Daniel Dean Allan
Daniel Dean’s books (4)
Allen, Daniel Dean (1980 – ) is a visual storyteller whose creative practice is shaped by his connection to, and exploration of, Te Ao Māori. Raised in Te Kūiti, he grew up immersed in oral histories shared by elders, stories of Rewi Maniapoto, King Tāwhiao, and Te Kooti, that captivated his imagination but were absent from his formal education.
This early disconnection from his whakapapa sparked a lifelong journey of reconnection, now reflected in Allen’s illustrative work, where Māori history and mythology are rendered with the dynamism of comic book art. Seeing images of atua Māori at a local wānanga during a school visit, portrayed with the same epic energy as Western superheroes, was a formative moment in his artistic vision.
Allen seeks to fill the void left by the underrepresentation of Māori narratives in mainstream education and media, producing visually compelling works that serve as “soul food” for others on a similar path of discovery.
His work includes illustrating for Taua Comics, Ngā Kete Kōrero, Huia Publishers and various television shows.
