Maaike Hartjes

Maaike Hartjes (b. 15/10/1972, The Netherlands) started drawing comics when she was only six years old. Although she developed a realistic style, she actually became known for the sketchy doodles which she used in her diary. Several issues of 'Maaike's Dagboekje' ('Maaike's Little Diary') have been published in the small-press circuit. In 1998, she graduated in Illustrative Design. She runs her own comic-studio, De Zwarte Handel, which she started with fellow artist Floris Oudshoorn in 1995, and works for various magazines and newspapers, especially Viva women's magazine.