Unlike the original story, Mighty Jack has three young protagonists, each of whom brings their own strengths to the little party. Hatke says the story seed - bean? - had been bouncing around his head 'since about 2008 or so, when a friend of the family was working on a masters thesis on fairytales.' That friend left behind a pile of fairytale collections, which, along with the 'really great little garden' Anna planted in view of his studio, inspired the middle grades graphic novel. Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, $8, Amazonīen Hatke's latest project is Mighty Jack: a modern-day take on the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. Overseeing Zita the Spacegirl for Fox Animation is Darlene Caamano Loquet, who executively produced Dan in Real Life and The Bling Ring. Additionally, Jurgenson was the writer behind the 2010 indie-horror-comedy hit, Tucker and Dale vs. The screenwriters have a few projects already in the works, including Robodog, Hyperdrive, and Subdivision. Morgan Jurgenson and Alex Ankeles will be responsible for the Zita the Spacegirl screenplay.

Hatke wasn't able to say much about the forthcoming Zita the Spacegirl animated feature, but a few names are attached to the project already. It's no surprise, then, that Fox Animation optioned the film rights to the little heroine's adventures. Like most of the author's work, all three books in the Zita the Spacegirl trilogy received starred reviews from Kirkus.

Hatke's tween-centric series has earned a ton of positive attention. The second volume, Legends of Zita the Spacegirl, pits Hatke's heroine against the forces of her own fame, while the third, The Return of Zita the Spacegirl, finds her wrongfully incarcerated on an alien prison planet.

She soon finds herself adopting the role of intergalactic hero, helping good guys out along her journey. Zita's adventures begin when her best friend is kidnapped by an alien doomsday cult. 'All characters are blends of different people to the point that they become their own entities,' he says. Anna,' but notes that his protagonist includes aspects of his daughters as well. Today, Hatke says Zita 'really tends to be a lot like a pint-sized version of. After they met in college, Hatke developed Anna's original character into something resembling her present incarnation, green cape and all. Zita was the heroine of a comic Hatke's wife, Anna, wrote in high school. Zita the Spacegirl is a three-volume series of graphic novels, published between 20 by First Second. Here's what's going on with this author and illustrator, and why he should definitely be on your radar.

Ben Hatke's children's graphic novel series, Zita the Spacegirl, is getting a film adaptation from Fox Animation and Chernin Entertainment, and he's got a lot more projects for kids of all ages on deck. As pearl clutchers panic over declining print sales, one illustrator is riding a career high.

Zita the spacegirl books