Donald Soffritti was born in Ferrara on 11 April 1967. After studying art, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna in 1990 and subsequently joined the world of Disney, beginning his collaboration in 1997 as an inker. In 1999, after obtaining his official diploma from the Disney Academy in Milan, he embarked on a career as an artist, marking the start of a collaboration that continues to this day.
Throughout his career, he has worked across comics, illustration and animation, collaborating with leading Italian and international publishing houses. He has contributed to numerous projects, including Kico, Rat-Man, Vasco Comics, Alienor, Toutou & Cie, Superheroes Decadence, Les Quatre Quarts, Il Negozio di Animali and Bienvenue chez les Corses... and bonne chance!, demonstrating great versatility in moving from humour to adventure stories.
Since 2011, he has been involved in the world of satire through the supplement Il Misfatto in Il Fatto Quotidiano, creating comic strips written by Roberto Corradi, with whom he subsequently went on to work on Yanez, the satirical supplement of the daily newspaper Pubblico. Together with scriptwriter Giorgio Salati, he also created Bookbugs, a series of comic strips exploring the relationship between culture and technology, published in Telecom Italia’s digital magazine PreTesti.
Among his most personal projects is Birds in Jazz (2014), a series of paintings dedicated to the great figures of jazz, reinterpreted in a ‘paper-based’ style, which have been featured in various exhibitions across Italy. In 2021, he produced the story Occhi aperti sul pianeta Terra for the Comics & Science series, written by Alessio Schreiner in collaboration with the CNR and coordinated by Andrea Plazzi. In 2022, to mark Disney’s 100th anniversary, he illustrated a 30-page story conceived by Francesco Artibani and scripted by Carlo Panaro, as well as a What If… cover for Marvel America and the volume What If…? Iron Man and Donald Duck.
For Mirage Comics, he entered the fantasy universe of Chronicles of Arda, contributing his unmistakable style to the various series within the project. Through his artwork, he brings the worlds, characters and atmospheres of the saga to life, creating the illustrations for the series Chronicles of Arda: The Poachers and Chronicles of Arda: The Dwarves’ Mines, bringing his narrative skill, sense of humour and extraordinary attention to detail to the fantasy genre.
An eclectic artist, capable of moving between the worlds of comedy, science fiction and fantasy, Donald Soffritti continues to tell stories through a recognisable artistic style that combines technique, irony and imagination.
Donald Soffritti will be in attendance for the launch of Chronicles of Arda: The Dwarves’ Mines, which marks a return to the universe of the famous saga with a new, highly anticipated spin-off chapter. A journey through the ancient halls of the dwarves, uncovering stories, mysteries and new adventures.
