New to the paperback graphic books best-seller list this week is “Legends of Zita the Spacegirl,†by Ben Hatke, at No. 6. It is the second adventure of Zita, an Earth girl, who gets involved in some deep-space adventures. In the first, she had to rescue her best friend. In this one, she must deal with a robot imposter and a “star heart,†a galactic menace that strips down planets to bedrock. Spoiler alert: she comes through with a save, but there are enough loose ends to warrant a next installment, which is already in the works. In a recent e-mail interview, Mr. Hatke talked about his work. (As always, the complete best-seller lists can be found here, along with an explanation of how they were assembled.)
When did you first start working on Zita?
I've been working on Zita for years. Her character and world have been developing since college when I drew my first Zita story to impress the young lady who later became my wife. (Stunning victory for comics!) I revisited Zita the Spacegirl a few years after that in the form of web comics and then as a very silly 15-page short story in Flight Explorer. But I had never mentioned why this young girl was traveling from world to world, and that's what the books came to be about.
How long did it take to complete this book? Do you do a lot of sketching first? Are there any types of scenes that you like drawing more than others?
A graphic novel this size takes me about a year to complete. I think this is the book where I really discovered the process that works best for me. It's something like ordered chaos. I put a lot of work into a broad 12- to 14-point outline. The outl ine is not super-detailed, but it has all the major story turns and I write and rewrite it until it's perfect. The outline is my safety net.
While I am working on the outline I also start a sketchbook where I do character designs, visual world building, and doodle out a few key scenes and scraps of dialogue. All kinds of strange stuff grows out of the sketchbook.
When the outline is solid, and the sketchbook is starting to fill up, I jump right into finished pages. I only thumbnail about 20 pages ahead of my finished inks, and this gives me the sense that I'm still making it all up as I go, which is fun. But when I get stuck, I always have that outline to save me.
The last step is coloring 200 or so pages of comic while listening to podcasts.
How have your daughters reacted to the series?
They love it! I had hoped they would because they are my first audience and, since I work at home, they get to see the book develop. They ask questions, occasi onally have input, and draw a lot of “fan art.†In fact, I let my older two girls each draw a creature that I scanned and added into this book. You have to look to find them, but they're there.
Do you read a lot of comics? What are your favorite series/inspirations?
I haven't been keeping up with any monthly titles lately, but I do get to read most of the First Second books and some other books that I come across at conventions and events. I recently read Joann Sfar's graphic novel adaptation of “The Little Prince.†It was marvelous. I also had the pleasure of reading Mark Siegel's “Sailor Twain,†which is a beautiful book and makes my head spin a little. One of the series that inspired me early on was “ElfQuest†by Wendy and Richard Pini. I loved those books.
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