Communication Arts Illustration Annual

Woo-hoo, I got a piece into the Communication Arts Annual, my Ruins Girl did it! It's been a while since i got a piece in there, so it means a lot to be back. Or perhaps I never left?

PEANUT reviewed by The New York Times

“A smart, affecting graphic young adult novel… Sadie’s allergy may be fake, but the sentiments in ‘Peanut’ are not, and that’s what matters. For adolescents, reality is often more about how you feel about things than about the facts themselves. “
--Pamela Paul, The New York Times

The New York Times reviewed PEANUT on January 23rd, 2013, on their website. It's a very thoughtful and, thankfully, positive review that made me and everybody who was involved in the book very happy. Read the full article here.

I'm especially thrilled about the kind words Pamela Paul had to say about my artwork:

"[…] Hoppe’s panel illustrations are done in a loose, black-and-white pen-and-ink style. Only Sadie’s omnipresent shirt, which goes from tank top to polo to hoodie, according to season, is cherry-red. This highlights her sense of physical and emotional isolation. Hoppe also illustrates Sadie’s thoughts and emotions in inventive ways. A sequence in which she imagines various people’s reactions to her confessing as thought bubbles above her head — each one going pop! as the imagined dialogue sputters — is especially brilliant. […]

I have to admit the "bubbles" sequence was already thought up in author Ayun Halliday's manuscript, and it was one of my favorite parts from when I first read it. I'm glad that the reviewer liked it as much as I did.

Many thanks to Pamela Paul, and once again to Ayun, Rebecca, Ann an Lee!

Ruins Girl and 400th Blog Post!

This is a new personal piece; you can find this and some other new work on my website, which I've just updated. And below, you can see how this piece got started as a small sketch. It's part of a personal series I've been working on, tentatively called The Invisible City.

Incidentally, this is also my 400th post on this blog! Thanks so much to everybody who swings by for a visit, it really means a lot to me! Here's to the next 400 ones!

PEANUT Second Starred Review: School Library Journal

Peanut received its Second Starred Review, this time from School Library Journal. Many thanks to reviewer Andrea Lipinski from the New York Public Library!

“Librarians, teachers, and parents should definitely share this book with teens looking for realistic graphic novels about schools, friendship, peer pressure, or moral choices.”

Previous starred review in: Publishers Weekly
Here is the full starred review:

Worried about transferring to a new school, Sadie comes up with the idea of faking a peanut allergy. She thinks that pretending to have a life-threatening condition will draw attention to her and generate sympathy. Her predictions come true, and she makes several new friends and even attracts a boyfriend. But as time passes, Sadie finds it harder and harder to keep up with her lies, and her story begins to unravel. The girl who became best known for having a peanut allergy is heading toward a future in which she will become best known for being a liar, and she will have to deal with the backlash from people who knew her under false pretenses. Sadie is an empathetic character, and readers will relate to her nervousness about fitting in, her emotional tug-of-war with her mother, and the ups and downs of her friendships. Hoppe’s cartoon illustrations are primarily in grayscale but he also uses one color (red) to highlight Sadie’s character or objects like a flower from her boyfriend. Librarians, teachers, and parents should definitely share this book with teens looking for realistic graphic novels about schools, friendship, peer pressure, or moral choices.–-Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library
(January 2013 issue of School Library Journal)

DART Cameo for MoCCA 2013

I'm going to the MoCCA Fest again this year, the long-running NYC Indie Comics Fair. And this time I will have copies of my brand-new graphic novel PEANUT with me, besides other fun goodies. MoCCA belongs to the Society of Illustrators now, and it will be interesting to see if and how this will change the festival in the future.

Photo credit: Peggy Roalf of DART / American Illustration

This adorable candid shot was taken during the last MoCCA Festival and graced a recent edition of the DART Newsletter by American Illustration / American Photography, in which editor Peggy Roalf gave a rundown of upcoming festivals and fairs. The blurry guy beside me is table-mate and cartoonist extraordinaire Anuj Shrestha.

MoCCA Fest 2013 takes place on April  6th and 7th at the 69th Regiment Armory.

Print Magazine's Oral History of the Pencil Factory

Joining the studio collective known as the Pencil Fectory has to be one of the best things have done in recent years. Being surrounded by hardworking, talented and friendly individuals every day makes my work so much fore fun and satisfying.

If you like to know more about the people who have worked here over the years, Print Magazine did a really nice Oral History of the Pencil Factory.

Many thanks to Rob Walker who did all the interviews, and to Art Director Ben King. Above photoshoot of our space is by Ross Mantle.

PEANUT is out now!

After working on this project for about 3 years, it's finally out: PEANUT, a graphic novel written by Ayun Halliday and illustrated by yours truly, and published by Schwartz & Wade / Random House.

Here you can see Peanut out in the wild, at Forbidden Planet NYC, amongst the new publications of the week.

The book has 208 fully illustrated pages, and is printed in two spot colors, a very dark indigo and a bright pinkish red.

The story is about a young girl who moves to a new town and struggles to fit in and to make new friends. To make herself more interesting, she tells everybody she has a deadly peanut allergy. Of course, her lies circle out of control.

Since beginning of this month it's available in any bookstore near you. Ask them to order it for you, if they don't have it in stock.

There have been some nice reviews already, including a Starred Review by Publisher's Weekly. Peanut is also a Junior Library Guild Selection.



You can also order it from IndieBound and Amazon.

My advance copies, yay!

Full page for Manhattan College Magazine

Really liked how this turned out, this is for the official magazine of Manhattan College, about measures for a green campus. Art Direction by Charlie Hess of Chess Design.