A Look Back at the 2026 Montreal Comic Arts Festival: A Memorable 15th Edition
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival (MCAF) concluded its 15th edition on Sunday, presented in collaboration with SDC Rue Saint-Denis and Télé-Québec. From May 15 to 17, more than 340 comic book creators and 190 exhibitors gathered to celebrate comics. Under a blazing sun, a crowd of 120,000 people strolled along Rue Saint-Denis over the three days, setting a new record!
We’ve just wrapped up our best edition ever. The smiles were infectious among the audience, the comic artists and the exhibitors at this 15th anniversary event; everyone had a brilliant time. It’s incredibly moving to see our celebration of comic arts continue to grow. I’m proud to be ending my term on such a high note, and I’m confident about the future of MCAF.
– Mélanie La Roche, Executive Director of MCAF
This clear success brings to a close a year that has been challenging, marked by the loss of a major grant in 2025 – news of which was received in September – dates that had to be rescheduled due to the Formula 1 Grand Prix, requests for additional security measures shortly before the event, and other surprises.
“I won’t lie to you, it’s been a real test for our small team this year. But what gave us the strength to get through it was our incredible, inspiring and close-knit comic arts community,” said the executive director during the opening night.
Indeed, thanks to the support of comic book artists, publishers and partners, $11,126 was raised through a special auction. Furthermore, after having to abandon plans to produce Karl Dupéré-Richer’s classic trophies for financial reasons, he donated one of them, and a group of artists stepped in to create the other trophies.
“Organising a free festival involves significant costs. Despite tremendous support from public and private partners, the past year has reminded us that the long-term viability of our event is not guaranteed simply by its success, and that we must remain cautious going forward,” says Mélanie La Roche.
A few of the festival’s outcomes
Thanks to funding from the Ministry of Culture and Communications, a delegation of professionals from several European countries came to discover Quebec comic arts and MCAF. The feedback was unanimous: we can truly be proud of the Montreal Comic Arts Festival. The members, most of whom were festival programmers, highlighted the quality of the festival, the warm welcome from its team and volunteers, and the comic book community. Journalist Thierry Bellefroid also conducted a series of interviews that will be broadcast on RTBF in Belgium. Furthermore, Canal BD, a network of bookshops specialising in comics, will feature Quebec recommendations in its magazine and organise a competition for its members to encourage promotion in Europe.
The exhibition Confluence: The World(s) of Contemporary Comics from Quebec which explores the influences that have shaped it through the works of 24 prominent comic book artists swill be presented, among other events, at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in June and at the Salon du livre de Montréal in November 2026.
Finally, the financial figures for exhibitors will be announced at a later date, but there is every indication that the figures of 22,000 comic books and half a million dollars in sales achieved over the past two years will be exceeded.
The 15th Montreal Comic Arts Festival is presented in collaboration with the SDC Rue Saint-Denis and Télé-Québec.
It would like to thank its major partners for their valuable collaboration: SODEC, Ministère du Tourisme, Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, Service de la culture de la Ville de Montréal, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, Plateau–Mont-Royal borough, Caisse Desjardins du Plateau-Mont-Royal, La Presse, Librairie Planète BD and Copibec.
It also thanks all the volunteers who helped out during the Festival and throughout the year, without whom the event simply could not have taken place.
