pages for the second Zita the Spacegirl book. I have very little new art to show at the moment, except for this small drawing of a cat skull:

It seemed like the thing to draw on a sunny Sunday afternoon in October.

D&D Jailbird Blues Part Seventeen: Freedom

2010-10-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh... Freedom never tasted so good as a bag of Doritos after a few hours in the slammer. It turns out I didn't have too much trouble readjusting to life on the outside, though I was a little nervous in open spaces for awhile (I'm kidding).

This was actually a limited freedom, as I was told not to leave the state until after the court date that cleared everything up. One thing I omitted from these comics is that the Magistrate told me I wasn't to travel out of state until after the hearing. He kindly asked me if that would cause me any trouble and I said that I had planned on attending the G.K. Chesterton conference in Maryland.

So he wrote me a permission slip to go to the Chesterton conference!

Well, we have one more of these little episodes to go -a sort of epilogue to the adventure. And then ...who knows?

Stay tuned.

Queueing

2010-09-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

Click the panel above for the latest Short Zita the Spacegirl comic! Enjoy it!

I’ve been all over the artistic map lately, jumping from writing to drawing comics, to painting portraits, to learning guitar and even squeezing in a fire show last weekend. Maybe I should round things out by taking up interpretive dance?

The portrait in the last post, by the way, is the lovely and musically talented Teresa Miller. Teresa was a very patient model -a pleasure to paint and always willing to sit past the point of comfort while I kept finding one or two more little things to change. I do think she fell asleep a couple times though.

I also should have mentioned that this portrait is life size and done more or less with the "sight-size" technique, which you can read about here.

Here’s one more photo of the painting on an easel that gives an idea of the size of the canvas.

Teresa

2010-09-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

Henry's Studio

2010-09-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my tardiness in finishing up the Jailbird Adventures. Somewhere in the last couple of weeks I committed to doing a portrait painting at the studio of my friend Henry Wingate. It has taken up almost all of my bonus time.

Henry’s Studio is one of the finest painting studios I know of. It’s high ceilinged with a massive north-facing window and it has a little loft for frame-making and banging together other wooden artifices. It even has a big stone fireplace. Part gallery by default, dozens of portraits and still life paintings line the walls and, to top it off, the building is situated in some very lovely countryside.

The drawback? It’s an hour’s drive from my house.

I have one more session to go and hopefully I’ll be able to post a picture of the portrait here.

Link: www.henrywingate.com

Sunday Sketches for Monday

2010-09-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

It’s Autumn now, there’s no denying it.

It doesn’t have to be chilly or crisp at the beginning. You know Autumn because there’s a subtle but unmistakable shift in the light. And there’s the smell which is a stronger cue, but a secondary one. Secondary because some trees really do drop their leaves before the pistol goes off (I’m looking at you Catalpa).

On Sunday I took my Five-Year-Old Zita on an Autumn bike ride down a country lane and a tromp over railroad tracks and through a forgotten field to an old stone walled cemetery (complete with creaky wrought-iron gate). We read september poems and shared a crisp apple and spoke the names on the crooked gravestones.

(click for slightly larger version).

D&D Jailbird Blues Part Sixteen: Crook Look

2010-09-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

My little trip to jail is drawing to a close.

However annoying, this misadventure of mine was definitely an instance of lawful imprisonment. Wrongheaded and avoidable, but lawful. There was a crime committed, and there was a warrant issued. The problem was that, for whatever reason, the police ended up coming after one of the victims instead of the actual perpetrator.

But unlawful imprisonment happens too, and if you’re up for some scary stories about that then I refer you to last weeks episode of This American Life, particularly to the second story in that episode in which a New York Beat cop records his superiors giving some very scary (and illegal) orders.

However, if you find yourself interested in something a little more tame this friday, then you should check out Michael Pollan’s fascinating documentary The Botany of Desire, which examines four different plants and how they have “used” humans to spread their domain far and wide.

Finally, check out Chris Mautner’s SPX report! A certain father and daughter comics team are mentioned (and pictured!) at the end.

Happy weekend my friends!