The Utopiales 2026 BD Prize has revealed the six albums competing for the award, following the release of shortlists for the novel and youth categories. The winner will replace The Navigators, by Serge Lehman and Stéphane De Caneva, which won last year. The prize will be presented on October 31 at the Cité des congrès de Nantes during the 27th edition of the Utopiales festival, which runs from October 29 to November 1 and focuses on the theme "Perspectives." The Utopiales BD Prize is awarded by the science fiction comics reading club of the Nantes Municipal Library. Members read many albums throughout the year before selecting a final list and choosing the winning title. Six comics are in competition: The Junction, by Norm Konyu (Glénat). In this story, Lucas Jones returns to his hometown after twelve years of absence but remains 11 years old. While his father is missing, an inspector and a psychologist try to understand what has happened to him. Born in Canada and based in the United Kingdom, Norm Konyu comes from the animation industry, where he worked for DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network before focusing on comics. Karl, by Cyril Bonin (Sarbacane). After the death of a wealthy banker in a car accident, his daughter discovers Karl, the android who was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident. A cybernetics specialist then begins an investigation. Graduated from the Beaux-Arts of Mâcon and the Arts Decoratifs of Strasbourg, Cyril Bonin is a drawer and writer, notably the author of Amorostasia, La Belle Image or Presque maintenant. The Language of Vipers, by Juliette Brocal (Rue de Sèvres). Iodis, a young woman raised in an abbey, masters a liturgical magic capable of causing visions. The disappearance of a precious painting and its creator disrupts her daily life. Graduated from Gobelins in 2020, Juliette Brocal also works in animation and has notably participated in the film Mars Express. The Language of Vipers is her first comic. Frankenstein, by David Sala (Casterman). David Sala proposes a new graphic adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel, focusing on the confrontation between Victor Frankenstein and the creature he abandons after giving it life. Trained at the École Émile-Cohl in Lyon, David Sala is an author and illustrator. His work, strongly marked by color and ornamentation, draws particularly from symbolism, the Nabis, and Art Nouveau. The Moribonds, by Florence Dupré la Tour (Casterman). In a world devastated by the Moribonds, Gabriel, a vampire, gradually sees humans disappear, on whom his own survival depends. The album particularly questions the relationships of domination and interdependence. Having worked in animation before comics, Florence Dupré la Tour is notably the author of Cruel, Pucelle, and Jumelle. The Pack, by Noëlle Kröger (Cambourakis). At the end of the 19th century, Margot, a young student kept apart from research by her male colleagues, conducts her own investigation around a werewolf captured by a scientific institute. Born in 1997 and based in Hamburg, Noëlle Kröger is a comics artist and also teaches drawing. The Pack, translated from German by Elisabeth Willenz, is her first book published in French. Last year, the Utopiales BD Prize was awarded to The Navigators, by Serge Lehman and Stéphane De Caneva, published by Delcourt, who in turn are presiding over the Utopiales BD Prize 2026. For the 2025 edition, the jury was chaired by Fabrizio Dori, himself a winner of the Utopiales BD Prize 2024 for The Son of Pan, published by Sarbacane. The publication details for the competing albums are as follows: The Junction Published on 21/01/2026. 176 pages. Glénat. 22.00 €. Karl Published on 04/02/2026. 108 pages. Sarbacane Editions. 22.00 €. The Language of Vipers Published on 15/04/2026. 224 pages. Rue de Sèvres. 28.00 €. Frankenstein Published on 15/04/2026. 232 pages. Casterman. 28.00 €. The Moribonds Published on 07/01/2026. 96 pages. Casterman. 21.95 €. The Pack Published on 20/08/2025. 232 pages. Cambourakis. 24.00 €.