Maria Surducan

Maria is a professional Romanian illustrator comics author. She has been working freelance for more than years, publishing graphic novels and picture books, while simultaneously taking on commercial projects. Maria’s projects include highly detailed, historically accurate works for children literature (such as Complete Dickens, Usborne, 2018), bold, colourful illustrations, adapted for cultural and commercial projects (Untold Festival 2018-2019) and playful, whimsical creations, suited for board games (Zestrea 2020, Ghosts of Christmas 2021).

She is skilled in both digital and traditional mediums and strives to constantly improve her artwork by using her personal projects as a playground for new ideas. Her latest endeavours have resulted in the Shakespeare series (in which she stages the plays she loved through illustrations and has fun with meanings and interpretations) and Fisksoppa (an ongoing webcomic). Her view is that art has the subtle power to offer healing through storytelling, by immersing the reader in an apparently escapist narrative. One of Maria’s primary sources of inspiration are fairy tales, and the way in which they morph through constant retelling.

Several of her graphic novels and illustrations explore the visual potential of European mythology, with a contemporary twist. The latest titles to do so are Nor’s Holiday, (in collaboration with Ileana Surducan, and published in French and Romanian, and The Water Fairy (in collaboration with Anna-Benczédi, published in French, Romanian and Hungarian). Maria is also interested in the development of the Romanian illustration and comics scene. She was involved in the organization of several workshops and masterclasses (by both Romanian and international artists), which aimed to further the development of the local community – notable examples being Visual Playground 2019 and The Comics Academy, 2020.