Things are moving fast this year – it's already time to share our lineup for Spring 2026! Thank you all for your readership this year so far, and here's to the titles coming up in our next exciting season!
SelfMadeHero is delighted to announce an eclectic and stimulating quintet of new graphic novels for Spring 2026 from UK, French, and German creators.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved classic The Little Princeis reimagined by France’s eminent comics creator Joann Sfar in this 80th anniversary edition (March 2026). In February, comics creator ILYA brings us Romo the WolfBoy, a new series set at Blimey O’Riley’s Travelling Circus where a stagehand and a strange, wild boy find themselves investigating a paranormal mystery. Both titles continue our range of graphic novels for younger readers.
Moving on to more serious real-life subjects for adults, Barbara Yelin’s Emmie Arbel: The Colour of Memory– the haunting testimony of a Holocaust survivor – sees its release in early 2026, followed in May by Noisy Valley, Myfanwy Tristram’s stirring work of graphic journalism exploring the right to protest, told by people who raised their voices and demanded to be heard.
Finally, on a lighter note, Kay Medaglia, the creator of the popular One Year Wiser series, is back with Comic Therapy, a new collection of powerful inspirational meditations to lift our spirits and keep us all sane, centred, and cheerful.
The Little Prince, adapted by Joann Sfar, translated by Sarah Ardizzone.
Meet the original Boy Who Fell to Earth. Stranded in the Sahara Desert, an aircraft pilot meets a strange little boy who tells him of his journey from another world. The Little Prince, by the French writer, illustrator, and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, was written and published during the Second World War, to immediate acclaim, and its classic status has been embraced ever since. Whether as a children’s fairy tale or an existentialist fable, religious parable or political allegory, the “secret treasure” of its complex simplicity has only unfolded further truths over the years, like the petals of the precious flower of friendship it celebrates.
Vividly realized here, for yet another new generation, by the award-winning graphic novelist Joann Sfar, this stunning adaptation celebrates the 80th anniversary of its French edition, and confirms its wisdom of ages: that life (and love) can be hard; that “grown-ups are very strange”; and that our precious planet is intrinsic with our universal Nature.
De Saint-Exupéry’s aircraft disappeared in the wartime skies over the Mediterranean in July 1944, and his death has remained a mystery ever since. “The only reason to speak in riddles,” he wrote, in his prophetic masterpiece, “is to solve them.”
OUT IN UK: 19th MARCH! 🇬🇧
Romo the WolfBoy by ILYA.
At Blimey O’Riley’s Travelling Circus, a stagehand and a strange, wild boy find themselves investigating a paranormal mystery.
Romo, rumoured a wolf boy taken from the wild, and a young stagehand named Francis are the two newest members of Blimey O’Riley’s Travelling Circus. Together they will become Criminologists Extraordinaire, Specialists in the Paranormal – but this is only their first adventure…
When the circus comes to town in Victorian England, repeated acts of sabotage by a mysterious, giggling culprit turn Romo and Francis from rivals to friends. Can they work together to solve this baffling case, and even become a top act in the meantime?
OUT IN UK: 19th FEBRUARY! 🇬🇧 OUT IN NORTH AMERICA: 1st SEPTEMBER! 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇲
Emmie Arbel: The Colour of Memory by Barbara Yelin, translated by Helge R. Dascher, edited by Charlotte Schallié and Alexander Korb.
Arrested with her family in her native Holland, deported, held in a series of Nazi concentration camps, and orphaned – all by the age of seven – Emmie Arbel transformed her childhood survival into a lifelong mission to stand against any such other horrors. With her home now in Israel, to where she and her brother emigrated with their foster-parents in the wake of the Holocaust, she still frequently travels abroad to report and record her testimony.
Working closely with Emmie herself, the acclaimed German graphic artist Barbara Yelin has created a brilliant portrait – what she calls a “visual biography” – of this remarkable woman: her rebellious spirit, her resilient humour, the seriousness of her contemplation. “Surviving is not over,” Emmie reflects. “Surviving is every day.”
Emmie Arbel: The Colour of Memory is at once a haunting portrayal of a historical atrocity; an inspiring account of a modern friendship; a beautiful work of art; and a meditation on memory itself. Because, as Barbara Yelin has put it, “The long arms of history wrap right around the present.”
OUT IN UK: 5th FEBRUARY! 🇬🇧 OUT IN NORTH AMERICA: 17th MARCH! 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇲
Noisy Valley: The Art of Protest by Myfanwy Tristram.
“It’s about what ordinary people do, because what we do... is quite extraordinary.”
Protest matters, and never more so than today – and yet our rights around dissent have been eroded in law. Noisy Valley is a beautifully illustrated work of graphic nonfiction exploring the importance of protest, and what it can achieve, through the voices of one vibrant community.
In every neighbourhood there are the activists, the ones who raise their voices. Myfanwy Tristram visited the Rhondda Valley in South Wales, inviting local people to recount their memories of the times they’d refused to take things lying down. Noisy Valley is the result: a graphic retelling of protests both past and present.
The area is best known for the miners’ strikes of the 80s, (and their support from the LGBT movement as documented in the film Pride) but the spirit of dissent runs deeply whenever there is injustice. These stories tell how communities and individuals pushed back on a landfill site that poisoned local streams, a waste processing plant that destroyed an area of natural beauty, sexism in the workplace and the closure of the local hospital. We dip into the historic Aldermaston marches and the Greenham women’s peace camp too.
Originally shortlisted for the 2023 First Graphic Novel Award, Noisy Valley is a testament to protestors who – whatever the political climate – have believed in their power to get things changed.
OUT IN UK: 14th MAY! 🇬🇧 OUT IN NORTH AMERICA: 19th MAY! 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇲
Comic Therapy by Kay Medaglia.
From the creator of the popular One Year Wiser, this unique collection of short comic strips is designed to offer moments of calm wellbeing and thoughtful reflection while lifting readers’ spirits with lighthearted humour.
In Comic Therapy, readers will find a range of comic strips that blend heartwarming messages and gentle wit, creating a space where readers can unwind, laugh, and feel inspired – all within a few panels. The charm of this collection of homely homilies lies in its ability to address real-life challenges with a sense of optimism, focusing on themes like self-compassion, resilience, and mindfulness. Each of its beautifully imagined sequences serves as a temporary retreat from the pressures and anxieties of daily life, with each page offering a blend of encouragement and humour. By using visual storytelling, Comic Therapy engages readers in a non-intrusive, yet impactful way, inviting them to pause, smile, and reconnect with their inner calm.
This book is an invaluable resource for anyone looking for a momentary escape, a laugh in tough times, or a much-needed boost of positivity. Whether read all at once or savoured a little at a time, Comic Therapy builds into a toolkit of emotional wellness, and a perfect go-to for personal reflection, or to share with a friend in need of a cheerful lift.
Into a world filled with noise, Comic Therapy sends a quiet voice of compelling reassurance, reminding us that it’s always okay to pause, reflect, and enjoy a light-hearted moment.
OUT IN UK: 2nd APRIL! 🇬🇧 OUT IN NORTH AMERICA: 7th APRIL! 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇲
Our sincere thanks to you all for your support this year – watch out for more on our 2026 lineup soon!
The SelfMadeHero Team
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