SelfMadeHero Autumn 2026: Four Unmissable New Graphic Novels Announced

From pandemic surrealism and Paralympic triumph to feminist pioneers and Gothic horror. The SelfMadeHero Autumn 2026 slate features four brand-new titles drawing inspiration from striking life stories and unique moments in time. Alongside these, there's also new editions of works previously issued in other formats.

September kicks things off with the long-awaited return to print of comics and graphic design legend Mirko Ilić, who invokes the surrealism of life during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Nightmares and Daydreams: A.C. 2020. Also arriving in September is The Great Marc Evers, with Ivo van Woerden, Gemma Plum and Marloes Dekkers' beautifully realised life story of a champion Paralympian swimmer's rise to greatness.

October brings the welcome return of the award-winning duo Mary M. Talbot and Bryan Talbot, with Lo! An Amazon! - a graphic biography of feminist pioneer Mary Wollstonecraft. And arriving in time for Halloween, Leah Moore and John Reppion's Ghost Stories of an Antiquary: The Compendium brings the sinister world of M.R. James to the graphic novel format.

Below are the highlights from the SelfMadeHero Autumn 2026 catalogue. For the full range of what's coming, visit SelfMadeHero's website.

Nightmares and Daydreams A.C 2020

By Mirko Ilić

• Out in the UK: 3rd September
• Out in North America: 29th September

A collection of wordless single-page visual essays inspired by Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Winsor McCay and others to reflect the anxieties, uncertainties, and daily observations of award-winning artist and designer Mirko Ilić.

In 2020, New York-based artist and designer Mirko Ilić started drawing self-contained single-page stories created to reflect the mood of an unprecedented time. He called this collection "After Covid 2020" or "A.C. 2020".

Ilić continued to create these visual essays even as the lockdowns slowly lifted, channelling his anxieties and observations into striking and surreal images that combine personal imagination with motifs and inspiration from music, fine art, comics, and more.

Shocking and provocative, captivating and meditative, this sequence of illustrations paints a unique picture of a man's inner turmoil amidst a crumbling world. Nightmares and Daydreams: A.C. 2020 is a testament to both a period of unprecedented upheaval and the stunning talent of its award-winning author.

One of the most visually striking releases in the SelfMadeHero Autumn 2026 line-up. Find out more about Nightmares and Daydreams: A.C. 2020 on the SelfMadeHero website.

The Great Marc Evers: The True Story of a Champion Against All Odds

Written by Ivo van Woerden. Illustrated by Gemma Plum. Translated by Michele Hutchison. Colours by Marloes Dekkers

• Out in the UK: 17th September
• Out in North America: 6th October

The inspiring life story of one of the greatest Paralympic swimming champions, and his family that stopped focusing on a "no" to find a "yes".

What if you stopped focusing on what's impossible, and opened yourself up to what's possible?
Marc Evers is two years old and it's almost impossible for anyone to get through to him. His parents are told by a psychiatrist he has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and that he'll never be able to talk or go to the toilet on his own. For this reason, the psychiatrist recommends institutionalisation. Thankfully, Marc's parents refuse to listen.

Eighteen years later, Marc is preparing to compete in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2012 London Paralympics. He walks, talks, and rides his bike. He's his own person, surrounded by a busy family – and he can swim like a torpedo. With five Paralympic medals and many world records, Marc Evers is the Netherlands' greatest Paralympic swimming champion. How did he manage to beat the odds?

The Great Marc Evers is a moving, intimate, inspiring, and above all optimistic coming-of-age portrait of Marc and his family. A beautifully drawn story about perseverance, hope, and strength, about trusting your intuition and daring to believe.

Another standout in the SelfMadeHero Autumn 2026 season. Find out more about The Great Marc Evers on the SelfMadeHero website.

Lo! An Amazon! The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Mary Wollstonecraft

Written by Mary M. Talbot. Illustrated by Bryan Talbot.

• Out in the UK: 1st October
• Out in North America: 3rd November

A graphic novel from the award-winning creative duo Mary M. Talbot and Bryan Talbot about Mary Wollstonecraft, foundational feminist philosopher and author.

"It is time to effect a revolution in female manners – time to restore to them their dignity."
In the Age of Revolutions, with many movements springing up to demand greater liberties for mankind, Mary Wollstonecraft spoke out for the other "one-half of the human race": that of womankind.

Over twenty years before her daughter, Mary Shelly, created the science fiction genre with Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft's 1792 manifesto, Vindication of the Rights of Woman, took the world by storm. Forthright and fearless, she mingled with other radical thinkers of her time and travelled widely. In the same year she published her magnum opus, she even ventured alone to Paris during the Reign of Terror.

This graphic biography of the then-controversial and now-legendary Mary Wollstonecraft comes from the creative partnership of Mary M. Talbot and Bryan Talbot, the award-winning duo behind Dotter of Her Father's Eyes, Sally Heathcote: Suffragette, and Armed with Madness.

A highlight of the SelfMadeHero Autumn 2026 schedule for fans of historical biography. Find out more about Lo! An Amazon! on the SelfMadeHero website.

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary: The Compendium

Adapted by Leah Moore and John Reppion. Illustrated by Aneke, Kit Buss, Al Davison, Meghan Hetrick, George Kambadais, Abigail Larson, Fouad Mezher, and Alisdair Wood. Cover art by Francesco Francavilla.

• Out in the UK: 17th September
• Out in North America: TBC 2027

An anthology of eight spine-chilling ghost stories by M.R. James by various artists.

It's time to draw the curtains, curl up by the fire, and enter the sinister world of that master of the English ghost story, M.R. James. Just make sure that you've locked the back door... As an academic medieval historian (of the sort often featured in his stories), he turned his back on Victorian schlock-horror sensationalism, in favour of a subtler form of creeping shivers and uncanny fear that has guaranteed the endurance of his supernatural tales.

In the ninety years since his death, the spirit of M.R. James has inspired countless acts of homage, not just in literature (Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Ruth Rendell), but in radio (Neil Brand, Mark Gatiss), television (Jonathan Miller, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton), and film (Jacques Tourneur's Night of the Demon).

Now Leah Moore & John Reppion have extended that influence into the graphic-novel form with Ghost Stories of an Antiquary: The Compendium, a collection of eight powerful adaptations of his most famous and spine-chilling tales. Reimagined in a wide variety of graphic styles by Aneke, Kit Buss, Al Davison, Meghan Hetrick, George Kambadais, Abigail Larson, Fouad Mezher, and Alisdair Wood, this anthology hauntingly evokes the singular dread of what James himself simply called "the ominous thing"...

Rounding out the SelfMadeHero Autumn 2026 releases, this is unmissable for fans of classic ghost fiction. Find out more about Ghost Stories of an Antiquary: The Compendium on the SelfMadeHero website.