Auld Alliance Comics Festival 2026

The Auld Alliance Comics Festival is back!

The 730th anniversary of the historic treaty between France and Scotland was celebrated with a special Comics Weekend organised by the French Institute in partnership with La Belle Adventure bookshop in 2025. The event proved to be a great success, bringing together the French and Scottish communities around a shared love of comics.

From 29 to 31 May 2026, we are delighted to bring this wonderful event back. The festival will welcome renowned French and Scottish comics creators, along with an artist alley, talks, signings, and more.

This year, we will have the pleasure to welcome:

• Anaïs Flogny, Le Jour du Caillou (ed. Dupuis), Rivages Lointains/Smoke gets in your eyes (ed. Dargaud/Abrams)
• Sophie Leullier, Ce que les corbeaux nous laissent (ed. Dupuis)
• Benoit Dahan and Cyril Lieron, Dans la tête de Sherlock Holmes/Inside the mind of Sherlock Holmes (ed. Ankama/Titan)
• Lomig, Au coeur des solitudes/John Muir (ed. Sarbacane/NBM), Dans la forêt (ed. Sarbacane)
• Jon McNaught, Hors scène, L’été à Kingdom Fields (ed. Dargaud)
• Sarah Lippett, Everything Amplified (Cicada Books)

Talks & Signings (chaired by Assa Samaké-Roman)

• Saturday 30th May

1pm to 2pm – Figures & imagination: Reinventing Sherlock Holmes and John Muir

(Benoit Dahan, Cyril Lieron & Lomig)

Graphic novels often draw on well-known figures, whether literary or historical. But how are they reimagined today?

From the intricate, mind-driven world of Sherlock Holmes to a more contemplative and sensitive take on John Muir, this discussion explores different ways of bringing these figures to life, balancing fidelity with creative reinterpretation.

3pm to 4pm – Growing up in Bande Dessinée: When everyday moments shape who we become

(Sarah Lippett & Jon McNaught)

What if the most transformative parts of adolescence weren’t big turning points, but small, everyday moments like a song, a summer afternoon, a friendship that changes?

Through their work, Sarah Lippett and Jon McNaught portray a kind of youth shaped by atmosphere, rhythm and fleeting experiences that slowly but surely shape identity.

This discussion explores what these stories tell us about young people today, and what they reveal about how we, as adults, look back on childhood and adolescence.

• Sunday 31st May

1pm to 2pm – Telling the intimate: young adult stories and new ways of representing love (Anaïs Flogny & Sophie Leullier)

Young adult graphic novels often explore intimate themes — relationships, identity, emotions. They’ve also become a space where new ways of representing love are emerging, particularly through queer stories.

Activities

• Saturday 30th May

Japanese printing demo inspired by Kyôsai Manga by Stamnos Edition

• Sunday 31st May

Comics workshop. Free for all ages! (Lunchtime) by Anna Schiraldi Arts Comics and Classes

Occidental Printing demo A tribute to Lovecraft (Chtulhu) by Stamnos Edition

Artists Alley

Meet Scottish and French local comics creators and publishers :

Blue Fox Comics, Julie Campbell, Marie-Alice Harel, François Giro, Sloth Comics, Gustaffo Vargas, Marcello Borsetti, Andy Pearson, Quindrie Press, Catriona Laird & Ashling Draws – CHIP Collective, Onion Press, Tom Humberstone, Nadia Schlosser, Stamnos Edition. 

Special events (Booking in advance is advised!)

• Live Drawing Show with Anaïs Flogny and Sophie Leullier on Friday 29 May at 6.30pm
• Cluedo: A Live Drawn Investigation on Sunday 31 May at 11am
• Sherlock Holmes Walking Tour (in French) on Sunday 31 May at 3pm