Snapshot review: 4/5
Written and Illustrated by Ben Hatke
192 pages, color
Published by First Second (:01)
Before I actually picked it up, I had heard a ton about Zita the Spacegirl on shows like Comics Are Great! with Jerzy Drozd, so with recommendations like that, I knew I was going to need to read it.
Joseph and Zita are running around and playing in a field when suddenly, a meteor crashes near them. As they explore the crater, they find a mysterious button. Against Joseph’s wishes, Zita pushes it… several times. Suddenly a portal opens and a tentacled creature grabs Joseph and retreats. Zita is forced to save her friend. When she follows, she finds that she’s on a planet on the brink of destruction and must find a way to save Joseph and get back before everything is destroyed.
This reminded me quite a bit of Amulet, and probably for good reason. In Amulet, the girl’s mom is taken and they have to go into another world to save her. Now, where Zita clearly deviates, is in the parental roles. It’s significantly less moody than Amulet, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The story is much more fun, in that respect.
One of the things that makes Zita shine is the team that Zita builds. There’s a giant mouse, a battle robot, a space pirate of sorts, a slow giant (named Strong Strong), and a junker robot they find in a junkyard. They all have some wonderful moments that really draw you into their team. They have some great moments together, and it feels very natural.
My only gripe was that she never seems to miss her family at all. Maybe she’s just some orphan kid running around out in the woods, but this part seemed a bit strange to me. Oh well. It’s probably just me as a parent, hoping that my daughters would miss me.
Summary: Zita the Spacegirl is a book that I would be happy to read with my daughter at some point. The pacing is fast and keeps your attention, the art is fun and brightly colored, and the overall story is a lead in for some other books (that I can’t wait to get my hands on) without needing to read them to complete the plot.