Ben Hatke

Ben Hatke (born June 4, 1977) is an American cartoonist and children's book illustrator. He is most well known for his series of middle grade graphic novels Zita the Spacegirl. His work is notable for its focus on strong female characters.

Biography Hatke was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and grew up with sisters. While he was in college, he spent a semester in Italy studying Italian Renaissance painting.

According to Hatke, the character was actually created by his wife Anna while she was still in high school. When Hatke and Anna met in college, he began adapting the character into its present incarnation.

Zita the Spacegirl debuted in 2011 with First Second Books. The second and third volumes appeared in 2012 and 2014.

In 2016, it was announced that Fox Animation had picked up the movie rights for the Zita trilogy; the films will be produced by Chernin Entertainment. and their five daughters. He is an avid player of role-playing games, as well as a practitioner of archery.

Awards 2011 Cybils Award — Zita the Spacegirl 2016 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) — Little Robot