Auld Alliance Comics Festival 2026, Edinburgh

What a pleasure it was to attend the Auld Alliance Comics Festival 2026. Organised by La Belle Adventure bookshop in partnership with the Institut Français d’Écosse, the festival brought together Scottish and French comics creators in one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful cultural venues.

La Belle Adventure is an amazing shop in Leith Walk specialising in bande dessinée and stocking French and English language books that you cannot easily find in the UK. The Institut Français is a kind of cultural outreach from the French government, like the British Council. It’s a cool place and I have taken French lessons there – you can view French films and borrow French language books and DVDs. 

I do love that the world of comics is seen as a place to exercise soft power – and it makes me chuckle to think that the French government is probably doing more for comics in Scotland than the Scottish government. It was cool to see local and international comics creators in the rather magnificent building on the Royal Mile that hosts the Institut in Edinburgh. Historically, Scotland may not always have got the best deal out of the Auld Alliance, but this modern version seems to be working out rather well.

The event brought several top French comics creators to Edinburgh. This included Anaïs Flogny, Sophie Leullier, Benoit Dahan, Cyril Lierion and Lomig. There were local guests as well – the wonderful Jon McNaught and Sarah Lippett. 

What impressed me most was how naturally the festival bridged local and international comics cultures. Rather than feeling like a showcase for visiting creators, it felt like a genuine meeting point between Scottish and French comics communities.

The artists were signing and sketching in books and I got a beautiful sketch from Lomig in his book about John Muir, a Scots born pioneer of nature conservation. It was also cool to chat to Sarah Lippett who very kindly sketched and signed the Go-Betweens comics anthology that she contributed to (not a book she sees very often according to her!)

What impressed me most was how naturally the festival bridged local and international comics cultures. Rather than feeling like a showcase for visiting creators, it felt like a genuine meeting point between Scottish and French comics communities. There were stalls from a diverse and brilliant array of stalwarts and newbies alike from the Scottish comics scene and I enjoyed perusing, chatting and purchasing from the likes of Blue Fox Comics, François Giro, Gustaffo Vargas, Julie Campbell and Nadia Schlosser (who sold me a very neat riso printed book). 

It was encouraging to see small press networks and projects like the CHIP collective, Quindrie Press and Onion Press in attendance – we have seen some of the best books in the Scottish scene coming from these corners.

There were also comics demos and I was impressed by the Japanese block printing. There were panel talks too, of course and I caught the one with Sarah and Jon. Loved Jon’s comment about his book Hors Scène as being a depiction of an adolescent who wakes up one morning to discover he is thoroughly average (I talk more about this book here.) Sarah shared some great practical advice to young people looking to get involved in comics and reflected on her creative life through music, comics and art. 

So a great event in a lovely venue. Did it make me support PSG against Arsenal later that day? No it did not, but I think the team behind this event have created a gem and a unique opportunity to bring a little bit of Angoulême to Scotland.

Earlier that day I visited the degree show at Edinburgh College of Art, where it turns out Sarah Lippet teaches. I love immersing myself in the colours, shapes and new ideas that you encounter at degree shows. The illustration students were especially interesting to a comics guy like me and there were some very talented and interesting artists – a few pics below. Go check it out this week!

Between the Auld Alliance Comics Festival and the Edinburgh College of Art degree show, it was one of those days that reminds you how vibrant Scotland’s creative scene can be. Whether you’re interested in comics, illustration or printmaking, both offered plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about the future.