The Atomium Comics Awards, established a decade ago to support comic creators, revealed a significant portion of their 2026 winners on September 19 during the opening of the Brussels Comic Strip Festival. Seven awards were given at the Brussels Stock Exchange, while the eighth, dedicated to heritage, will be presented in early December in Paris. This year, the awards total more than 85,000 euros in prizes, including payments to winners, advances on royalties, advertising space, and paid publications. The Heritage Award, named after Catherine Schoemann, remains to be awarded, with 15 works competing for a 5,000 euro prize. The winner will be announced in early December in conjunction with the SoBD festival in Paris. Adele Rhoads won the Leblanc Award for New Talent for her project V.A. The award, reserved for authors who have published no more than two albums, includes a 10,000 euro grant, an advance on royalties, and a publishing contract. Rhoads’s work, set to be published by Casterman, follows an 11-year-old girl visiting her grandmother with cancer in a remote house in the forests of Virginia. Troubled by a premonition, the girl escapes through the window and ventures into the woods, where her journey takes on an eerie and symbolic tone, blending memories, family history, and nature. Désirée and Alain Frappier were honored with the Atomium Award for Graphic Art and Design for L’Oiseau chanteur. The 4,000 euro prize recognizes the drawing, layout, typography, and how visual choices enhance the narrative. The story follows Désirée Frappier as she returns to her childhood after her mother’s death, exploring how past experiences shape memory and identity. The text and images are separated in the layout, symbolizing unspoken truths. A broken and later repaired mechanical bird represents the fragile process of recovery and remembrance, while black-and-white drawings accompany the return to the past. Pascal Matthey won the Atomium Award, also known as the Espiègle de la bande dessinée, for Du pain blanc et du chocolat, published by L’Employé du Moi. The 10,000 euro prize honors a graphic album published in 2025. The story follows Pascal as he visits his grandparents in Germany each summer, blending his memories of the 1980s with family history. The narrative subtly explores the impact of wartime experiences on ordinary lives, connecting generations through childhood scenes and personal memories. Laurie Agusti was awarded the Première Atomium Galaxies BD Prize for Rouge signal. Selected by the editorial team of Galaxies BD on La Première, the work receives 20,000 euros in media advertising space and editorial support. The story follows Alexandre, a lonely man working in retail and spending much of his time online. His emotional disappointments and resentment lead him to adopt misogynistic views and join incel groups. Observing a nail salon from his window, he becomes fixated on the women working there, tracing a path toward radicalization. The narrative also highlights the lives and interactions of the four women in the salon. Ersin Karabulut won the Atomium Cognito Award for Historical Comics for Journal inquiet d’Istanbul. The award, worth 5,000 euros, honors the second volume of the series, covering the years 2007–2017, published by Dargaud in January 2025. The story details the creation of the satirical magazine Uykusuz with friends, which quickly gained popularity among young Turkish readers. Karabulut, who does not see himself as a political activist or intellectual, chronicles how political upheavals in his country increasingly influence his work and life, blending humor with moments of doubt and hardship. Charles Berberian and Michèle Standjofski were awarded by Le Soir for Et toi, comment ça va ?, published by Casterman. The prize includes 20,000 euros in advertising space and editorial presence across the Belgian newspaper’s platforms. The work follows a correspondence between Standjofski in Beirut and Berberian in Paris, born during the war in Lebanon. Their drawings, news, and concerns reflect their contrasting perspectives on a violent and comment-filled world. Standjofski continues her artistic practice in Beirut, while Berberian tries to make sense of the information he receives from Paris through his drawings. Maxence Jacquin won the Atomium Spirou Award for his series Charles & Cie. At 27 and still unpublished in an album, Jacquin’s strips will be published in Spirou in 2027 at professional rates. The series, presented in three panels per strip, was chosen for its ability to create a narrative arc, a universe, and a humorous punchline with multiple layers of meaning. The jury praised Jacquin’s “spontaneous, direct, and effective” humor, and his strips will be featured in Spirou throughout 2027.