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The Return of Zita the Spacegirl

(Zita the Spacegirl #3)

Ben Hatke (Goodreads Author)

4.31 · Rating details · 6,399 ratings · 409 reviews

Zita the Spacegirl has saved planets, battled monsters, and wrestled with interplanetary fame. But she faces her biggest challenge yet in the third and final installment of the Zita adventures. Wrongfully imprisoned on a penitentiary planet, Zita has to plot the galaxy's greatest jailbreak before the evil prison warden can execute his plan of interstellar domination!

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Hardcover, 240 pages

Published May 13th 2014 by First Second

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Jul 05, 2015 Carmen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: children, fiction, he-says, traditionally-published, american-author, graphic-novel, published2014

Wonderful end to an amazing trilogy. I highly recommend these books.

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Jan 25, 2018 Schizanthus Nerd rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: i-love-my-library

What a fun way to round out the trilogy! After the huge Legends of Zita the Spacegirl cliffhanger I’ve been keen to know where we’d find Zita at the beginning of this story. Zita is on trial in the Court of Dungeon World, facing a slew of trumped up charges; her heroics in the first two graphic novels twisted into crimes. Poor Mouse appears at her kangaroo court and, shackled in a way that brought to mind Hannibal Lector, he’s been sentenced to death! But wait! Who or what is that mysterious cr What a fun way to round out the trilogy! After the huge Legends of Zita the Spacegirl cliffhanger I’ve been keen to know where we’d find Zita at the beginning of this story. Zita is on trial in the Court of Dungeon World, facing a slew of trumped up charges; her heroics in the first two graphic novels twisted into crimes. Poor Mouse appears at her kangaroo court and, shackled in a way that brought to mind Hannibal Lector, he’s been sentenced to death! But wait! Who or what is that mysterious creature in the blue cape that’s overlooking the proceedings?

Bringing back all of my favourites from the first two books and introducing a few new ones, this is the action packed volume that finally answers the question of whether Zita ever returns home to Earth. I don’t think I’d return if I were her because of all of the amazing adventures she’s had and the wonderful friends she’s met along the way, but it’s what she’s dreamed of since the beginning so I couldn’t help cheering her on.

What’s lovely about this story is that you don’t just get to witness Zita saving a friend, an enemy or a world; Zita needs help herself in this one. Thankfully she’s made such an impact previously that there’s no shortage of people/beings/objects willing to lend a hand or whatever is needed to contribute to saving her.

Femur and Raggy, Zita’s dungeon mates, were the comic relief for me and became new favourites. I also loved that previous favourites including One, Strong-Strong, Randy and Shippy returned.

Like the two previous Zita books the illustrations in this one were brilliant. Although the story could end with this book and currently does, there is potential to keep the story going. While you could argue that this series presents a good case for quit while you’re ahead I’d keep reading if another Zita book magically appeared in front of me.

In what I’ll call the Special Features after Zita’s journey concludes (I’ve been bingeing a lot of TV series recently) there’s a beautiful story of how she came to be. It’s one of those melty heart stories that makes you appreciate Zita even more.

Once again, I have to say that I love my library. They didn’t stock this book but they bought it just because I asked them to. Now they have the whole series, which I plan to borrow again for a reread ASAP! ...more

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Jun 09, 2014 First Second Books marked it as first-second-publications · review of another edition

This is the last volume of Ben Hatke's Zita the Spacegirl trilogy.

People keep coming to ask us if there are going to be more. 'Zita is so awesome!' they say. 'That means there must be more books!'

We agree that Zita is awesome! And this book certainly does end on an . . . interesting note.

But right now, there are not any plans for future Zita volumes. We have an amazing picture book coming out from Ben in the fall -- it's called _Julia's House for Lost Creatures_ -- and another graphic novel for ...more

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Jun 18, 2014 Liviania rated it really liked it · review of another edition

THE RETURN OF ZITA THE SPACEGIRL is the third and final Zita graphic novel (for now). Zita has saved many people and multiple worlds since leaving Earth to rescue her classmate Joseph. She's also made enemies, which has led to her being thrown into a terrible underground prison.

The Zita series is extremely popular for a good reason. The books have a lot of sci-fi action, colorful and creative character design, and an intrepid heroine determined to save the day. I really enjoyed how THE RETURN OF ...more

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Mar 13, 2017 Erica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: evil-creatures, leadership, adorable, bffs, growing-up, men-and-boys, women-and-girls, graphic-novel, jf, girlfriend-power

Zita's origin story comes to an end with this volume, though there's plenty of room for further adventures.

As with the other two, this book is full of well-rounded characters, intergalactic adventures, real-life emotions surrounding not-real-life conundrums, and wonderful creatures on every page.

It's the ending that particularly charmed me, making me say, "Good for you, girl. Take charge of your own destiny!" It's pretty empowering and I wish I'd have had this in my hands when I was 8-years-old.

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May 18, 2020 Hilda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, comic-book-or-graphic-novel, science-fiction, middle-school

Possibly my favorite so far!! This was an amazing story and I can’t wait to see what Zita and (view spoiler) get up to!! This group of survivors and friends keeps growing and getting better and better.

I’m such a big fan!! Ben Hatke is a genius. ...more

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Nov 12, 2014 Nicola Mansfield rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excellent. All the characters from the first two books return in this book that brings elements from the previous stories together into a new book that has Zita saving the planet Earth. While all three books can be read as stand-alones, this one does a fine job of tying the books together and creating a trilogy with a plot that increases and culminates in this book. However we are not left at the end here and the last few pages set the stage for more Zita adventures. The creativity and imaginati ...more

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Mar 07, 2014 Steph Sinclair rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-release, 2014-reads, macmillan, kids-love-it, sci-fi, i-own-it, graphic-novel, 2014-favs, aliens, middle-grade

This has to be the CUTEST graphic novel series I’ve ever read. My kids and I love it so hard. The best part is that it’s a perfect graphic novel for my young kids (3 and 6) to understand and enjoy. It’s also great for me to do lots of voices to entertain them. I love the fact that it’s a sci-fi story for kids that features a female heroine. That doesn’t happen often enough! Zita is brave and a good friend. Though she has her moments of insecurity and bad decisions, she doesn’t give up easily. Al ...more

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Jul 02, 2014 Sara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-books, graphic-novel, read-in-2014, fantasy, girl-power, science-fiction

Zita's back, hooray!! I just love Ben Hatke's characters. There are some delightful new ones in here, and of course all of our old favorites. He is SO GOOD at comic action -- every frame is filled with color and movement and excitement, and you just cannot put down the story and leave it. Well done, as always.

I did think the ending was a liiittle abrupt. I hope that it also means that this isn't the last we're seeing of Zita, though :)

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Jan 01, 2015 Chenoa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: j-fic, manga-and-gn, 2015-read

Gah, I really love this little superhero. The world Hatke has created throughout this series is filled with all sorts of adorable aliens, quirky robots, and very loyal friends. Fingers crossed that Zita and her comrades have another adventure sometime soon!

"I went coast to coast, and from star to star
that's how you learn, just who you are"

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Nov 04, 2013 Raina rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphicnovel, j

I love this series so much - it raises the bar for kids comics. Still pretty heartbroken he's stopping at three with Zita.

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Dec 18, 2017 Lydia rated it it was amazing

Zita has been captured and is facing the consequences of her crime, as well as some trumped up charges that suit the Dungeon Lord's purpose of keeping her locked up. However, Zita is far from beaten. She refuses to give into Dungeon Lord and when a mysterious "ghost" tries to help her, but demands she not stop to help others she refuses him too. Zita is determined to save Mouse and help the people of Dungeon World! Fortunately, she has outside help on their way as even Spacegirl heroes need a li ...more

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May 22, 2016 Jackie B. - Death by Tsundoku rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, graphic-novel-comic, series, sci-fi, want-to-own

Sadly, the tales of Zita's adventures in space have come to a close. The final book in a beautiful graphic novel trilogy, The Return of Zita the Sapcegirl picks up where the last book left off. We find Zita trapped in an asteroid prison because all the good she did as Zita the Spacegirl had some repercussions that might not have been all good. Awaiting trial for her crimes of goodness, Zita and her pals learn that the prison warden is planning to dominate the galaxy-- starting with Earth!

The thi Sadly, the tales of Zita's adventures in space have come to a close. The final book in a beautiful graphic novel trilogy, The Return of Zita the Sapcegirl picks up where the last book left off. We find Zita trapped in an asteroid prison because all the good she did as Zita the Spacegirl had some repercussions that might not have been all good. Awaiting trial for her crimes of goodness, Zita and her pals learn that the prison warden is planning to dominate the galaxy-- starting with Earth!

The third volume did a beautiful job bringing together all the elements of the previous books. We revisit favorite characters, explore their personalities more, and even get to know some new characters. Yet, this volume follows some heavier themes than in the past. Zita is losing heart in prison, and is beginning to doubt herself. The theme of doing the right thing in the face of adversity is strong here. It would be easy for Zita to take the easy road out to only save herself. She has learned over the course of these books that all her actions have had reactions. Zita has learned that she has been naïve. A good portion of this book explores this idea, along with the blurred lines between right and wrong, as well as good and evil.

While the characters, art, and themes are amazing, this book fell a bit flat for me. I felt like the story was a little troupe, and after the beautiful and brilliant colors of the first two volumes the darker tone of this book was a bit jarring. I think it was appropriate for the story, but it left me a little down. Even the uplifting moments, [spoiler] like when Zita is drowning in despair and her Strong Strong star breaks into pieces, letting her friends know that she is alive and needs their help [/spoiler] weren't as uplifting as previously. I found the cute or funny moments to be more spread out. It was just a bit disappointing.

I do love how open ended Hatke left the final book. The ending was abrupt, and a bit sad. [spoiler] Poor Zita and Joseph didn't get to say goodbye to their friends, or even to see if they were okay. It was now or never-- and they made the sacrifice to leave. Heartbreaking. [/spoiler] Hatke said he was done with Zita, but this ending will easily allow him to jump back into her world with little effort. As many of my bookish friends have also said, I really hope some day he does pursue this. Zita's world is magical and I will always want to revisit it.
...more

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Jul 01, 2014 Kelly rated it liked it

Shelves: teen, comics, tweens, childrens, science-fiction, friendship, i-cried

Definitely just cried at the end of Zita.

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Feb 09, 2017 Bruce Gargoyle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mount-tbr-challenge-2017, middle-grade, violence, adventure, favourites, kid-lit, robots, body-parts, deadly-kittens, middle-grade-fiction

Ten Second Synopsis:
Zita is held prisoner by a despotic ruler who wants to use her portal button to take over Earth. Aided by a skeleton, a pile of rags and a friend from the past, Zita tries to overcome the ruler's evil plans.

You may have picked up that I skipped book two in the series, Legends of Zita the Spacegirl, because the library didn't have it (boo!). This wasn't too much of a drama because the opening scenes cleverly work some of the key points from books one and two into the dialogue ...more

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Jul 26, 2017 Kendra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I wish there were twelve more, but also it was so perfect the way it was.

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Dec 27, 2018 Owl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars. Other than a weirdly gendered comment in the middle about a boy not understanding women, I loved this a whole lot.

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Jun 01, 2019 Raven Black rated it liked it · review of another edition

Similar to rest. Read all to find start to finish of Zitas story. Then read Might Jack's stories.

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Aug 15, 2020 Beverly rated it really liked it

Shelves: jf-science-fiction

Absorbing science fiction adventure in graphic novel format.

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Jun 22, 2019 Matthew Connell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was gonna give this five stars, but I think the twist at the end robs it of some of its power. Still, it's another great book with the characters, art, and dialogue I expected and appreciate. Can't wait for the next one.

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Jul 07, 2017 Krista rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

How do they just keep getting better. So much fun.

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Feb 12, 2018 Ms. Ahart rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

One of the best graphic novels for kids I've read in a long time... I would read 100 volumes of this just for the creatures.

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Mar 13, 2015 Mehsi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: children-but-also-for-adults, warning-english-books, graphic-novels, so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-fish, 5-twinkling-stars

Wow, wow, wow, and more wow! What a fantastic volume this was, even better than all the others before it. And then that ending! <3

I will first talk about the stuff that is spoiler-free, after that I will review the rest in spoiler tags, as that is needed. I don't want to spoil the epic stuff in this book. So, be warned, read the spoilers at your own risk! They are big spoilers, but I need to review the book, and thus some things will have to be spoiler tagged.

First up, Zita. Ah, I loved her in t Wow, wow, wow, and more wow! What a fantastic volume this was, even better than all the others before it. And then that ending! <3

I will first talk about the stuff that is spoiler-free, after that I will review the rest in spoiler tags, as that is needed. I don't want to spoil the epic stuff in this book. So, be warned, read the spoilers at your own risk! They are big spoilers, but I need to review the book, and thus some things will have to be spoiler tagged.

First up, Zita. Ah, I loved her in the first and second books, but in this book we see a Zita who will never give up, who will fight, who won't give up hope even when everything seems so hopeless. She is strong, determined, even more so then in the previous books.
I felt sorry for her, sorry that she got captured (since this happened in the second book I won't spoiler tag it), sorry that she had to go through all that, and happy for her when certain events happened. But also sad. I can imagine that it must have hurt for her. (view spoiler)

It was wonderful to see everyone again. Zita is loved by many, and everyone is up to helping her now that she needs help. It was kind of weird that various people split up, I guess a lot more time passed between this and the previous book then I think it did.

The illustrations are good/great, though at times it looks a bit weird or things are just a bit off. For instance when we see stuff in the distance, or Zita is running and it is a big picture, then she often looks more like some blobs flung together than human. Which is a shame, I would have preferred it if she looks human in all panels. I still love the colours though, they are pretty colourful, even during scenes that are sad or are bad, the colours are still vivid.

Now for all the spoiler stuff! Don't read this unless you really, really read this book!!!!!!!

(view spoiler)

All in all, I would highly recommend this book. While I rated all of the books 5 stars, I would say this one is more a 5++ stars.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/ ...more

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Jan 09, 2017 Kelcey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: juvenile, graphic-novel, science-fiction, space

A great finale and an all too short trilogy. I wish we could see more of Zita and Joseph and all Zita's friends! The ending made me smile!

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Sep 10, 2015 Matthew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, fantasy, adventure, favorites, library-books, fiction, graphic-novels, series, sci-fi, young-adults

On another episode of Zita the Spacegirl, we discover that Zita is in prison in a planet that is difficult for anyone to locate her. It has been rumored this prison planet existed but never discovered. Zita is guilty on all charges from stealing the space ship and luckily this masked hero helps her almost escape. While she was almost out of prison, she discovers there is a creature that is supposed to be floating in space and instead is chained up and its power is being drained. She wants to hel On another episode of Zita the Spacegirl, we discover that Zita is in prison in a planet that is difficult for anyone to locate her. It has been rumored this prison planet existed but never discovered. Zita is guilty on all charges from stealing the space ship and luckily this masked hero helps her almost escape. While she was almost out of prison, she discovers there is a creature that is supposed to be floating in space and instead is chained up and its power is being drained. She wants to help rescue it but fails at first and learns that the creature is the one who is keeping this planet stable.

The alien who is in charge of this prison is trying to find a crystal to transport his species and him to another planet to conquer and after analyzing her blood, he now wants to reach Earth and take control of it. While he strips Zita of her outfit to make her look like a peasant, they made the bad mistake of ripping her star that her friend gave to her. By ripping it apart, it sent a signal to all her friends and together they find her location and decide to bail her out.

Over the course of the story, we get this big epic battle scenes of escape, and attacking the guards and all the evil people and Zita and her friends save the day. We get to learn that the masked hero who helped her escaped is none other than Joseph who she thought was on Earth. In the first book they were about to go home when the crystal shattered sending only one of them in the portal and for Joseph, the portal to Earth became several portals and he ended up on another planet. Now that they saved everyone, Zita and Joseph was about to escape the ruined planet with the bad guy ruined their opportunity. He fights them and finally throws them down to plummet to their deaths.

Zita friends couldn't reach her on time to save her so instead Piper attaches the portal to the robot and he projects the portal for Zita and Joseph to return to Earth before they plummet to their death. Piper was successful and quickly the portal closes. Now that Zita and Joseph have returned home, it seems like they were gone only for a few minutes while its been days since they were in the other galaxy (Similar to Narnia). While Joseph is glad to be home, Zita misses her friends and her adventures and tries to contact them for a year to see them again. A year goes by and nothing until she sees that her robot friend has crashed landed on earth with a note written by Piper saying that they need Zita's help leaving it open for another volume.

From what I read this is supposedly is a trilogy series and I desperate wish that they throw away that concept and making into a series. We only got a glimpse of this Sci-Fi world and I believe Ben Hatke needs to give us more info towards these characters, their background stories, and what is the next adventure for Zita as Piper and her friends need her help. I will definitely be on the look out for a sequel and I would love to read more Zita adventures. Until next time...

To check out all my reviews visit http://dancinginth3dark.blogspot.com ...more

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Jul 27, 2014 Charles rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, reviewed, manga-graphic-novels, science-fiction, stat_3

Stuff I Read - The Return of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke Review

I should say that I have not read the earlier Zita books, and that well could have affected my enjoyment of this, the third book in the series. Judging this volume completely on its own, though, and I found that it was a fun and charming read, a light story with some heavier and darker elements and enough plot twists and interesting characters to keep things moving along nicely. The action was solid, the plot complex enough while Stuff I Read - The Return of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke Review

I should say that I have not read the earlier Zita books, and that well could have affected my enjoyment of this, the third book in the series. Judging this volume completely on its own, though, and I found that it was a fun and charming read, a light story with some heavier and darker elements and enough plot twists and interesting characters to keep things moving along nicely. The action was solid, the plot complex enough while drawing from elements from previous volumes in what I can assume is a satisfying manner, and it all worked rather well. It's cute and fun and worth a read.

The action started off with Zita captured on a prison world, and while this might have been something picked up from the end of the last volume, it might not be. Having not read it, I can't be sure, but I wasn't lost. The concept of Zita the Spacegirl, adventurer and hero of the stars, is one that can pretty easily be understood, and it was something where she's basically on trial because some of her good actions had some consequences she didn't really think about. And that makes sense, both as she is a rather rash person and because she is young. It's all part of the villain's plan to claim Earth, and it makes sense.

Imprisoned and doubted herself, Zita still manages to be heroic, helping who she can. When rescue comes from an old friend, though, the real message of the volume comes into greater focus. It's a classic argument that if she had had different experiences when she arrived she would care less about helping people. Basically that being kind and saving people is a luxury that she could afford, but that it's rather naive. And the volume does a good job exploring that idea and making it clear that trying to do the right thing is always important even in the face of defeat and destruction.

It's a story about heroism, too, because Zita tries to save everyone at the risk of her own freedom and safety. In trying to save her friends, she ends up losing just about everything that she had gained, and while the ending is a bit more optimistic about where she will end up, that she was willing to do that is a testament to her heroism. It's a good message, and fitting for a young adult sci-fi adventure. The art, too, is fitting, cartoonish but with a great sense of scale and danger. This is an epic story, and it is rendered well, with great expressions on the characters, great personality, and great action. The volume succeeds at what it sets out to do, and while it's not the most complex of things, and while it does make a few eye-rolling plot decisions, I enjoyed it, and would recommend it with an 8/10. ...more

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Feb 25, 2017 Cecilia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, comic-book-graphic-novel, 2017-read

Cozy ending that kind of promise a continuation!

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Apr 01, 2014 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: grades-6-8, arc-netgalley-edelweiss, graphic-novels

Thanks NetGalley for the read!

I thought the spatial art for this volume was done beautifully. I’ve loved Zita from the very beginning as this spunky heroine adjusts quickly to space life and decides to help others and make friends. Showing the sparse bleak landscape of this dungeon world fit beautifully into Zita trying to escape (and not lose hope) in her biggest challenge, yet. The secondary characters that she meets are HILARIOUS!~ Hatke takes the usual trope of prison scenery and turns a “d ...more

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Dec 20, 2013 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels, arc

My eight year old daughter and I are both huge Zita fans, so we were very excited to get an arc of this third installment in the saga. We were not disappointed - The Return of Zita is arguably the best the series and develops the story with new depth while tying up all the plot threads. All the elements that made the first two books so entertaining are still here - the satire, appealing characters and wonderful melange of alien species, worlds and gadgets (I have been using doorpaste as a plot d ...more

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Jan 30, 2015 Jennifer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, read-in-2015, comics-manga-graphic-novels

Although I still really enjoyed this third Zita volume, especially because Ben Hatke's art just continues to improve, it came to my attention that Zita isn't very developed or unique as a protagonist. While I'm thrilled that she's a cool girl who goes on adventures, I realized that, in many ways, she's the bland main character you see in shonen manga (think Naruto, or Goku): good-hearted, persistent, loyal and impulsive, but not particularly clever, whose real "magic" power is her ability to mak ...more

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Madison Mega-Mara...: #129 The Return of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke	1	2	Nov 20, 2016 10:58PM
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About Ben Hatke

Ben Hatke

948 followers

Ben Hatke is an author and illustrator of graphic novels and picture books. Most notably he is the creator of the Zita the Spacegirl graphic novel series.

He posts art and stories online at:

www.benhatke.com ...more