I have loved comic books since the age of three.  I still remember my first comic, an issue of World’s Finest featuring Batman and Superman.  I still love comic books, but unfortunately have trouble finding appropriate ones to share with my six-year-old daughter.  You see, even though I’m now thirty-seven, most Batman and Superman comic books are still written for me.  Furthermore, the all-ages comic books released by Marvel and DC tend to be one slugfest after another.  I’m not interested in my daughter reading that sort of thing.

A few weeks back, I started hearing good things about a graphic novel series called Zita the Spacegirl.  My daughter and I love making up space stories, so we headed to the local library and checked out the first volume.  My daughter immediately loved it.

I read it to her to double-check its appropriateness, and I’m pleased to say it’s a perfect match for what my daughter wants and for what I require.  I won’t lie, I love the character as well.  In fact, after we returned that first volume to the library, we bought all three volumes for her birthday.

I love Zita the Spacegirl because while it’s appropriate for a six-year-old, it’s also full of action and real science fiction.  There are aliens, spaceships, robots, and explosions.  But there’s also a lot of positive messages in it as well, such as loyalty, doing the right thing, facing your fear, and self-reliance.

Hatke’s art, by the way, is top-notch.  Yes, it’s purposefully cartoonish, but I challenge you to find a more diverse and interesting collection of robots and aliens in any comic book.  Furthermore, his sequential storytelling is perfect. My daughter has no trouble following the progression because of Hatke’s smooth transitions from panel to panel.  Make no mistake, by the way, this book is one-step away from being a little scary.  It never quite frightens my daughter, but some of the aliens are creepy, some of the story is pretty tense, and there are moments of real danger for our characters.  Hatke knows a good story has to be appealing, and he’s made it so by getting as close to the line as he can without crossing over it.

As a final boon, if you’re familiar with my writing you know I’m always searching on my daughter’s behalf for a female character that is not a male derivative (Supergirl) and that is also not in her underwear (Wonder Woman).  In Zita, we have a girl not much older than my daughter who is tough, kind, smart, funny, brave, independent, and respectable.

I’m so happy to have found a comic book that I feel good about sharing with my daughter.