A Few Zitas More, Plus Twitter and Goodreads

Tomorrow afternoon (that is, Wednesday the 5th of November), from 4:00 to 4:30pm, I will be participating in a live twitter chat on behalf of the Miami Book Fair (which I'll be attending, and you can find more information about that RIGHT HERE). The idea is that you can use the hashtag #MBFIBenHatke to ask me questions. And I will try to answer those questions. I've not done this type of thing before, so I'm a tiny bit nervous. I feel like I'm co-hosting a text-only party. Please feel free to come! Bring chips!

On twitter, I am @BenHatke.

And another bit of social media news: I just found out that Julia's House for Lost Creatures is a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards for picture books. If you use goodreads, please consider voting for your favorite picture book (they are all good choices).

And now, here's a few more of my favorite Zita the Spacegirl costumes from Halloween:

This Zita had a screed candy pail!

This little Zita had an impressive Robot One candy collector. Here's a closer look:

A Halloween Post with a Trick and a Treat

Happy Halloween! (oh man, I love Halloween so much).

I'll start with some news about Julia's House for Lost Creatures. This is the "trick."

The first printing of Julia's House has SOLD OUT. This is, overall, really good news. But unfortunately the first print run of the book sold out much more quickly than anyone expected and as a result, here on All Hallow's Eve, finding a copy of the book is a bit of a trick (see? see what I did?).

If you are looking for a copy of Julia's House, perhaps to give to a special someone for "All Hallow's Read", I'd suggest looking at Barnes and Noble. I've heard they still had copies in stock.

...And now some Zita the Spacegirl costumes! (I'm counting this as the treat). I've received so many pictures of kids in Zita costumes this year. Here are a few of my favorites (all pictures posted with permission but, parents and guardians, if you find I've made a mistake or would like a picture taken down let me know):

(These are book blogger Julie Danielson's kids, Ava and Piper. That's right. Piper is dressed as Piper.)

More costumes after the jump...

Home Again and the NYT List

So I'm home from my travels, and The Return of Zita the Spacegirl has, for this week at least, hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. (keep in mind, the list is broken down into sections so Zita is number 1 in "paperback graphic books" and is not competing against, say, 50 Divergent Shades of Game of Thrones. Still, it's not every day that an 11-year-old spacegirl bumps Batman out of her way).

Also, here's a link to a pretty lengthy interview I did in Toronto over a plate of poutine. It's funny to see a transcript of an interview that I did in person, and when I read this I thought "do i really pinball around from subject to subject like that?"

Still, we were eating french fries smothered in brown gravy and cheese curds, so you can't blame me for being a little excited...

Tail End of Touring

A Tired Author checks in:

Yesterday I arrived in New York for the last few stops here at the tail end of my First-Ever-Book-Tour. And, as is my habit when I come to this crazy magical city, the first thing I did was wander up to the Flatiron building to see my friends at First Second. There was something waiting there for me...

It was my first it's-a-real-book copy of Julia's House! I was very happy with how it looked all printed n' bound (like jumping up and down happy). Here's a little peek:

Now I'm sitting in a friends house in Brooklyn, in one of those rare quiet moments, and I'm thinking about how I've never traveled to so many places in so short a time as I have in this passing month of May. 

I'm struggling to come up with something to say that can tie the whole experience together -the bookstores, the libraries, the meals and evening conversations with friends in different cities. The airports, the hotels, the taxis, the subways...  

Maybe it's the idea that the most interesting and romantic parts of our lives also tend to be the most exhausting. After all, "adventures aren't all pony rides in May sunshine."

But I'll be headed home shortly, and I have a shady little farmhouse porch waiting for me:

(image from Anna's Instagram).

Tremendous Trio

A quick check-in:

Last night, thanks to the wonder of Skype, I was able to virtually join a bookstore in Moscow, Idaho for their Zita the Spacegirl costume contest. These three kids, dressed as Mouse, Zita and Strong Strong, made me really happy:

I'm packing now for Chicago, where I will be visiting 57th Street Books and a couple local schools before returning to the East Coast for the Gaithersburg Book Festival. From there I will be flying to Portland Main for MeCAF.

I wish I was better at packing...

The Return of Zita the Spacegirl: Publication Day

This is it! Today is the publication day of The Return of Zita the Spacegirl!

I'm celebrating by being home from Toronto and spending a restful day with my favorite people in all the world. It's a brief pause in my hectic rambles.

The Toronto Comics Art Festival (TCAF) was fantastic. People have been encouraging me to attend the event for years and it definitely lived up to the hype. Lots of great art and friendly artists and little comics gems on every table. But the best part of all, for me, was the friends.

You see, something changed for me at TCAF.

While some of my friends have been selling mini comics at conventions since they were in high school, my journey into comics began on the internet, posting webcomics and sharing advice and critiques on the old Flight message boards. I wasn't going to many conventions. So, for a long time, my comics friends were online friends.

When Zita the Spacegirl was first published in 2010-11, all that began to change. I started going to more conventions and book festivals and library events. And bit by bit my online friends have become my in-the-flesh friends.

And so, on Sunday evening after the show, I arrived back a the hotel lobby to meet what I thought was going to be a smallish group for dinner. What I found instead was a largish group of old friends, and a few new faces, all laughing and talking (and maybe waiting for me because I was late). These were people I had shared dinners and high fives with in a dozen cities. It was like a reunion.

And I thought, hey, I'm not the new guy anymore.

---
Okay enough sap. Here are some pictures (mostly swiped from twitter):

The floor of the Toronto Public Library, crowded with comics (and people):

A live reading with the help of some fans during a joint presentation with my friend Dave Roman.

A young fan:

Poutine during and interview!

Whew! and that's all for now. Hopefully I'll be able to check in again soon.

In Which I Post the Same Information Again, Only Better

Okay, so my very-well-organized friends over at First Second put together a more, shall we say, accurate compendium of book tour information, all in a single image (that you can feel free to repost!). I managed to get at least one date wrong in the last post, so if you're looking to catch up with me this month read the information from this post. It's 300% more correct!

And concurrently with my travels, there is a "blog tour" going on all this month wherein some of my favorite artist, writers and book bloggers post a thing or two about the Zita books. Click the banner below for more about that:

Great big thanks to the good people at Bedrock City Comics Company for bringing me to Houston for Free Comic Book Day! I signed a lot of books, drew a lot of pictures and met many young fans. The event was packed. There was plenty to see there besides me and my books, but I had a steady stream of people at my table right up to the minute I had to rush out for my flight, and that is always an encouraging thing to see.

Thanks also to Christina, Houston's heroic children's librarian, who brought me to this place:

Yes The Hobbit Cafe, where I had Gollum's Precious Fish Tacos. That's not what they were called on the menu, but it's what they are called in my heart. Forever. HssSSss....

Next up is TCAF, a show I've been hearing about for years and have been encouraged by many to attend (it's supposed to be especially great for families). If you want to find me in Toronto I will be signing at the First Second table at 3:00pm on Saturday, May 10th, and again at 3:00pm on Sunday, May 11th. I will also be giving a presentation / live reading with my friend Dave Roman at 12:30pm on Saturday, and giving a little presentation/workshop about gesture on Sunday at 2:00pm. I hope to see you there!

Hither and Yon

I will be traveling quite a bit over the next several weeks. I’ll be speaking and signing books in Houston, Toronto, Gaithersburg, Portland (Maine), DC, Jersey City and New York, among other places, and it all adds up to be my first, real, honest-to-goodness book tour. Well, mini book tour.

Still: book tour. That sounds so fancy!

It’s exciting, and hectic, and most of it will be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to catching up with good friends at the Gaithersburg Book Festival, and TCAF and MeCAF, plus ...I secretly like sitting in airports.

On the other hand, most of this was planned in the bleak cold months and now it’s suddenly May and the world is green again, the garden is starting to come up and my canoe is calling to me. Also there’s a not-quite-halfawy-inked Robot book on my desk and a pack of girls who want me to finish painting their bedroom. Summer is coming.

Here is a partial list of upcoming events where you might be able to catch me and say hello (please do say hello):

-May 3rd: Free Comic Book Day signing at Bedrock City Comics Co. in Houston, TX

-May 10th and 11th: Toronto Comics Arts Festival. Not sure of my schedule for this one yet, but I think I’ll be doing a talk with my pal Dave Roman.

-May 17th: Gaithersburg Book Festival. Speaking and signing at 3:15pm in the Edgar Allan Poe pavilion.

-May 18th: Maine Comics Arts Festival: not sure of my schedule for this one either.

-May 21st: Takoma Park, MD. Signing at Takoma Park Library, 7:30pm.

-May 24th: WORD bookstore in Jersey City, 11am.

-and on June 4th I’ll be in New York, kicking off the New York Public Library summer reading program at their main branch.

I’ll continue positing information (and pictures!) here, and on twitter. And someday, if I’m very lucky, I’ll get back to making journal comics.

For now, though, I’ve got bags to pack.

Jolly Winners and Troublesome Robots

It's been busy around here. Super busy. The Hatke House has been caught up in all kinds of organizational, bureaucratic grown-uppy stuff that's left me with very little time for making all the fun extra stuff, the journal comics, the short stories, the paintings and sketches of the people I love. The other day I realized that it's been over a year since I picked up my oil painting brushes.

It's a small tragedy because all that extra stuff, the art that comes out when I just mess around, that's mostly where the best work originates. The book I'm working on now, Little Robot, began life as a series of comics that were nearly stream-of-consciousness. Just me fooling around with some ideas in the spare moments. Now it's one of my favorite projects I've ever worked on.

All of this is a long preamble to saying that when I sat down to work today I thought "maybe I should announce the raffle winners with a comic." Then I thought "no I can't take the time." Then I stopped thinking and just got out some paper and pens.

I'm glad I did...

Congratulations to our winners!

Just send an email my way (address is on the sidebar), send me a mailing address and sit back and watch your mailbox for books and art!

--Ben

Jolly Raffle Giveaway Contest: The Return of Zita the Spacegirl!

It is that time again, my friends!


Longtime readers of this blog will remember that in 2010 and again in 2012 I raffled off advanced copies of Zita and Legends of Zita respectively. Now we’re going to do it a third time and that makes it a TRADITION.

So here we go:

The LUCKY AND SUPER COOL FIRST PLACE WINER will receive a hardcover copy of The Return of Zita the Spacegirl, signed, and with a little original watercolor lovingly tucked into the front cover.

Our SUAVE SECOND PLACE WINNER will find in their mailbox a paperback copy of The Return of Zita the Spacegirl along with a small ink sketch or piece of concept art.

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment in the comments section of this post. BUT BE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR NAME, or some name that I can announce. “Anonymous” can’t win. Unless your legal name is Anonymous (in which case please explain that in the comment).

HERE’S HOW YOU INCREASE YOUR CHANCES (and where I trick you into helping me spread the word about this book): Mentioning the book, linking to benhatke.com, or otherwise spreading the word via social media (twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Google+, blogs, tumblers or any of the other myriad of options) is worth TWO EXTRA ENTRIES. (three is the maximum). Feel free to tag me on twitter (@BenHatke) but also let me know in the comments so I can keep it all straight.

The contest closes ONE WEEK FROM TODAY. The entries will go into a randomizer and soon after I will post the name of the winners!

Okay? Then...

READY... GO!!

-Ben

PS: If you still need some motivation, here is the Zita 3 trailer again:

Smudge Photos and Twitter Sketches

The Smudge Expo was a lovely event! It had a great indie vibe and was very family friendly -two things that don't always go hand-in-hand. Northern VA comics and art aficionados should definitely plan to attend next year. Anna accompanied me this time and it made me wonder how I ever do these events without her. We met some wonderful people, sold a lot of books and even met some adorable Zita cosplayers. Here are a few more pictures from the event (all pictures are copyright and credited to Bruce Guthrie, who's website is here):

And now Twitter. It's not for everybody, I know, but I've been posting a lot of casual sketches and things there and, if you like that kind of thing, it might be worth a follow. Here's some of the recent stuff, including an aged-up Zita and a couple sketches of The Dying Gaul which is currently on display in the National Gallery:

You can follow me on twitter here.

The Return of Zita the Spacegirl: It's a Real Thing.

Hey everybody. As promised, the cover of Zita 3, along with an 8 PAGE PREVIEW is up over at Boing Boing! Follow this link, or click on the image below to take a look.

There's no cover on the amazon page yet, but pre-orders ARE open...

Fan Art: Move Over Captain America...

...and make way for CAPITAN ITALIA.

Today is Angelica's 11th birthday, so I made this little fan art of her character, Capitan Italia. I still don't know what her chicken is called.

OH AND REMEMBER: Tomorrow is the big cover reveal for Zita 3! Plus the publication date and links for pre-orders! Keep an eye on the internets! EDIT: (Specifically keep an eye on Boing Boing).